What is a chart's data sheet?
Understand the sheet that holds a deck chart's numbers, how its cells map to the chart, and what its banner means.
Every chart in a deck keeps its numbers in a data sheet. The chart draws whatever is in that sheet. You open it from the chart by clicking Edit data. See Edit a chart's data.
The data sheet belongs to the deck, and each chart gets its own tab. A banner above the grid tells you which chart a tab feeds:
This sheet is the data for the chart "Revenue by segment" in the deck "Project Alpine – Management Presentation".
How the cells become a chart
The chart reads one block of cells that starts in cell A1:
- Row 1 holds the headers. A1 holds a label for the first column, like "Category". Don't leave it empty. Each cell after it names one series, like "Revenue" or "EBITDA".
- Each row below is one point on the chart, like a year. Column A holds its label. The cells to the right hold its numbers.
For example:
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Category | Revenue | EBITDA |
| 2 | FY23 | 120 | 24 |
| 3 | FY24 | 150 | 33 |
To add a year, type it in the first empty row under the block. To add a series, type its name in the first empty cell of row 1.
The block ends at the first empty cell in row 1, and at the first row that's empty all the way across the block. The chart ignores anything past that. So you can keep notes or working math below or to the right, as long as there's a gap. A row with only its label cleared stays on the chart, with no label.
A few chart types use different columns:
| Chart type | Columns |
|---|---|
| Football field | Methodology, Low, High, Midpoint |
| Scatter | Label, X, then one column per series |
| Waterfall | Category, the values, then Bar. Type Total in Bar for a bar that starts from zero, or Step for one that adds to the bars before it |
Formulas work in the block. The chart uses their results. A blank cell, text, or an error like #DIV/0! shows as a gap in the chart, not as zero. A percent cell charts as the number it shows, so 22% charts as 22.
What the banner means
| Banner says | What it means |
|---|---|
| This sheet is the data for the chart… | All good. Changes here show up in the chart. |
| …The chart hasn't picked up these edits yet | The chart only updates while someone has the deck open. Open the deck, and the chart catches up on its own. If Pitchcrow is working on the deck, the chart catches up when it finishes. |
| …You can't edit this deck, so ask someone who can to open it | Same as above, but you can't edit the deck, so opening it yourself won't update the chart. |
| …The chart can't read this sheet | Row 1 or the rows under it aren't laid out the way the chart needs. The banner says what to fix, like which headers row 1 needs. |
| …isn't on the chart because its Low or High isn't a number | Football field charts only. That row has no bar until both Low and High are numbers. |
| No longer linked to a chart | The chart was deleted, or the deck was. The tab doesn't feed anything now. |
A tab that's no longer linked isn't deleted for you. Keep it as scratch space, or right-click its tab at the bottom and choose Delete. See Add, rename, copy, hide, or delete tabs.
Good to know
- Don't add rows or columns above or to the left of the block. The chart looks for its data starting at A1, so it stops updating until the block starts at A1 again.
- Deleting a tab that still feeds a chart doesn't delete the chart. The chart keeps its last numbers, and the deck offers to make the tab again. See Edit a chart's data.
- When you copy a chart or its slide, the copy gets its own tab. Changing one chart's numbers doesn't change the other.
- You need to be an Admin or Editor of the space to change a data sheet. See Space roles.