Lesson 5
Here is a great page on making effective charts from the classroom version of A106.
When deciding where to use names, here is a good rule: Name anything that would make a formula easier to understand. A formula that only references cells on the same sheet, and uses only relative references, doesn't benefit much from names (as in the Monthly projects). However, anything that uses an absolute reference, or references another sheet, is much easier to understand with a name. By using names in these situations, you make it possible to read the formula without searching around to determine what numbers the formula is using.
Pitfalls to avoid
For the Final word-processing project, the document should be exactly two pages long. This way, you can print multiple copies without getting extra blank pages. This becomes even more important if your printer is capable of two-sided (duplex) printing, so you do not end up with a pile of half-printed brochures.
For the Monthly spreadsheet project, make sure you use monthly inflation in the formulas. The inflation amount you enter on the Summary sheet is annual inflation.
When making a chart, do not include the total. Since the total is always much larger than any of the individual values, it will make your chart difficult to read. If you must include the total, you can add a note to the bottom of the chart, or use a type of chart that stacks values on top of each other to show a cumulative total. The two charts below show the same data, one with the total and one without it. Which chart is easier to read?
Make sure the legends in your charts are necessary. If they are necessary, make sure they are useful. Examples are coming...