Save chart as template or user-defined chart styles...possible?

[bcDeL]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

Every time I make a chart, I select data, choose chart type, voila - excel cranks out the correct chart with unacceptable formating vis-a-vis color and line dimensions.
Per-chart correction time can take up to an hour. Copy/paste chart is unstable. Is there anything that can be done?

 

[Laroche J]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

Every time I make a chart, I select data, choose chart type, voila - excel
cranks out the correct chart with unacceptable formating vis-a-vis color and
line dimensions.
Per-chart correction time can take up to an hour. Copy/paste chart is
unstable. Is there anything that can be done?

You can create chart template as you can calculation sheet templates. See
the instructions on the topic "Create a sheet template for new worksheets"
in Help.

Specific instructions for a chart template:
Use an existing graph you like and make a copy in a new workbook.
Go to Chart / Source Data / Series, and for each data series erase the links
in the field Name (and also field X Values if it's a scatter plot). Enter 0
in the field Values (Y Values for a scatter plot). Clear the field
Categories (X) axis label (N/A for a scatter plot).

Save as a template as per instructions in Help. When you need a similar
chart, control-click on a tab workbook, choose Insert, find your template
and update the references in Chart / Source Data / Series for the
appropriate data sources. Line/point/grid formatting will have been
conserved from your original chart if you kept the series in the template
(even if empty).

You can keep many chart templates for different types of graph you use
repeatedly.

JL
Mac OS X 10.4.11, Office v.X 10.1.9