Worked examples
- Bar chart example: research sites
- Bar chart example: laboratory conditions
- Bar chart example: signed component changes
How to make a bar or column chart
- Paste or open a table with column headers, categories and supplied values.
- Select the category column and numeric series in plotting order.
- Choose Simple, Grouped or Stacked, then Vertical or Horizontal.
- Check the plotted-value table, adjust journal sizing and save or export.
Data format and interpretation
Use one category per row. For Simple choose one value column; for Grouped or Stacked choose two to eight. The first row contains headers. Missing values, duplicate labels and invalid numbers require correction; nothing is aggregated or replaced with zero.
| Category | Control | Treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Site A | 10 | 15 |
| Site B | 0 | 8 |
| Site C | -4 | 6 |
Stacked positive and negative contributions accumulate separately from zero. Sorting uses the algebraic sum of selected values; tied sums keep source order. Category and series order remain visible in the plotted table. Values are not automatically interpreted as percentages, means or frequencies.
Position, category labels and hatch patterns supplement color. Choose Horizontal for long names. If bars or labels do not fit the physical size, increase size or simplify the chart before export. The limits are 100 categories and eight series; no rows are sampled.
Frequently asked questions
How is a bar chart different from a histogram?
Bar charts compare named categories. Histograms group individual numeric observations into intervals. This bar chart editor plots supplied values and does not count raw observations.
Does this tool calculate means or frequencies?
No. Enter one category per row with precomputed values in selected numeric columns. The tool does not aggregate repeated category labels or estimate uncertainty.
How are negative stacked values drawn?
Positive values stack above zero and negative values below zero, each in selected-series order. The positive and negative endpoints differ from the algebraic net sum.
What happens to missing cells or duplicate categories?
They block drawing and export with corrective messages. Missing values never become zero and repeated category labels are never silently combined. Zero values remain valid.
When should I choose grouped instead of stacked bars?
Grouped bars let series share a zero baseline for comparison. Stacked bars show supplied components; compare individual components cautiously because most do not share a baseline.
Can I add error bars?
Error bars and summaries from raw observations are outside this preview. No SD, SEM, confidence interval or statistical significance is inferred from supplied values.
Compare trends with the Line Graph Maker, distributions with the Histogram Maker, or one non-negative composition with the Pie and Donut Chart Maker.