Modifying charts : Types of charts : About area charts : Overlay area chart

Overlay area chart

Overlay area charts show areas from each series independent of each other. The areas appear by joining the values for the series. In an overlay area chart, the areas of multiple series overlap, as shown in Figure 7-5. As the example shows, this chart subtype is not suitable for showing multiple series if the data values overlap. Use an overlay area chart if you want to show only one series, for example, only sales for Asia.

Figure 7-5  Overlay area chart

Percent stacked area chart

In a percent stacked area chart, multiple series are stacked vertically and the values appear as a percentage of the total. Figure 7-6 shows the sales values in percentages instead of the actual numbers as shown in the previous area charts.

Figure 7-6  Percent stacked area chart showing sales figures

The percent stacked area chart is meaningful only when displaying and comparing multiple series. If displaying only one series, the percent stacked area chart appears as in the example shown in Figure 7-7. The sales percentage of one region compared to the whole is 100%.

Figure 7-7  Percentage stacked area chart for a single series