Starting Microsoft Graph

Microsoft Graph is a simple graphing program provided with Word. It includes the ability to view your graph data in both spreadsheet and graph formats. The graphs you create can be inserted directly into your documents. Microsoft Graph is not as full-featured as Excel, but it does allow you to quickly add graphical information without the need of using Excel.

If your document already has a Microsoft Graph chart in it, you can access the program by double-clicking the chart. If you want to insert a new chart, how you do so depends on the version of Word you are using:

• If you are using Word 97, choose Object from the Insert menu. Word displays the Object dialog box. Choose the Microsoft Graph 97 Chart object type and click on OK.
• If you are using Word 2000, choose Object from the Insert menu. Word displays the Object dialog box. Choose Microsoft Graph 2000 Chart object type and click on OK.
• If you are using Word 2002 or Word 2003, choose Object from the Insert menu. Word displays the Object dialog box. Choose the Microsoft Graph Chart object type and click on OK.

If you have a need to work with Microsoft Graph quite a bit, you may want to add the Insert Chart tool to a toolbar. Follow these steps:

1. Choose Customize from the Tools menu. Word displays the Customize dialog box.
2. Make sure the Commands tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)



Figure 1. The Commands tab of the Customize dialog box.

3. In the Categories list, choose Insert.
4. Scroll through the list of available commands and select the Chart command.
5. Drag the Chart command from the list of commands, dropping it where you want it placed on a toolbar.
6. Close the Customize dialog box.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (699) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.