How to create a step Area chart for the Mosaic plot in Excel

To create the step Area chart, do the following:

   1.   Create a simple, non-formatted area chart:

   1.1.   Select a data range (in this example, B13:L29).

   1.2.   On the Insert tab, in the Charts group, click on the Line dropdown list:

From the Line dropdown list, select the 100% Stacked Area chart.

At first glance, Excel creates a little strange area chart for this data, but don't worry (it will become normal after a few customizations):

   2.   Customize the horizontal (category) axis:

   2.1.   Do one of the following:

• Under Chart Tools, on the Design tab, in the Data group, choose Select Data:
  
• Right-click in the chart area and choose Select Data... in the popup menu:
  

   2.2.   In the Select Data Source dialog box, under Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels, click the Edit button:

   2.3.   In the Axis Labels dialog box, choose cells with categories (X values) for this axis and click OK several times:

   2.4.   Right-click on the horizontal axis and choose Format Axis... in the popup menu:

   2.5.   On the Format Axis pane, on the Axis Options tab, in the Axis Options section:

• Under Axis Type, select the Date axis radio button,
• Under Bounds, be sure that:
  • In the Minimum field, the value is the 1^st day in Excel:
    • 00-01-00, if you use the date format mm-dd-yy,
    • 01-00-00, if you use the date format dd-mm-yy,
  • In the Maximum field, the value of the 100^th day in Excel (the 4^th of September):
    • 09-04-00, if you use the date format mm-dd-yy,
    • 04-09-00, if you use the date format dd-mm-yy,

  Note: Unfortunately, at the moment, there are no other ways in Excel to set the calculated axis from 0 to 100. Thus, this workaround means that you use the calculated amount from 0 to 100 (from the 0 to the 100^th day because Excel treats dates as numbers).

• Under Units, type 20 days for the Major units:

Excel changes the original chart to the following step area chart:

   3.   Customize the data series:

   3.1.   Right-click on the data series and choose Format Data Series... in the popup menu:

   3.2.   On the Format Data Series pane, on the Fill & Line tab:

• In the Fill section, select the Solid fill option and choose the color you prefer:
  
• In the Border section, select the Solid line radio button and choose the color and width in the appropriate fields:
  

   3.3.   Repeat the previous steps of this section to match data series visual appearance:

To fix the labels of the chart, see the third part of this tip How to add labels to the mosaic plot in Excel.