Stacked Bar Chart Totals (Real or Fake?)
See why these stacked bar chart totals are NOT 100% trustworthy…and how to add them correctly in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
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There is NO SUCH THING as a default total label in a stacked bar chart or a stacked column chart in Word, Excel or PowerPoint…it just plain doesn’t exist.
That’s why you can end up with fake or static totals in your spreadsheets and presentations that are NOT correct. As your numbers change, the static total label doesn't, which is embarrassing when you discover this in the middle of your presentation.
Here's how to add a total to a stacked bar chart:
1. Calculate the total using a sum function in your underlying spreadsheet
2. Graph the total value as a series in your graph
3. Add the total series data label to your chart
4. Set the total label to insdie base (so it's sitting on top of your stacked bar chart).
5. Hide the series information (no fill, no outline)
6. Adjust your vertical or horizontal axis
You can also pull this off by changing the total series to a line graph and using it's data label.
This is a triple-dipper charting trick too, as the technique for adding the total label is the same in Excel, PowerPoint and Word.
You can also use this trick to create waterfall charts with stacked column charts or valuation ranges using stacked bar charts.
For a demo of how to create a waterfall chart, see my other YouTube video below.
Create a Waterfall Chart • How To Create a Waterfall Chart in Po...
The key step when getting total labels like this (as you'll see in the video) is that you use a the =sum() formula to add up the pieces when you graph the total. That way if you underlying data changes, so will your total.
