Excel Chart - Offset (Start from non-zero)

Question

Having some trouble with properly representing data in a chart in excel 2007.

Basic Concept (A daily process): Files arrive in batch automatically in a folder for processing. The file time in the table is the time the last file arrived. Processing is done on the files as indicated by the start and end time under processing.

The processing can begin on files before the last file for the day arrives. In this case the start processing time would be less then file arrival time. There is an overlap in arrival durations and processing.

Problem: How do I get excel to show the red bar (processing times) to start from (lets say for the 21st Feb) 3:46 to 3:59 (all times in 24hr format)

I don't want stack chart because I can't represent gaps or overlaps between different stages effectively.

One possible solution I been trying was to display the duration of the processing time and then offset that duration by the start time (where start time is taken from 00:00 hours). However excel insists on starting the bars from 00:00

Thanks

Answer 1

Make your first graph with fixed axis. Include series in it with 0 values, if you want legends to be displayed. Copy paste the graph for each series that your going to have. Edit the graph data to represent each series on a different graph. Play around with stacked graph setting like overlapping and series colour fill to represent each series as you like. Remove all fills and borders from plotting/graph areas on the series graphs, so all you see in your graph are the data/series bars. Superimpose the series graph on the orignial graph with grids. You can shift each layer of graph a bit to the right so different series don't overlap on top of each other.

Answer 2

If i have interpreted your requirements correctly, here's a sample of how it might be done

Method is
1. plot as std column chart: Arrival time, start and end
2. set order of series: end, start, arrival
5. set 'series overlap' to 100%
6. set fill color of start time series to a light color
7. set line style of all series to none

Another possible, method: does this look more like what you are after?
this one is built using x-y chart with error bars.