Charts & Graph Software

[DannyAustin]

Hi all, i'm currently putting together a sort of databook of sorts which contains all matter of charts and graphs which relate to very important projections and analysis within the property market.

At the moment, we are being supplied the charts from a statistician who puts them together in Xcel. The problem we have as with most things that originate from a PC, the charts and graphs loook rubbish. So therefore we have to redraw them in Freehand/Illustrator to make them look all pretty and sparkling again. Oh and they have to be bang on accurate otherwise we can get into mucho :eek: trouble.

Some of the charts are pretty complicated, not like a straight forward bar chart or histogram, but some of these contain maybe 3 or 4 sets of data which need to be on there so the data can be compared. [still with me?]

So I guess what i'm asking is, is there a bit of software out there which you can feed data, which then spits out a smart looking chart/graph which is fully colour/text editable. Basically I need the Ferrari of graph/chart drawing software.

Any ideas?

Thanks all
x

[Kool]

I'm not sure if this is a help or not but you can copy and paste charts directly from excel to Illustrator. They will remain vector and fully editable. :)

[D-Frag]

Illustrator has a whole set of charts and graphs, you just import the data, and it makes it for you in whatever style you want

[DannyAustin]

"I'm not sure if this is a help or not but you can copy and paste charts directly from excel to Illustrator. They will remain vector and fully editable"

What a terrific tip, that works and eased a huge headache, thanks Kool!

[Kool]

Your welcome. :) Glad it works for you.

[Kool]

Be careful of stroke widths. Sometimes they will look ok onscreen but will in reality be only .001 thickness. A quick select same stroke will grab them all so you can change them.

[DannyAustin]

Thanks again will bare that in mind cheers!

[Bob]

Also beware of greys. They can come in as RGB when pasting.

[DannyAustin]

Thats OK any RGBs get lined up against a wall and shot prior to press!

[fredrich]

I was actually unaware of the copypasting from Excel. That's a relief, because the graph tool in Illustrator sucks.

[urstwile]

I was unaware of this trick too. Good to know. Thanks Kool!

[DannyAustin]

Yeah its pretty much the same as Freehand, you give it lots of numbers, and it spits out a rather dull looking graph, thats really basic looking. TOP TIP!