KB0229: How can I create a box and whisker chart?

Box and whisker charts, also called box plots, can be created using thinkcell's Excel data links (see Excel data links). You can download our template Excel and PowerPoint files from the following link: box_and_whisker.zip.

Simply extract the .zip file contents and follow the instructions in the Excel Workbook to add your data. The template calculates the five-number summary from your raw data and arranges it as a data source for thinkcell's Excel link. The linked chart in PowerPoint will then automatically update itself to show a box and whisker chart based on your own data.

• The whiskers of the box plot are created using error bars (see Error bars) placed between the maximum and 3rd quartile values, and the minimum and 1st quartile values respectively.
• The boxes are created as stacked segments. If the boxes do not touch the baseline, a segment with no fill is used to "float" the box segments above or below the axis.
• If a box crosses the baseline, the box is split into two segments, one above the baseline and one below.

For a more detailed step-by-step guide to building a box and whisker chart, see our blog article: Create a box and whisker chart