CSV de ejemplo
| Quarter | North America | Europe | APAC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-Q1 | 182000 | 146000 | 98000 |
| 2023-Q2 | 191000 | 151000 | 104000 |
| 2023-Q3 | 205000 | 158000 | 112000 |
| 2023-Q4 | 224000 | 167000 | 121000 |
| 2024-Q1 | 218000 | 171000 | 129000 |
| 2024-Q2 | 233000 | 179000 | 138000 |
How to Create a Line Chart
A step by step walkthrough for turning a spreadsheet of dates and numbers into a published line chart in PlotSet, from shaping the sheet to exporting or embedding the finished trend.
Unos 8 minutosThis is how to create a line chart in PlotSet that actually reads as a trend and not just a wiggly shape: your own dates in the first column, one or more series after it, styled and published the same way any real chart goes out. By the end you will have taken one time series from a raw spreadsheet to a published, embeddable chart with hover tooltips, not a copy of someone else's example with your numbers swapped in.
If your sheet already has one date column and one or two number columns in order, this takes about eight minutes. Add another five if you are converting a wide report, one column per month, into the long, one-row-per-period shape a line chart wants, or if you need to decide how a genuine gap in the series should be handled before you upload.
Los datos que necesitas
One row per time period, already in chronological order: the date or period label first, then one numeric column for each line you want on the chart.
Keep the time column consistent: real dates, or a fixed label pattern like "2024-Q1" throughout. A column that mixes "Q1 2024" with "01/2024" sorts as text, not as time, and the axis will follow whatever order the rows happen to be in.
One numeric column per line. Three columns of regional revenue, like the sample above, become three lines with no extra configuration once they are mapped.
Rows must already be sorted oldest to newest before you upload. PlotSet draws the time axis in row order, it does not resort a date column for you.
Leave a cell blank for a period a series genuinely has no reading for. A blank draws as a gap in that one line rather than dropping to zero, which is usually what you want; fill it in if it is simply a missing entry, not an absence.
Los pasos
El camino exacto en PlotSet, desde una plantilla en blanco hasta el gráfico terminado.
- 01
Open the Line Chart template
From the PlotSet dashboard, start a new project and choose the Line Chart template. It loads with sample data already bound to it, so you can see the exact column layout, one date column followed by one or more series columns, before you touch your own file.
Todas las guías empiezan aquí. Elige la categoría y luego la plantilla. Es la misma cuadrícula sea cual sea el tipo de gráfico que busques. - 02
Shape your sheet into a time column plus series columns
Put your date or period in the first column, in order, and one number column per line after it. If your source is a wide report with a column per month, transpose it first: the upload needs one row per period, not one column per period.
- 03
Upload your file or connect a sheet
Use the data panel to import a CSV or .xlsx file, paste rows straight from a spreadsheet, or connect a Google Sheet if you want the chart to pick up new periods later without a re-upload. PlotSet reads the first row as your column headers.
La vista de datos, aquí en un proyecto de gráfico de barras. Sube un CSV, saca los números de una imagen con Magic Import o sincroniza una Google Sheet. El panel es el mismo en todos los tipos de gráfico. - 04
Map the time column and confirm your series
Tell PlotSet which column is the time axis and check that every numeric column you meant to plot is picked up as a series. This is usually automatic with clean headers, but worth a manual check if your sheet carries an extra column, like a running total, you don't want plotted.
Las asignaciones deciden qué columna se convierte en la etiqueta, cuál aporta los valores y cuál define el color. Auto Binding las deduce de tus encabezados, así que revísalas en lugar de darlas por buenas. - 05
Label the lines directly, skip the legend
Turn on end-of-line labels so each series name sits at the end of its own line instead of in a separate legend box. On anything with more than one line, this removes the colour-matching step entirely and is the single biggest readability change you can make.
La pestaña Preview de un gráfico de tipo Line Chart. Todos los controles de estilo están en el panel enmarcado: apariencia, encabezado, pie de página y las opciones propias de este tipo de gráfico, cada grupo en su propia pestaña. - 06
Set the value axis range on purpose
Decide whether the axis should start at zero or zoom into the range where the real movement happens. A line chart does not need a zero baseline the way a bar chart does, so pick a range that reflects the actual variation and say so if you are deliberately zooming in.
- 07
Turn markers and gridlines on only if the data is sparse
With monthly or quarterly data, individual point markers and background gridlines usually just add clutter to a shape that is already clear. Turn markers on only if readings are infrequent enough that each one is worth calling out on its own.
- 08
Publish, embed or export
Publish for a live, interactive chart with hover tooltips and a shareable link, grab the embed code for a page, or export a PNG, SVG or PDF if you need a static image for a deck or report.
Empieza con la plantilla de Line Chart, que ya trae datos de ejemplo cargados, y sustitúyelos por los tuyos.
Abrir la plantillaPublícalo, incrústalo o expórtalo
El último tramo es igual en todos los tipos de gráfico: Share convierte el gráfico en un enlace público en vivo y un código de incrustación, y Export lo guarda como un archivo estático.
Share: enlace público y código de incrustación
Al activar el código de incrustación y el enlace público, el gráfico queda publicado. El enlace se lo puedes enviar a cualquiera sin problema, y el código de incrustación se coloca en cualquier página como un iframe que conserva los tooltips al pasar el cursor y toda la interactividad. Si editas el gráfico más adelante, haz clic en Recreate para llevar esos cambios a ambos.
Export: SVG, PNG o JPG
Export guarda una copia estática en el tamaño que necesites. El SVG se mantiene nítido a cualquier escala y se puede seguir editando en una herramienta de diseño; PNG y JPG son la opción segura para diapositivas y documentos. El multiplicador de escala es lo que te da una imagen nítida en una pantalla retina.
Consejos de estilo para un Line Chart
Direct labels beat a legend almost every time
Once you have more than one line, a legend forces the reader to match colours between a box and the chart. A label at the end of each line answers the question before it gets asked, and it scales fine down to about five series.
Cap it at five lines, then split or highlight
Past roughly five series a line chart turns into a tangle nobody can trace. If you genuinely have more, either build small multiples, one line per small chart on shared axes, or colour the one line that matters and grey out the rest.
Do not mix units on one axis
Revenue in dollars and a percentage plotted on the same vertical scale will squash one of them flat. If you need to compare series in different units, index them to a common starting point (100 at the first period, for instance) or put them on separate charts.
Break the line over real gaps, do not smooth across them
If a series is missing a reading for one period, leave that cell blank so PlotSet breaks the line rather than drawing a straight guess across the gap. Curve smoothing is worth avoiding for the same reason: it can invent a peak or a dip between two points that were never actually measured.
Errores comunes al hacer un Line Chart
The line zigzags instead of trending smoothly
This almost always means the source rows are not sorted chronologically before upload, so PlotSet is drawing the axis in whatever order the sheet happened to have. Sort the time column oldest to newest in your spreadsheet and re-upload.
One line sits flat along the bottom while another dominates the chart
Check whether the two series are actually in the same unit. A series in the thousands plotted against one in single digits, or dollars against a percentage, will always compress the smaller one to a flat line near zero. Normalise both to a common scale or split them into separate charts.
A period with no real reading shows as a straight diagonal jump
That happens when the missing cell was filled with a zero or an average instead of left blank. Clear the cell in the source sheet so it is genuinely empty, then re-upload: PlotSet will break the line there instead of drawing a fake slope across it.
Aprende más sobre el Line Chart
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Line Chart: preguntas frecuentes
One row per time period, sorted oldest to newest, with the date or period label in the first column and one numeric column for each line you want. CSV, .xlsx and a pasted spreadsheet range all work, as long as the time column stays in one consistent format.
Crea tu Line Chart ahora
Gratis para empezar con más de 300 plantillas. No se necesita tarjeta de crédito.