Sample CSV
| 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.
About 8 minutesThis 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.
The data you need
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.
The steps
The exact click path in PlotSet, from a blank template to a finished chart.
- 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.
Every guide starts here. Pick the category, then the template: it is the same grid whichever chart type you are after. - 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.
The data view, shown here on a bar chart project. Upload a CSV, lift the numbers out of an image with Magic Import, or sync a Google Sheet. The panel is identical for every chart type. - 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.
Bindings decide which column becomes the label, which supplies the values and which drives the colour. Auto Binding guesses them from your headers, so check it rather than assume it. - 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.
The Preview tab for a Line Chart. Every styling control lives in the outlined panel, each on its own tab: appearance, header, footer and the options specific to this chart type. - 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.
Start from the Line Chart template with sample data already loaded, then swap in your own.
Open the templatePublish, embed or export it
The last stretch is the same for every chart type: Share turns the chart into a live public link and an embed code, Export writes it out as a static file.
Share: public link and embed code
Activating the embed code and public link publishes the chart. The link is safe to send to anyone, and the embed code drops into any page as an iframe that keeps the hover tooltips and the interactivity. Edit the chart later and hit Recreate to push those changes out to both.
Export: SVG, PNG or JPG
Export writes a static copy at whatever size you need. SVG stays sharp at any scale and can still be edited in a design tool; PNG and JPG are the safe choices for slides and documents. The scale multiplier is what gets you a crisp image on a retina screen.
Styling tips for a 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.
Common mistakes when making a 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.
Learn more about the Line Chart
Not sure the Line Chart is the right choice? See what it is, when to use it and when not to.
Line Chart: common questions
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.
Make your Line Chart now
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