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Adding Charts And Graphs To A Lens

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3 Steps To Making Your Point With A Chart or Graph

In the corporate world, sales people always depend on charts and graphs to make their point to a potential customer. Why should Squidoo lensmasters be any different ?

When I was building my latest lens on deer repellents, I had organized my information in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. I knew trying to deliver all that data in a text module or list would not have the same impact as putting the chart I had built right into the lens.

A word of advice...You don't want to saturate your lens with mounds of mind-numbing data. It will chase people away ! However, a chart or graph can help organize and present information and get your point across to your readers.

I'll show you a 3-step method to insert a chart or graph into your Squidoo lens.

The information in this lens is most appropriate for beginners or intermediate users who already have some knowledge of making charts and graphs and building Squidoo lenses.

Table of Contents

  1. A Graph Can Help Tell The Story
  2. Step 1. Build The Chart Or Graph
  3. Step 2. Convert Your Chart Or Graph To An Image
  4. Step 3. Put Your Chart Or Graph Into Your Lens
  5. Summary
  6. Did You Love This Lens ?
  7. All About Suzy
  8. My Other Lenses

A Graph Can Help Tell The Story

A "Shocking" Example...

In browsing the web for a "shocking" graph or chart I could use as an example, I found a story of how global warming was being driven by the cost of a postage stamp !?! It sounded silly but I clicked through anyway and started reading. It was difficult at first to understand the story but as soon as I saw the graph below, it all made perfect sense. Global warming must be an evil plot by the Postmaster General ! Just look at the chart ! (only kidding...PLEASE no comments about this !)

My point...you can only do so much with words. Sometimes a chart or graph will do wonders in helping tell your story.

If you're doubting whether or not this is even a real story, click here.

The Three-Step Process

To Add A Chart Or Graph To Your Squidoo Lens

  1. Step 1. Build The Chart Or Graph
  2. Step 2. Convert Your Chart Or Graph To An Image
  3. Step 3. Put Your Chart Or Graph Into Your Lens
  4. Summary
  5. All About Suzy
  6. My Other Lenses

Step 1. Build The Chart Or Graph

Using The Program Of Your Choice.

OpenOfficeObjective : Build the chart or graph in Excel or whatever spreadsheet or graph program you have.

If you don't already have it, Excel can be expensive to buy but chances are your PC came with Microsoft Works which has a great spreadsheet module. If you dont have Excel or Works, theres a FREE spreadsheet program available to download. OpenOffice by Sun Microsystems looks a lot like Excel and you can download it by clicking here. (NOTE: This is a not-for-profit lens and I am not making a commission by directing you to OpenOffice. It is truly a FREE download, however they do encourage donations directly if you find their program helpful).

Im not going to go into the details of how to actually create your chart or graph. Most programs, especially OpenOffice and Excel, have great "help" built in. They can teach you how to build one more effectively than I ever could in this lens..The screenshot below is from OpenOffice and shows the finished chart I created for my deer repellent lens. I added some background color and borders to make it look nice.

Instead of a chart like the one shown, I could have easily had rows and columns of data and turned that into a bar or pie chart. Again, please refer to your program's help feature for specifics.

Screenshot of sample chart using OpenOffice spreadsheet program.

Step 2. Convert Your Chart Or Graph To An Image

Using The Image-Editing Software Of Your Choice.

Objective : The next step is to "cut" your chart or graph out of the spreadsheet program and "paste" it into an image editing program. It can then be saved as a JPEG file that can be used in a Squidoo lens.



The image software you use is up to you. Microsoft Paint comes with Windows and it works just fine. Adobe Fireworks or Photoshop and a host of others will also work just as well. The screenshots I'll use below will be from Paint.

Have your spreadsheet program open with your newly-created chart or graph visible. Open your image editing software in a second window and create a new file. In Paint, click File > New . It will open a blank canvas with default dimensions which is probably not large enough for our chart.



Some programs will ask you what dimensions your blank canvas should be when you create it. Others, like Paint, dont ask and you have to change the default dimensions by clicking Image > Attributes. I typed in 1000 (pixels) for width and 1000 for height. Some programs also allow you to specify resolution. Use 72 pixels per inch.

To move the chart or graph from the spreadsheet program to the image program, you have to first highlight (or "select) the chart or graph in the spreadsheet program. (Click on the blank cell just to the upper left of your chart in the spreadsheet program. Hold the left mouse button down and drag your pointer to the blank cell just to the lower right of your chart and let your mouse button go. You should have highlighted all cells that include your chart and the blank cells immediately outside of your chart. See the screenshot below from my OpenOffice example.)

Screenshot of highlighted chart in OpenOffice spreadsheet program.



Once you have your chart or graph highlighted, hold the CTRL key and hit the C key . (this is the shortcut for the "Copy" function. You can also click Edit > Copy in most programs.) This will copy the image of your chart or graph to temporary memory on your computer.

Move to your image editing software and hold the CTRL key and hit the V key . (this is the shortcut for the "Paste" function. You can also click Edit > Paste in most programs.) This will paste the image of your chart or graph onto the blank canvas and it should look something like the screenshot below if you are using Paint..


Screenshot of pasted chart in Microsoft Paint image editing program.

You may have noticed all the extra blank space around the chart. Use the Crop function to get rid of it. In Paint, click the dashed rectangle in the upper left of the toolbar and drag a rectangle just to the outside of your chart. (ie click just to the outside of the upper left of your chart and while holding the left mouse button, drag a rectangle around the chart and then let go of the mouse when the pointer is just outside the lower right of the chart). Click Image > Crop (if you are using Paint) and the blank space around the chart will be removed. If you are using another image program, please refer to the specific instructions in that program on how to crop a picture.

Save the chart by clicking File > Save As.cify a file name and make sure the file type is "JPEG".

Always remember where you saved your file. You'll need to find it in Step 3 !

Step 3. Put Your Chart Or Graph Into Your Lens

Using A "Text With BIG Picture" Module.

You may already be familiar with uploading images into a regular Squidoo text module, but the image you upload will usually be downsized to about 250 x 250 pixels and attached to the top right of the text module.

We want our chart to take up the entire width of the text module and to do that, we'll use the "Text with BIG Picture" module.

In fact, you're looking at one right now and the chart above is our example from OpenOffice and Paint.

Add a "Text with BIG Picture" module to your lens and edit it. At the bottom where you can specify a photo, click Browse and select the JPEG file of your chart or graph you just saved in Step 2.


REMINDER : Where it asks you for "Label this photo:" and "Link this photo...", clear the default "type=text" out of these fields if you dont want to label or link the photo. If you leave the default values, it will make the image "clickable" back to the Squidoo home page and that will confuse your readers.

Click "UPDATE PHOTO" and the image of your chart or graph is now in your lens. Squidoo will automatically resize any images larger than the maximum width. Any text you include in the module will appear under your chart or graph and is a perfect place for a description of what the image shows.

Summary

This three-step process is only one way to add a chart or graph to your lens but I do hope it was helpful to some of the newer Squidoo'ers out there.

There are many alternatives to some of the steps I suggest... ie making a JPEG file of your chart or graph can be accomplished in other ways instead of cutting it out of your spreadsheet program and pasting it into an image-editing program.

There are also other ways the JPEG file of your chart or graph can be added to your lens. One way is to use basic HTML to add it to other modules instead of the "Text with BIG Picture" module suggested here.

If you have your own tricks or tips, please suggest them below or use the SquidU "Tricks of the Trade" forum.

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Hi everyone. I'm a mom of three (five if you count the dogs !) We live in New Jersey but I'm originally from Yonkers, NY.

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