Charts are a staple in creating dashboards and reporting. It's only natural that Excel supports many chart types with various features. The ability to save templates is very useful for quick access to frequently used chart types. In this guide, we’re going to show how to save an Excel chart template, and also go over re-using and deleting any existing templates.
Saving an Excel chart template
Start by creating a chart you want to save as a template. Follow the steps below depending on your Excel version. The steps for both versions will save the template as a crtx file under the Charts folder in a special location.
Excel 2013 and newer
- Right-click the chart, and click on Save as Template
- In the File dialog, enter a name for your chart template, and click Save
Excel 2007-2010
- Click the chart you want to save
- Follow the Design > Type > Save as Template path in the Ribbon (toolbar of Excel)
- In the File dialog, enter a name for your chart template, and click Save
Create a chart from a template
- Start by selecting the data you want to visualize
- Activate the Insert tab in the Ribbon
- Click the tiny arrow in the Charts group to open the Insert Chart dialog
- In the Insert Chart dialog, activate All Charts tab and select Templates in the left panel
- This section lists your templates in the …\Templates\Charts It is important that you don’t change the default folder when saving new templates. Click the template you want and click the OK button to create a chart.
Apply a template to an existing chart
To apply an Excel chart template to an existing chart, you need to open the Change Chart Type dialog and select the template you want.
The dialog is identical to the Insert Chart dialog. Click the Change Chart Type item, either on the right-click menu or in the Ribbon.
Find your template in All Charts > Template, select it, and click OK to apply.
Deleting a template
To delete a template, you need to remove the crtx file from your computer.
- Open either the Insert Chart or Change Chart Type dialog
- Activate All Charts and Templates
- Click the Manage Templates button to open the folder which contains the template files
- Delete the file(s) of templates you want to remove
