Move a Chart to Another Sheet in ExcelLearn how to move a chart to another sheet or a chart sheet

Written By:
Patrick Louie

If you don’t already know, Excel has this nifty feature that lets you insert charts (and you have a choice of what type of chart to insert too!).

Now, when you insert a chart in Excel, it will be created in the same worksheet as the source dataset by default.

For example, let’s say that the source dataset is located in Sheet1.

If you insert a chart using the source dataset, it will be created in the same sheet, which is Sheet1.

This is fine and all if you want the chart to appear on the same sheet as its source data (i.e. reference).

But what if you want it to appear on another sheet?

Such as a such as sheet that is dedicated to housing multiple charts?

Or a sheet that only has the chart and nothing else (not even gridlines)?

Well, you’d have to know how to move the chart then.

In this article, we’ll be discussing how to move charts to another sheet in Excel.

Whether it be moving the chart as an object or converting it into a chart sheet, you’ll learn it all here.

By the end of the article, you should be able to reliably move your charts to any sheet that you need to.

Let’s get started.

Chart Object and Chart Sheet

Before we get into the how of moving a chart in Excel, let’s get to know first what’s a chart object as well as a chart sheet.

It’s important to distinguish between these two because it will influence how we’ll move the chart.

By default, when you insert a new chart in Excel, it is treated as a chart object.

A chart object is like any other inserted object in Excel. It sits above the worksheet, which means that it can obstruct some of the cells from view.

Also, you can freely move it around the sheet.

Speaking of cells, a chart object isn’t a part of any of the cells in the worksheet.

On the other hand, a chart sheet is a sheet that only contains the chart. It doesn’t have any cells or tables.

It doesn’t even have gridlines like a regular sheet would have. What a chart sheet only has is the chart.

Now that we’ve discussed what the two are, we can now discuss how to move a chart in Excel.

Move Chart as a Chart Object in Excel

Let’s discuss first how to move a chart as a chart object. There are primarily two ways to move a chart to another sheet as a chart object:

  • Move the chart via the Chart Design tab
  • Copy the chart and then paste it on another sheet

Note that in both methods, the sheet to where you’ll transfer the chart as a chart object should already exist.

Move the chart via the Chart Design tab

The Chart Design tab is a contextual tab that appears when you select a chart in Excel.

We’ll be using this tab to move a chart to another sheet.

For example, let’s say we want to move this chart to the “Charts” sheet.

   

To do so, we’ll be using the Chart Design tab.

  • Select the chart (click on it). This should make the Chart Design tab appear.

  • Open the Chart Design tab. On the rightmost side of the ribbon, you should see the Move Chart button. Click it.

  • The Move Chart dialog box should pop up. It will give us the option to move the chart to a new sheet (chart sheet) or move it as a chart object to an existing sheet in the same workbook. Chose the second option (move the chart as a chart object). Then, in the dropdown box, select the sheet where you want to transfer the chart as a chart object (in our illustration, this will be the “Charts” sheet). Click the OK button after doing so.

  • We have successfully transferred the chart (as a chart object) to another sheet.

Do note that using this method will not leave a copy of the chart. It will remove the chart from the original worksheet. If you want to leave a copy of the chart in the original sheet, you should make a copy of the chart. Or, you can use this other method.

Copy the chart and then paste it on another sheet (move via copy-pasting)

The good ol’ reliable copy-paste method also works if you want to move a chart (as a chart object) to another sheet. The steps are pretty simple:

  • Select the chart. Then copy it (the easiest way to copy the chart is to press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + C).
  • Then, open the sheet where you want to transfer the chart. Select any cell of the sheet where you want to have the chart to appear.
  • Paste the copied chart on the destination sheet (the easiest way to do so is to press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + V).

This should move the chart to the other sheet while leaving a copy in the original sheet.

Convert the Chart Into a Chart Sheet (Move Chart to a Chart Sheet)

Say you want to have a sheet that is dedicated to a particular. Moving the chart to a chart sheet is the best course of action for you.

The steps in doing so are similar to moving the chart as a chart object via the Chart Design tab.

For example, let’s say that want to create a chart sheet for the same chart:

Let’s move it to a chart sheet:

  • Select the chart (click on it). This should make the Chart Design tab appear.

  • Open the Chart Design tab. On the rightmost side of the ribbon, you should see the Move Chart button. Click it.

  • The Move Chart dialog box should pop up. It will give us the option to move the chart to a new sheet (chart sheet) or move it as a chart object to an existing sheet in the same workbook. Chose the first option (move the chart to a new sheet). Then, in the text box after “New Sheet”, enter the name of the chart sheet (in our illustration, this will be the “Sales in ($)” sheet). Click the OK button after doing so.

  • We have successfully moved the chart into a chart sheet.

You can move other charts to this sheet but they will always be inserted as chart objects.

Use VBA to Move Multiple Charts to Another Sheet in Excel

Moving charts to another sheet isn’t exactly a chore, especially if they’re located on one sheet.

But what if the charts are scattered across different sheets?

What if you want to have all the charts appear on one sheet, sort of like a chart dashboard?

If you know how to use VBA, then there’s a quick and easy solution for you. Just copy this code:

Sub MoveCharts()

Dim chartObject As Object

Dim SheetwithCharts As Worksheet

For Each SheetwithCharts In Application.ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets

If SheetwithCharts.Name <> "Charts" Then

For Each chartObject In SheetwithCharts.ChartObjects

chartObject.Chart.Location xlLocationAsObject, "Charts"

Next chartObject

End If

Next SheetwithCharts

End Sub

Note that the “Charts” attribute in lines 5 and 7 refers to the name of the destination sheet. You may change it if you have another name for such a sheet.

Any changes made with this VBA code are final and cannot be undone.

As such, it is recommended that you create a copy of the workbook before moving charts using the VBA code.

How to Copy Code in VBA

  • Open the Developer tab. On the leftmost side of the ribbon, you should see the Visual Basic button. Click it.
  • In the VBA window, open the Insert tab. Then, select Module.
  • Paste the VBA code in the new module window.
  • To run the code, press the F5 key.

Conclusion

And those are the ways you can move a chart in Excel.

You can move a chart to an existing sheet as a chart object.

You can also move the chart to a new sheet to convert it into a chart sheet.

And with that, you should now be able to move your charts to any sheet that you want.