Excel – Plot multiple sets of x,y data on a single chart

The simplest solution is to use "helper" columns to break each category into its own series, which can then be independantly formatted. For instance, in Column D:

1. Create a header called Cat1.
2. For each data row, enter the forumula =IF(B2="Cat1",B2,NA()). This will enter a value for all Cat1 rows, and #N/A for all others (#N/A points won't plot on an Excel Chart).
3. Create your Scatter chart with Date as your X Axis and each Helper Column for your Y Axis.

Here's an example of what it could look like:

To further simplify things, you can format your data as an Excel Table and that will speed up the creation of your categories by automatically filling the series data. Here's what it could look like:

Another name for scatter chart is XY chart. This type of graph plots Y values against X values, so both are required. The X axis is a continuous numerical value and something needs to define where to place values along it. On something like a line chart, the X values are just categories, so what goes on the X axis doesn't need to be explicitly defined (successive entries are just stacked next to each other). With a scatter chart, when you select just Y values, Excel uses some kind of built-in rule to define something for X values.

To plot what you are looking for, enter each dataset as a separate data series. You can enter X and Y columns to create the first series, then add each remaining series. Or, highlight the three Y columns to get the process started and then edit each data series to add the X values.

By default, Excel will use a different marker symbol for each series and will create a legend. You can delete the legend and edit the marker symbols so they all match.

If you want to have Excel handle this as a single series using its default settings, you would need to copy the data to a new structure where you actually arranged all of the data into one X and one Y column.