Home / Statistical Tools / Analysis Tools / Run Chart / How-To / With X Column
With X Column¶
When you have a date or time column alongside your measurements, select it as the X column to display actual dates on the X-axis instead of observation numbers.
Goal¶
Create a run chart showing temperature readings over a 10-day period with dates on the X-axis.
Sample Data¶
Press Copy for Excel, then paste the table into a blank worksheet.
| Date | Temperature |
|---|---|
| 1/1/2025 | 72.1 |
| 1/2/2025 | 73.4 |
| 1/3/2025 | 71.8 |
| 1/4/2025 | 74.2 |
| 1/5/2025 | 73.0 |
| 1/6/2025 | 75.1 |
| 1/7/2025 | 72.6 |
| 1/8/2025 | 74.8 |
| 1/9/2025 | 73.5 |
| 1/10/2025 | 76.0 |
Each row represents one daily temperature reading. The Date column provides the X-axis values, giving context to when each measurement was taken.
Steps¶
-
Put the data in Excel
Press Copy for Excel above the table, click cell A1 in a blank worksheet, and press Ctrl+V. The header row lands in row 1 and the 10 data rows in rows 2 through 11.
-
Launch the analysis
From the Excel ribbon, select QXL Stat Tools → Analysis Tools → Run Chart.
-
Select your data
Select cells A1:B11 (the header row plus all 10 data rows across both columns).
-
Configure the analysis
In the Run Chart dialog:
- X Column: "Date" should be selected
- Y Columns: "Temperature" should be checked
Click Finish to generate the chart.
Result¶
Quantum XL creates a run chart with dates on the X-axis and temperature on the Y-axis. The date labels provide meaningful context: you can see exactly when each reading occurred rather than just its position in the sequence.