Creating charts with LibreOffice Calc
Plotting and Data Visualization
Everybody needs charts sooner or later, and LibreOffice Calc is the easiest way to create them with free and open source software.
Modern life is full of numbers. Even if one is not a mathematician, sooner or later comes the day when it's necessary to quickly understand or share with others the relationships among numbers. This tutorial introduces what is probably the simplest way to do just that with free software, the charts in LibreOffice Calc [1]. But are they charts or graphs? Let's clear up that question first.
Charts vs. Graphs
Both charts and graphs are tools to summarize and present information in a visual way. While most people use the two terms as if they were synonyms, strictly speaking, they aren't [2]. Some of the reasons are shown in Figure 1, but basically charts summarize datasets in ways that are (hopefully) intuitive and engaging, for example, with bars, pies, or other symbols. The primary purpose of charts is to convey the high-level meaning of data and the connections within it.
Figure 1: All graphs are charts, but not all charts are graphs [2].
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.
-
Linux Kernel 6.14 Released
The latest Linux kernel has arrived with extra Rust support and more.
-
EndeavorOS Mercury Neo Available
A new release from the EndeavorOS team ships with Plasma 6.3 and other goodies.
-
Fedora 42 Beta Has Arrived
The Fedora Project has announced the availability of the first beta release for version 42 of the open-source distribution.
-
Dash to Panel Maintainer Quits
Charles Gagnon has stepped away as maintainer of the popular Dash to Panel Gnome extension.
-
CIQ Releases Security-Hardened Version of Rocky Linux
If you're looking for an enterprise-grade Linux distribution that is hardened for business use, there's a new version of Rocky Linux that's sure to make you and your company happy.
-
Gnome’s Dash to Panel Extension Gets a Massive Update
If you're a fan of the Gnome Dash to Panel extension, you'll be thrilled to hear that a new version has been released with a dock mode.
-
Blender App Makes it to the Big Screen
The animated film "Flow" won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards held on March 2, 2025 and Blender was a part of it.
-
Linux Mint Retools the Cinnamon App Launcher
The developers of Linux Mint are working on an improved Cinnamon App Launcher with a better, more accessible UI.
-
New Linux Tool for Security Issues
Seal Security is launching a new solution to automate fixing Linux vulnerabilities.