If you want to use a particular combination of chart formats repeatedly, it’s best to store the formatting information in a template. To do this, first set up a chart that exemplifies the formats you want to reuse. Then select the chart, click the Design tab under Chart Tools, and click Save As Template in the Type group. You are asked to supply a name. Excel stores your template under that file name in the folder %Appdata%MicrosoftTemplatesCharts, with the extension .crtx. But you don’t need to go looking for it there; if you ever need to delete, copy, or rename the template file, select a chart, click the Design tab under Chart Tools, and click Change Chart Type in the Type group. In the Change Chart Type dialog box, click Manage Templates. This opens a Windows Explorer window listing all your templates.

After you create a template, you can use it the same way you would use any of the built-in chart types. To create a new chart using the template, select your data, click the Insert tab on the ribbon, click any of the chart-type icons in the Charts group, and then click All Chart Types at the bottom of the gallery that appears. In the Insert Chart dialog box, select Templates. As Figure 19-3 shows, all your defined templates appear (without their file names) under My Templates.

Figure 19-3. Your defined templates appear in their own area, accessible by clicking Templates in the Insert Chart or Change Chart Type dialog box.

To apply one of your templates to an existing chart, select the chart, click the Design tab under Chart Tools, click Change Chart Type in the Type group, and then select Templates in the Change Chart Type dialog box. Select the template you want to apply, and then click OK.