ONLYOFFICE Spreadsheet Editor · Charts and visualization · Intermediate
Use combination and scatter charts for mixed measures and relationships in ONLYOFFICE
Choose mixed-unit combo charts or true numeric scatter spacing and check changed inputs.
Documentation reviewed; native checks remain manual · Editorial standards
Quick answer
Use a Combo chart when two measures share categories but have different units. Use an XY Scatter chart when horizontal spacing must represent numeric distances. A second axis can make mixed measures readable, but it also makes casual comparisons of line height misleading.
Scope and sample data
Use the English desktop interface in ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors 10.0.0. Chart Design was introduced in desktop 9.4.0; older screenshots showing only sidebar controls are not the workflow below. This task uses editable chart objects in XLSX, not CSV.
Enter the following in A1:C4:
| Month | Units | Conversion rate |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0.10 |
| Feb | 150 | 0.15 |
| Mar | 120 | 0.12 |
The third column contains fractions: 0.10 means 10%, not 0.10%. Keep a separate numeric fixture in E1:F4 with headers Hours and Output and the pairs (1,10), (2,20), (10,100). These are two different questions, so build two charts rather than forcing all five columns into one.
Build the mixed-measure chart
- Select A1:C4 and use Insert > Chart to choose a Combo chart.
- Select the chart to expose Chart Design. Open Chart type and, in the Combo Charts settings, assign the Units series to columns and Conversion rate to a line.
- Place Conversion rate on the secondary axis. ONLYOFFICE documents secondary-axis support for Combo charts; do not assume the same setting exists for every chart type.
- Use Chart Design > Select Data to inspect the chart’s source rectangle and legend entries. Month must provide categories, not a third numeric series.
- Use Chart Elements and Advanced settings to make the title, legend and axis presentation understandable. Identify the primary measure as units and the secondary measure as conversion rate. Check that percentage formatting, where used, shows 10%, 15% and 12%, not 1,000%, 1,500% and 1,200%.
The units total is 370, but a sum of conversion percentages is not a meaningful overall conversion rate without underlying counts. Do not add a “total rate” category merely because the chart has a second series.
Build the relationship chart
Select E1:F4 and insert an XY Scatter chart. Check that Hours is the horizontal numeric variable and Output is the vertical variable. The point at x=2 should be close to x=1; the point at x=10 should be much farther away. The gaps are 1 hour and 8 hours, not two equal category intervals.
If the chart shows two series instead of one relationship, inspect its source and series settings through Chart Design > Select Data. A line chart with category labels 1, 2 and 10 can look plausible while concealing this spacing difference. It answers a different visual question.
Test changes rather than trusting appearance
Change March conversion to 0.20. The line should now show March above February, while March units remain 120 and the units total remains 370. Restore 0.12 afterward. For the scatter chart, change the final Hours value from 10 to 5 without changing Output=100. Its final point should move left while remaining at the same vertical value.
If a change is absent, inspect the source range before recreating the chart. If the line seems flat, verify that its fractional values use the intended axis. Do not adjust axis limits simply to exaggerate a trend. Save, reopen, and check series names, sources and axes again; inspect any PDF export separately because it is a presentation copy, not an editable chart model. For a compact alternative, see in-cell sparklines.
Sources and verification
Official documentation snapshots retrieved on 20 October 2026 support the procedures above. The worked checks are independently reasoned expectations, not a report of native application testing. Save/reopen, rendering and platform behavior remain checks for the stated installation.