Graphs: New data does not update properly

[Schonberg]

A client sent me an AI graph and some excel data to update it with, but when I enter any new data and hit ok, the chart clearly does not update properly. I have asked the client if it does it on his end still but aside from that, he is defintley expecting me to figure it out. Hoping someone has seen this before and I can solve it. Do not want to have to tell the client it must be the way he build the files but I will if I know its true. Not looking to build them over from scratch or hand make the graph just to get the job done, either. Looking to find out of it is fixable or is it the way they were made, incorrectly?

[Bill Silbert]

Using the built-in spread sheet to update an existing graph will usually work erratically (it usually tries to "snap back" to something akin to what the graph looked like before it was styled) or stop working altogether once there has been significant styling done to the graph such as changing the proportions or altering manually the "look" of the graph elements. Also, since the graph feature goes back to the 1990s with little or no updating many of Illustrator's later features don't even work with a graph. For example you can't use the Transform Panel to change the height or width of any element of a graph. When you click on any graph element the Transform Panel will be greyed out.

What I usually do when using the feature is keep a copy of the graph as it's first created with all strokes and fills set to "None". I then put the now "invisible" copy somewhere outside the artboard. If I need any changes done to a graph that is no longer controlled by the spread sheet I can then switch to the Outline mode—to see my "invisible" copy—and apply the changes to it. I can then apply the changes manually to the stylized version using my invisible copy as a template. Since you don't actually have the earliest versions of your client's graphs, I realize that the information I'm giving may not help very much at this point.

[Schonberg]

This helps a lot Bill!

[Bill Silbert]

Happy to help.