If you want to enter data at the time you create the chart, use the chart data sheet. The data sheet consists of rows and columns, and you can copy and paste information within it. When you enter data in the data sheet, the chart automatically updates to reflect the data. Each series row or column is highlighted with a different color in the data sheet; each color corresponds to the color of the associated data marker in the chart, making it easy to distinguish between series.

The Spreadsheet Component is a Microsoft Office Web Component that you can use to display calculations in a spreadsheet on a Web page. Your users can use and change the data in the spreadsheet in their Web browsers. When data in the spreadsheet is changed, the chart that uses it is updated. The spreadsheet and the chart must be on the same Web page.

You can create a spreadsheet in any design program that supports the Microsoft Office Web Components, such as Microsoft Access or Microsoft FrontPage. If you already have data in a worksheet in Microsoft Excel, you can publish that data as an interactive spreadsheet. You can also create a chart that uses the worksheet data in Excel, and when you publish the chart as an interactive chart, an interactive spreadsheet is also published. For more information about publishing spreadsheet controls, see Help for your design program.

The PivotTable Component is an Office Web Component that you can use to present data from a database or other source on a Web page. Your users can interact with the PivotTable list in their Web browsers.

When you create a chart based on a PivotTable list, the chart can be filtered and sorted, and its layout rearranged as in the PivotTable list. When data in the PivotTable list is changed, the chart is automatically updated, and when data in a chart based on a PivotTable list is manipulated, the PivotTable list is automatically updated to match. For example, if you remove a field from a chart, the same field is removed from the PivotTable list. The PivotTable list and the chart must be on the same Web page.

Before creating a chart based on a PivotTable list, you must create, design, and access the necessary data for the PivotTable list. You can create a PivotTable list in a design program that supports the Microsoft Office Web Components, such as data access page Design view in Microsoft Access, or you can publish a PivotTable list from Microsoft Excel. For more information about creating a PivotTable list, see Help for your design program.

You can base a chart on data from any table, query, or view that you have access to from within your design program. For instance, you can use data in a table or query in a Microsoft Access database or an Access project connected to a Microsoft SQL Server database. When the data is updated and you refresh the page the chart is on, the chart updates. You can also add, remove, sort, and filter fields in the chart to organize the data in different ways.

Depending on the type of database you want to access and the design program you're using, you might need to set up a data source or other means of access to the data, and then set up access permissions. A data source is a stored piece of information, sometimes in the form of a text file, that contains the name of the database driver and other pertinent information that's used to establish a connection and retrieve data. For information about how to access data from a database, see Help for your design program.

A data source control is a control used by some programs to connect to data. For example, when you place a database form on a data access page in Microsoft Access, a data source control is used to connect the data from the database to the Web page. When you base a chart on such a control, the connection information is already established. For more information about using a data source control, see Help for your design program.