Method and system for improved visualization of charts in spreadsheets

A method of generating a chart visualization, in a single spreadsheet-plus-visualization application that includes spreadsheet cells, spreadsheet predefined functions usable in the spreadsheet cells, and visualization capabilities for charting of non-spreadsheet cell external data, including:

• a chart visualization module of the single spreadsheet-plus-visualization application:
• receiving user specifications of
• a chart type,
• a source of the external data,
• at least a first field of the external data holding values of labels,
• at least a second field, different from the first field, of the external data holding values of legends, wherein each value of legends accounts for a respective label of the labels,
• at least a third and fourth field of numeric values from the external data, wherein the third and fourth fields are distinct columns of data,
• at least a first and a second spreadsheet predefined function and
• an algebraic formula that connects at least the first spreadsheet predefined function employing at least the third field in one of its arguments by an algebraic operator to at least the second predefined function employing at least the fourth field in one of its arguments;
• ordering, in response to receiving the user specifications, the external data based on combinations of the labels of the first field and the legends of the second field and using the labels and the legends for the chart visualization;
• and
• generating, based on the ordering, the chart visualization with the labels and legends in the single spreadsheet-plus-visualization application, with the algebraic formula using the first and second spreadsheet predefined functions and the third and fourth fields applied to values grouped by the combinations of labels from the first field and legends from the second field, without instantiating the external data and without instantiating chart plot points into any range of the spreadsheet cells.