Google Sheets is finally catching up to Excel with support for more chart types

Box and whisker charts are useful for displaying the distribution of data within a population. While they have long been a staple for Microsoft Excel, that hasn’t been the case for Google Sheets. However, Google is fixing that problem with a new update.

Google Sheets is finally gaining native support for box and whisker charts. When you want to create one, you’ll just have to select a range of raw numeric values. Google says Sheets will automatically calculate the minimum, first quartile, median, third quartile, maximum, mean, and outliers for you. And best of all, you won’t need to use any helper formulas to accomplish this.

Additionally, you’ll have the freedom to choose inclusive or exclusive quartile calculation and show or hide inner points, outliers, mean markers, and mean lines. The update also improves Microsoft Excel compatibility, preserving box and whisker chart imports with their data references, calculations, and formatting intact. Previously, Google Sheets would drop the chart entirely if an import contained one.

The rollout of box and whisker chart support is starting today. It will be available to all Workspace customers and users with personal Google accounts. The company warns that it could take up to 15 days for feature visibility.