xy charts??

for 5 pairs of value I would layout like this.

A2:A6 contains X values
B2:B6 contains Y values
B1 contains text to label series

Select A1:B6 and create a single series XY scatter.

Tks for realtime response! I'll have to experiment with this because in my case there is no direct correlation between the values in A2:A6 and B2:B6 as would be implied (both are "independent"). May be the xy graph function can accomodate this somehow. I have got my raw data set out in 2-D matrix form but haven't yet tried to "scatter" graph it.

You will need to alter the layout of your data.
Creating a 2 column list where each Row value is repeated for the unique Col value.

Sorry you've lost me there. I have attached an imaginary simple example of what I am trying to chart. May be you could show me what you mean using this.

This uses the index formula with a few IF tests to suppress empty matrix cells for outputting point or label.

Brill, I think that's the solution though I admit it is more complex than I had first imagined. I had to refresh my understanding of index (vs vlookup and hlookup) and it will require quite some work to adapt the solution to my original data which is more comprehensive (umpteen rows) than the example. I hope your workings are not copyright! Tks.