Chart advanced settings

Change the chart settings by clicking the Advanced settings button on the Chart Design tab. The Chart — Advanced Settings window will open.

General

The General tab allows you to change the Chart name.

Layout

The Layout tab allows you to change the layout of chart elements.

• Specify the Chart title position in regard to your chart by selecting the necessary option from the drop-down list:

  • None to display no chart title,
  • Overlay to overlay and center the title in the plot area,
  • No overlay to display the title above the plot area.

• Specify the Legend position in regard to your chart by selecting the necessary option from the drop-down list:

  • None to display no legend,
  • Bottom to display the legend and align it to the bottom of the plot area,
  • Top to display the legend and align it to the top of the plot area,
  • Right to display the legend and align it to the right of the plot area,
  • Left to display the legend and align it to the left of the plot area,
  • Left overlay to overlay and center the legend to the left of the plot area,
  • Right overlay to overlay and center the legend to the right of the plot area.

• Specify the Data labels (i.e., text labels that represent exact values of data points) parameters:

  • Specify the Data Labels position relative to the data points, selecting the necessary option from the drop-down list. The available options vary depending on the selected chart type.

    • For Column/Bar charts, you can choose the following options: None, Center, Inner bottom, Inner top, Outer top.
    • For Line/XY (Scatter)/Stock charts, you can choose the following options: None, Center, Left, Right, Top, Bottom.
    • For Pie charts, you can choose the following options: None, Center, Fit to width, Inner top, Outer top.
    • For Area charts as well as for 3D Column, Line, Bar, Radar, and Combo charts, you can choose the following options: None, Center.

  • Select the data you wish to include in your labels by checking the corresponding boxes: Series name, Category name, Value,

  • Enter a character (comma, semicolon, etc.) you wish to use to separate several labels into the Data labels separator entry field.

• Lines — is used to choose a line style for Line/XY (Scatter) charts. You can choose one of the following options: Straight to use straight lines among data points, Smooth to use smooth curves among data points, or None not to display lines.

• Markers — is used to specify whether the markers should be displayed (if the box is checked) or not (if the box is unchecked) for Line/XY (Scatter) charts.

  note

  The Lines and Markers options are available for Line charts and XY (Scatter) charts only.

Vertical axis

The Vertical axis tab allows you to change the parameters of the vertical axis also referred to as the values axis or y-axis which displays numeric values. Note that the vertical axis will be the category axis which displays text labels for the Bar charts, therefore in this case the Vertical Axis tab options will correspond to the ones described in the next section. For the XY (Scatter) charts, both axes are value axes.

note

The Axis Settings and Gridlines sections will be disabled for Pie charts, since charts of this type have no axes and gridlines.

• Select Hide to hide the vertical axis in the chart, or leave it unchecked to have the vertical axis displayed.

• Specify Title orientation by selecting the necessary option from the drop-down list:

  • None to display no vertical axis title,
  • Rotated to display the title from bottom to top to the left of the vertical axis,
  • Horizontal to display the title horizontally to the left of the vertical axis.

• Gridlines are used to specify the vertical gridlines to display by selecting the necessary option from the drop-down list: None, Major, Minor, or Major and minor.

• Axis Crosses — is used to specify a point on the vertical axis where the horizontal axis should cross it. The Auto option is selected by default, in this case, the intersection point value of the axes is calculated automatically depending on the selected data range. You can select the Value option from the drop-down list and specify a different value in the entry field on the right, or set the intersection point of the axes at the Minimum/Maximum Value on the vertical axis.

• Axis Position — is used to specify whether you want the text labels to be on the tick marks or between tick marks.

• Values in reverse order — is used to display values in the opposite direction. When the box is unchecked, the lowest value is at the bottom and the highest value is at the top of the axis. When the box is checked, the values are ordered from top to bottom.

• The Tick Options section allows adjusting the appearance of tick marks on the vertical scale. Major tick marks are the larger scale divisions, which can have labels displaying numeric values. Minor tick marks are the scale subdivisions which are placed between the major tick marks and have no labels. Tick marks also define where gridlines can be displayed if the corresponding option is set on the Layout tab. The Major/Minor type drop-down lists contain the following placement options:

  • None to display no major/minor tick marks,
  • Cross to display major/minor tick marks on both sides of the axis,
  • In to display major/minor tick marks inside the axis,
  • Out to display major/minor tick marks outside the axis.

  The Interval between Marks setting allows you to set the distance between tick marks manually.

• The Label options section allows adjusting the appearance of major tick mark labels, which display values. To specify a Label position in regard to the vertical axis, select the necessary option from the drop-down list:

  • None to display no tick mark labels,

  • Low to display tick mark labels to the left of the plot area,

  • High to display tick mark labels to the right of the plot area,

  • Next to axis to display tick mark labels next to the axis.

  • Set the Axis Label Distance and the Interval between Labels to further customize label positioning. For the interval, you can either select the Auto option or determine it manually.

  • To specify a Label format, click the Label format button, and choose a category as deemed appropriate.

    Available label format categories:

    • General
    • Number
    • Scientific
    • Accounting
    • Currency
    • Date
    • Time
    • Percentage
    • Fraction
    • Text
    • Custom

    Label format options vary depending on the selected category. For more information on changing the number format, go to this page.

  • Check Linked to source to keep number formatting from the data source in the chart.

Horizontal axis

The Horizontal axis tab allows you to change the parameters of the horizontal axis also referred to as the categories axis or x-axis that displays text labels. Note that the horizontal axis will be the value axis that displays numeric values for the Bar charts, therefore in this case the Horizontal axis tab options will correspond to the ones described in the previous section. For the XY (Scatter) charts, both axes are value axes.

• Select Hide to hide the horizontal axis in the chart, or leave it unchecked to have the horizontal axis displayed.

• Specify Title orientation by selecting the necessary option from the drop-down list:

  • None when you don't want to display a horizontal axis title,
  • No overlay to display the title below the horizontal axis.

• Gridlines are used to specify the horizontal gridlines to display by selecting the necessary option from the drop-down list: None, Major, Minor, or Major and Minor.

• Minimum value — is used to specify the lowest value displayed at the horizontal axis start. The Auto option is selected by default, in this case, the minimum value is calculated automatically depending on the selected data range. You can select the Fixed option from the drop-down list and specify a different value in the entry field on the right.

• Maximum value — is used to specify the highest value displayed at the horizontal axis end. The Auto option is selected by default, in this case, the maximum value is calculated automatically depending on the selected data range. You can select the Fixed option from the drop-down list and specify a different value in the entry field on the right.

• Axis crosses — is used to specify a point on the horizontal axis where the horizontal axis should cross it. The Auto option is selected by default, in this case, the intersection point value of the axes is calculated automatically depending on the selected data range. You can select the Value option from the drop-down list and specify a different value in the entry field on the right, or set the intersection point of the axes at the Minimum/Maximum value (that corresponds to the first and last category) on the horizontal axis.

• Axis position — is used to specify where the axis text labels should be placed: On tick marks or Between tick marks.

• Values in reverse order — is used to display categories in the opposite direction. When the box is unchecked, categories are displayed from left to right. When the box is checked, the categories are ordered from right to left.

• Logarithmic scale — is used to enable logarithmic scaling to the Base that is determined by the user.

• The Tick Options section allows adjusting the appearance of tick marks on the horizontal scale. Major tick marks are the larger divisions that can have labels displaying category values. Minor tick marks are the smaller divisions that are placed between the major tick marks and have no labels. Tick marks also define where gridlines can be displayed if the corresponding option is set on the Layout tab. You can adjust the following tick mark parameters:

  • Major/Minor type — is used to specify the following placement options: None to display no major/minor tick marks, Cross to display major/minor tick marks on both sides of the axis, In to display major/minor tick marks inside the axis, Out to display major/minor tick marks outside the axis.

• The Label options section allows adjusting the appearance of labels that display categories.

  • Label position — is used to specify where the labels should be placed in regard to the horizontal axis. Select the necessary option from the drop-down list: None to display no category labels, Low to display category labels at the bottom of the plot area, High to display category labels at the top of the plot area, Next to axis to display category labels next to the axis.

  • To specify a Label format, click the Label format button and choose a category as deemed appropriate.

    Available label format categories:

    • General
    • Number
    • Scientific
    • Accounting
    • Currency
    • Date
    • Time
    • Percentage
    • Fraction
    • Text
    • Custom

    Label format options vary depending on the selected category. For more information on changing the number format, go to this page.

  • Check Linked to source to keep number formatting from the data source in the chart.

Placement

The Placement tab allows you to adjust the size and positioning of the chart.

• The Size section contains the settings for the width and height parameters of the chart. Enter the values manually or use the arrows. Click the Constant proportions icon to preserve the aspect ratio.

• The Position section contains the following settings:

  • Horizontal — enter the value for horizontal positioning manually or use the arrows. Choose where you want it to start from the top left corner or from the center.
  • Vertical — enter the value for vertical positioning manually or use the arrows. Choose where you want it to start from the top left corner or from the center.

Alternative text

The Alternative text tab allows specifying the Title and Description which will be read to people with vision or cognitive impairments.