XL: How to Add Text to the X or Y Axis on a Chart

• Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0c
• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 5.0, 5.0a
• Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel, when you try to add text to the x-axis or y-axis of a chart, you are unable to manually edit the numbers on the axis to change them to text.

WORKAROUND

To enter the word at a certain point on the axis, you must apply a custom number format to the axis.

Example

In this example, the word "minimum" will appear for the lowest value of the chart and the word "maximum" will appear for the highest value. To create this example, use the following steps:

1. On a new sheet, enter the following:

         A1: 1
         A2: 1000
   

2. Select cells A1:A2, and press F11 to create a chart.

3. Click the y-axis to activate it.

4. On the Format menu, click Selected Axis.

   The Format Axis dialog box appears.

5. In the Format Axis dialog box, select the Number tab.

6. In Microsoft Excel version 5.0, under Category, click the Number. In versions 7.0 and later, click the Custom category.

7. Select any format code and clear the contents of the Type box.

8. In the Type box, type the following text

         [=minvalue] "Minimum";[=maxvalue] "Maximum"
   

   where minvalue is the minimum data value, and maxvalue is the maximum data value.

   For example, if the minimum value is 0 and the maximum is 1000, type:

         [=0] "minimum";[=1000] "maximum"
   

MORE INFORMATION

Once you have created a chart, you can enhance it by adding data labels, chart and axis titles, a legend, and gridlines. To add these items to a chart, you can use the commands on the Insert menu or the shortcut menu. Some of these items can also be added when you're creating a chart with the ChartWizard.

After an item is on a chart, you can double-click the item to display a formatting dialog box that contains various tabs. Each tab allows you to customize the chart item by adding patterns, colors, and so on. You can also use the commands on the Format menu to format chart items.