XL: Category Axis Labels May Appear Twice in Chart

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

In the versions of Microsoft Excel listed at the beginning of this article, two sets of labels may appear below the category axis in a chart.

CAUSE

This problem occurs when the following conditions are true:

• You create a chart that contains two value axes and at least two series.

  -and-

• You rotate the labels on the secondary value axis from 1 to 89 degrees.

  To do this, follow these steps:

      1. Select the secondary value axis.
  

      2. On the Format menu, click Selected Axis. Click the Alignment tab.
  

      3. Set the alignment to a value from 1 to 89, inclusive. Then, click
         OK.
  

      -and-
  

• You add a data table to the chart.

  To do this, follow these steps:

      1. On the Chart menu, click Chart Options. Click the Data Table tab.
  

      2. Click to select the Show Data Table check box. Then, click OK.
  

In some cases, the problem occurs only if you change the font used by the category axis in any way. For example, you change the font or font size.

NOTE: This problem does not occur if you rotate the labels on the primary value axis or if you rotate the labels on the secondary value axis to 90 or 0 (zero) degrees or to any negative number.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, remove one of the sets of labels by following these steps:

1. Select the category axis.

2. On the Format menu, click Selected Axis. Click the Font tab.

3. In the Color list, select the color that is the same as the background color of the chart. (Usually, this color is white). In the Background list, click Transparent.

4. Click OK.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

Example

To see an example of this problem, follow these steps:

1. Create a new workbook. Enter the following values in Sheet1:

         A1:        B1: 1st Qtr   C1: 2nd Qtr   D1: 3rd Qtr   E1: 4th Qtr
         A2: East   B2: 20        C2: 30        D2: 90        E2: 20
         A3: West   B3: 30        C3: 40        D3: 35        D3: 30
   
   

2. Select cells A1:D3, and then click the Chart Wizard tool on the Standard toolbar. In the list of chart types, select Column. Then, click Finish.

   A new chart appears in the worksheet.

3. Select the category axis. Use the Font Size tool on the Formatting toolbar to increase the font size of the axis labels by one or two points.

4. Select the second series (West) in the chart. On the Format menu, click Selected Data Series.

5. Click the Axis tab. Click Secondary Axis and click OK.

6. On the Chart menu, click Chart Options. Click the Data Table tab. Click to select the Show Data Table check box, and then click OK.

   The data table appears below the chart.

7. Select the secondary value axis on the right side of the chart.

8. On the Format menu, click Selected Axis. Click the Alignment tab. Set the alignment to between 1 and 89 degrees and click OK.

If you use the steps in the "Workaround" section, the second set of labels disappears.