Use these options to make formatting changes to the axes in your chart.

Important Depending on the type of the selected axis and the type of your chart, different axis options are available.In this article

Value Axis

Important Most charts display values on the vertical axis and categories on the horizontal axis. Bar charts display values on the horizontal axis, and categories on the vertical axis. XY (scatter) and bubble charts display values on both horizontal and vertical axes.

Minimum Determines the number at which the value axis starts.Auto Uses the default minimum setting that is determined by Microsoft Office Excel. Fixed Allows you to change the default minimum setting. Click this option, and then type the number that you want in the Minimum box.

Maximum Determines the number at which the value axis ends.Auto Uses the default maximum setting that is determined by Office Excel. Fixed Allows you to change the default maximum setting. Click this option, and then type the number that you want in the Maximum box.

Major unit Determines the interval of tick marks and chart gridlines for the major unit.Auto Uses the default major unit setting that is determined by Excel. Fixed Allows you to change the default major unit setting. Click this option, and then type the number that you want in the Major unit box.

Minor unit Determines the interval of tick marks and chart gridlines for the minor unit.Auto Uses the default minor unit setting that is determined by Excel. Fixed Allows you to change the default minor unit setting. Click this option, and then type the number that you want in the Minor unit box.

Values in reverse order To reverse the order of the values on the value axis, select this check box. When you change the order of the values on this axis from bottom to top, the category labels on the category axis flips from the bottom of the chart to the top of the chart. Likewise, when you change the order of the categories from left to right, the value labels flips from the left side of the chart to the right side of the chart.

Logarithmic scale To change the value axis to logarithmic, select this check box. A logarithmic scale cannot be used for negative or zero values.

Display units To change the display units on the value axis, select or type the units that you want in this list box. If you type a value that is not in the list, you must press ENTER to apply the unit.

Show display units label on chart To show a label that describes the units, select this check box. Changing the display unit is useful when the chart values are large numbers that you want to make shorter and more readable on the axis. For example, you can display chart values ranging from 1,000,000 to 50,000,000 as 1 to 50 on the axis and show a label that indicates that the units are expressed in millions.

Major tick mark type Specifies how to display major tick marks. Click None for no major tick marks, Inside to display them on the inside of the axis, Outside to display them on the outside of the axis (the default setting), and Cross to display them on both sides of the axis.

Minor tick mark type Specifies how to display minor tick marks. Click None for no minor tick marks, Inside to display them on the inside of the axis, Outside to display them on the outside of the axis, and Cross to display them on both sides of the axis.

Axis labels Specifies how to display axis labels. Click None for no axis labels, High to display them on the right side of the axis, Low to display them on the left side of the axis, and Next to Axis to display them next to the axis.

Horizontal axis crosses Allows you to change where you want the horizontal (category) axis to cross the vertical (value) axis. For 3-D charts and for charts in 3-D, this option changes to Floor crosses at.Automatic Uses the default setting that is determined by Excel. Axis value Specifies the axis value where the axes will cross. Click this option, and then type the number that you want in the Axis value box. Maximum axis value Specifies that the horizontal (category) axis cross the vertical (value) axis at the highest value on the axis. When you click this option, the category labels are moved to the opposite side of the chart.

Category Axis

Important Most charts display categories on the horizontal axis. Bar charts display categories on the vertical axis and values on the horizontal axis. XY (scatter) and bubble charts display values instead of categories on the horizontal axis.

Interval between tick marks Changes the interval between tick marks. In the Interval between tick marks box, type the number that you want. The number that you type determines how many categories are displayed between the tick marks.

Interval between labels Changes the interval between axis labels.Automatic Uses the default setting that is determined by Excel. Specify interval unit Allows you to specify your own interval unit. Click this option and then, in the Specify interval unit box, type the number that you want. For example, type 1 to display a label for every category, 2 to display a label for every other category, 3 to display a label for every third category, and so on.

Categories in reverse order Reverses the order of categories when you select this check box.

Multi-level axis labels Displays axis labels on more than one line in the chart. Select this check box if the worksheet contains multiple levels of data that can be used for the labels.

Label distance from axis Determines the placement of axis labels. In the Label distance from axis box, type a lower number to place the labels closer to the axis, or type a higher number if you want more distance between the label and the axis.

Axis Type Allows you to specify the axis type that you want to use. For a text or date axis, under Axis Type, click Text axis or Date axis, and then select the appropriate options.Automatically select based on data Selected by default, this option determines the axis type that makes the most sense for your type of data. Text axis Changes the category axis to an axis that displays text only. The text and data points are evenly spaced on a text axis. Date axis Changes the category axis to an axis that displays dates. A date axis displays dates in chronological order at specific intervals or base units, such as the number of days, months, or years, even if the dates on the worksheet are not in order or in the same base units.

Major tick mark type Specifies how to display major tick marks. Click None for no major tick marks, Inside to display them on the inside of the axis, Outside to display them on the outside of the axis (the default setting), and Cross to display them on both sides of the axis.

Minor tick mark type Specifies how to display minor tick marks. Click None for no minor tick marks, Inside to display them on the inside of the axis, Outside to display them on the outside of the axis, and Cross to display them on both sides of the axis.

Axis labels Specifies how to display axis labels. Click None for no axis labels, High to display them on the right side of the axis, Low to display them on the left side of the axis, and Next to Axis to display them next to the axis.

Vertical axis crosses Allows you to change where you want the vertical (value) axis to cross the horizontal (category) axis.Automatic Uses the default setting that is determined by Excel. At category number Specifies the category number where the axes will cross. Click this option, and then type the number that you want in the At category number box. At maximum category Specifies that the vertical (value) axis crosses the horizontal (category) axis after the last category on the x-axis.

Position Axis Affects the way the data points and labels are displayed on the axis. This option is available for 2-D area, column, and line charts.On tick marks Aligns the data points and labels with the tick marks. This option is available for 2-D area, column, and line charts. Between tick marks Displays the data points and labels between the tick marks. This option is available for 2-D area, column, and line charts.

Time Scale Axis

Important A category axis becomes a time scale axis when the Axis Type is set to Date axis.

Minimum Determines the number at which the vertical (value) axis starts.Auto Uses the default minimum setting that is determined by Excel. Fixed Allows you to change the default minimum setting. Click this option, and then type the number that you want in the Minimum box.

Maximum Determines the number at which the date axis ends.Auto Uses the default maximum setting that is determined by Excel. Fixed Allows you to change the default maximum setting. Click this option, and then type the number that you want in the Maximum box.

Major unit Determines the interval of tick marks and chart gridlines for the major unit.Auto Uses the default major unit setting that is determined by Excel. Fixed Allows you to change the default major unit setting. Click this option, type a different number in the Major unit box, and then select the base unit that you want in the list box.

Minor unit Determines the interval of tick marks and chart gridlines for the minor unit.Auto Uses the default minor unit setting that is determined by Excel. Fixed Allows you to change the default minor unit setting. Click this option, and then type a different number in the Minor unit box, and then select the base unit that you want in the list box. Base Unit Specifies the base unit that is displayed on the axis. Select the base unit that you want to use in this list box. This option is only available for a date axis.

Dates in reverse order To reverse the order of the base units on the date axis, select this check box.

Axis type Allows you to specify the axis type that you want to use. For a text or date axis, under Axis Type, click Text axis or Date axis, and then select the appropriate options.Automatically select based on data Selected by default, this option determines the axis type that makes the most sense for your type of data. Text axis Changes the date axis to a text axis that displays text only. The text and data points are evenly spaced on a text axis. Date axis Selected by default for a date axis, this axis displays dates in chronological order at specific intervals or base units, such as the number of days, months, or years, even if the dates on the worksheet are not in order or in the same base units.

Major tick mark type Specifies how to display major tick marks. Click None for no major tick marks, Inside to display them on the inside of the axis, Outside to display them on the outside of the axis (the default setting), and Cross to display them on both sides of the axis.

Minor tick mark type Specifies how to display minor tick marks. Click None for no minor tick marks, Inside to display them on the inside of the axis, Outside to display them on the outside of the axis, and Cross to display them on both sides of the axis.

Axis labels Specifies how to display axis labels. Click None for no axis labels, High to display them on the right side of the axis, Low to display them on the left side of the axis, and Next to Axis to display them next to the axis.

Vertical Axis crosses Allows you to change where you want the vertical (value) axis to cross the date axis.Between dates Uses the default setting that is determined by Excel. At date Specifies the date where the axes will cross. Click this option, and then type the date that you want in the At date box. At maximum date Specifies that the value axis cross the date axis after the last date on that axis.

Position Axis Affects the way the data points and labels are displayed on the axis. This option is available for 2-D area, column, and line charts.On tick marks Aligns the data points and labels with the tick marks. This option is available for 2-D area, column, and line charts. Between tick marks Displays the data points and labels between the tick marks. This option is available for 2-D area, column, and line charts.

Series Axis

Important Only true 3-D charts, such as a 3-D column chart, display series on the depth axis of the chart.

Interval between tick marks Changes the interval between tick marks. In the Interval between tick marks box, type the number that you want. The number that you type determines how many series are displayed between the tick marks.

Interval between labels Changes the interval between axis labels.Automatic Uses the default setting that is determined by Excel. Specify interval unit Allows you to specify your own interval unit. Click this option, and then in the Specify interval unit box, type the number that you want. For example, type 1 to display a label for every series, 2 to display a label for every other series, 3 to display a label for every third series, and so on.

Series in reverse order Reverses the order of series when you select this check box.

Major tick mark type Specifies how to display major tick marks. Click None for no major tick marks, Inside to display them on the inside of the axis, Outside to display them on the outside of the axis (the default setting), and Cross to display them on both sides of the axis.

Minor tick mark type Specifies how to display minor tick marks. Click None for no minor tick marks, Inside to display them on the inside of the axis, Outside to display them on the outside of the axis, and Cross to display them on both sides of the axis.

Axis labels Specifies how to display axis labels. Click None for no axis labels, High to display them on the right side of the axis, Low to display them on the left side of the axis, and Next to Axis to display them next to the axis.