To change chart titles, axis titles, and data labels that are added to data points on a chart, you can edit their contents. If titles and data labels are not linked to worksheet data, you can edit them directly on the chart and use rich-text formatting to enhance their appearance.

If titles and data labels are linked to worksheet data, you can edit the data in the corresponding worksheet cells. The changes that you make will automatically appear in the titles and data labels on the chart, but you won't be able to use rich-text formatting.

If you edit a linked title or data label on the chart, that title or data label will no longer be linked to the corresponding worksheet cell, and the changes that you make will not be displayed in the worksheet. If needed, you can reestablish links between titles or data labels and worksheet cells.What do you want to do?

Edit the contents of a title or data label on the chart

  1. On a chart, do one of the following:
    • To edit the contents of a title, click the chart or axis title that you want to change.
    • To edit the contents of a data label, click twice on the data label that you want to change.

      Note The first click selects the data labels for the entire data series, and the second click selects the individual data label.

  2. Click again to place the title or data label in editing mode, drag to select the text that you want to change, type the new text or value, and then press ENTER.

Tips

Edit the contents of a title or data label that is linked to data on the worksheet

  1. In the worksheet, click the cell that contains the title or data label text that you want to change.
  2. Edit the existing contents, or type the new text or value, and then press ENTER.

    Note The changes you made automatically appear on the chart.

Reestablish the link between a title or data label and a worksheet cell

Links between titles or data labels and corresponding worksheet cells are broken when you edit their contents in the chart. To automatically update titles or data labels with changes that you make on the worksheet, you need to reestablish the link between the titles or data labels and the corresponding worksheet cells. For data labels, you can reestablish a link one data series at a time, or for all data series at once.

Note In PivotChart reports , the following procedures reestablish links between data labels and source data (not worksheet cells).

Reestablish the link for a chart or axis title

  1. On a chart, click the chart or axis title that you want to link to a corresponding worksheet cell.
  2. On the worksheet, click in the formula bar , and then type an equal sign (=).
  3. Select the worksheet cell that contains the data or text that you want to display in your chart.

    Tip You can also type the reference to the worksheet cell in the formula bar. Include an equal sign, the sheet name, followed by an exclamation point; for example, =Sheet1!F2

  4. Press ENTER.

Reestablish the link for a data label

When you customize the contents of a data label on the chart, it is no longer linked to data on the worksheet. You can reestablish the link by resetting the label text for all labels in a data series, or you can type a reference to the cell that contains the data that you want to link to for each data point at a time.

Reset label text

  1. On a chart, click once or twice on the data label that you want to link to a corresponding worksheet cell.

    Note The first click selects the data labels for the entire data series, and the second click selects the individual data label.

  2. Right-click the data label, and then click Format Data Label or Format Data Labels.
  3. Click Label Options if it's not selected, and then select the Reset Label Text check box.

Reestablish a link to data on the worksheet

  1. On a chart, click the label that you want to link to a corresponding worksheet cell.
  2. On the worksheet, click in the formula bar , and then type an equal sign (=).
  3. Select the worksheet cell that contains the data or text that you want to display in your chart.

    Tip You can also type the reference to the worksheet cell in the formula bar. Include an equal sign, the sheet name, followed by an exclamation point; for example, =Sheet1!F2

  4. Press ENTER.

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