Select chart elements
You can quickly select chart elements on a chart by using the mouse. However, if you are not sure where a specific element is located in the chart, you can select it from a list of chart elements. You can also select chart elements by using the keyboard.What do you want to do?
Select a chart element by using the mouse
Select a chart element from a list of chart elements
Select a chart element by using the keyboard
Select a chart element by using the mouse
- On a chart, click the chart element that you want to select.
The element that you select will be clearly marked with selection handles.
Tip To help you locate the chart element that you want to select, Microsoft Office Excel displays an element name when you rest the pointer over a chart element.
Note Grouped elements, such as data series and data labels, contain individual elements that can be selected after you select the group. For example, to select a single data marker in a data series, click the data series, and then click the data marker.
Select a chart element from a list of chart elements
- Click a chart.
Tip This displays the
Chart Tools
, adding theDesign
,Layout
, andFormat
tabs. - On the
Format
tab, in theCurrent Selection
group, click the arrow next to theChart Elements
box, and then click the chart element that you want to select.
Select a chart element by using the keyboard
You can select a chart by using the keyboard as follows:
Press | To |
---|---|
CTRL+PAGE DOWN or CTRL+PAGE UP | Select the next or previous sheet, repeating this action until the chart sheet that you want is selected. |
After you select a chart, you can use the keyboard to select individual chart elements as follows:
Press | To |
---|---|
DOWN ARROW | Select the previous group of elements in a chart. |
UP ARROW | Select the next group of elements in a chart. |
RIGHT ARROW | Select the next element within a group. If the current element is the last element in the group, the next group is selected when you press the RIGHT ARROW. Press RIGHT ARROW again to select the first element in the next group. |
LEFT ARROW | Select the previous element within a group. If the current element is the first element in the group, the previous group is selected when you press the LEFT ARROW. Press LEFT ARROW again to select the last element in the previous group. |
ESC | Cancel a selection. |
TAB | Navigate between the chart and any objects or shapes outside of the chart by selecting the next object or shape. |
SHIFT+TAB | Navigate between the chart and any objects or shapes outside of the chart by selecting the previous object or shape. |