How to Change Axis Labels in Excel

Excel has several different types of graphs and charts to choose from. In most of these, data represented on the axes have labels to help viewers understand the meaning of each axis. This guide shows you how to:

• Change the text on axis labels
• Change the format or appearance of axis labels

Change the text of axis labels

There are two main ways to change what a label says on your Excel graph.

Method 1: Changing the source data

After making a graph based on your data, you will see that the axes automatically show text present in the source data. So, if you wish to change the text of the axes: 

1. First, decide which axis labels you want to change (e.g., the x or y-axis).
2. Then, change the source data of the corresponding axis you want to change. For example, in the image below, “Quantity” is represented on the x-axis. For our example, we can observe a typo in the D4 cell, which must be changed from Q11 to Q1. By changing the data in the cell, you will be able to change the text on the axis.

   

3. The same changes can be observed in the chart when we correct the typo “Q11” to “Q1”.

   

Method 2: Using chart data options

You can also change the text of the axis without modifying your source data: 

1. Right-click on the graph. You will see a menu listing several options. 
2. Click on Select Data.

   

3. A pop-up window will appear. Under “Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels”, select Edit.

   

4. A new Axis Labels box will appear. Enter your desired label names in the text box under “Axis label range”, using a comma to separate each label.

   

5. And voila! You should see the text changes updated in the chart.

   

Change the appearance of axis labels

This section will show you how to change the styling of axis labels on excel. For example, you can change the font, font style, font size, or color. You can also customize other visual features, such as the spacing between labels and within a label.

Changing the font

1. Right-click on the axis that you wish to format. 
2. On the drop-down menu, select Font.

   

3. A menu box should appear containing two tabs, Font, and Character spacing.

   

4. The Font tab provides options to change font family, style, size, color, etc. The character spacing tab will provide you with text spacing options. 
5. After making your changes, select OK, and they will automatically be implemented on your graph.

Changing label positioning

1. Double-click on the axis you want to change.
2. The “Format Axis” panel appears on the right. Under Axis Options, select Labels.

   

   You will find options to modify the interval between labels, the distance between the labels and the axis, and the positioning of the labels.

   

Changing number formatting

1. Double-click on the axis you want to change.
2. In the “Format Axis” panel, select Number.

   

   
   You will be presented with options to change the format of numbers on the axis. For example, you can change the number of decimal places, and if you want to use a comma “1000 Separator” (,).

   Note: Clicking the Linked to source check box ensures the numbers displayed on axis labels are derived from the source data provided.