Chart Elements in Excel: Titles, Labels, Legend and Axes

Part of the free Module 8: Basic Charts · Lesson 10 of 12 · Full Excel course

Updated on 5 September 2026 · Works in Excel 365, 2021, 2019 and 2016 unless noted.

Chart elements in Excel are the parts that sit around and inside the plot: the chart title, axis titles, legend, data labels, gridlines, data table, trendline and error bars. You switch each one on or off with the Chart Elements (+) button beside a selected chart, and you format any of them with a double-click. This lesson explains what every element does, when to show it and how to format it cleanly.

The chart elements at a glance

Every Excel chart is built from the same set of elements. Some are on by default (title, gridlines, legend); others you add when the chart needs them. The table below lists each element, what it communicates and a rule of thumb for using it.

Element What it shows Show it when
Chart title The one-line message of the chart Always, unless the chart sits under its own heading in a dashboard
Axis titles Unit or meaning of each axis The axis values are not self-explanatory (for example, thousands, percent, units)
Legend Which colour belongs to which series Two or more series. Remove it for a single-series chart
Data labels The exact value on each bar, point or slice Fewer than about 12 points and precise values matter
Gridlines Horizontal or vertical guide lines Keep light major gridlines; remove them when data labels are shown
Data table The source numbers under the chart Printed reports where the reader cannot see the worksheet
Trendline A fitted line showing direction Line, column and scatter charts with a time or numeric x-axis
Error bars Uncertainty or tolerance around each point Scientific or quality data with a known margin
Axes The category (horizontal) and value (vertical) scales Nearly always; hide the value axis only when every point has a data label

How to add or remove chart elements

There are three ways to reach the same list of elements. The (+) button is the fastest; the ribbon menu gives more sub-options; the right-click menu is best for formatting one element you have already added.

  1. Click once on the chart to select it. Three buttons appear on its right edge.
  2. Click the top button, Chart Elements (the plus sign). Tick or untick Axes, Axis Titles, Chart Title, Data Labels, Data Table, Error Bars, Gridlines, Legend or Trendline.
  3. Hover over any item and click the small arrow to its right for positions, for example Data Labels > Outside End or Legend > Bottom.
  4. For the same list on the ribbon, go to Chart Design > Chart Layouts > Add Chart Element.
  5. To format an element, double-click it, or right-click it and choose Format. The Format pane opens on the right with Fill and Line, Effects and Options tabs.
  6. To delete an element quickly, click it once so only that element is selected and press Delete.

Excel 2013 introduced the (+) button. In Excel 2010 and earlier the same items are on the Layout tab of Chart Tools.

Chart title, axis titles and legend

The chart title should state the finding, not the data source. “Sales grew 18% in Q4” beats “Sales by month”. To link a title to a cell, select the title, click in the formula bar, type = and click the cell, then press Enter. The title now updates with the cell, which is how dashboard charts stay current. The same trick works for axis titles.

Add axis titles only when the numbers need a unit: “Revenue (USD thousands)” on the value axis, or nothing at all when the categories are month names that speak for themselves. Rotate a vertical axis title with Format Axis Title > Size and Properties > Text direction.

The legend belongs at the bottom or right. Move it with Chart Elements > Legend > Bottom. For a single-series chart the legend repeats the title, so remove it. Legend text comes from the series names in the header row; rename a series with Chart Design > Select Data > Edit rather than editing the legend itself.

Data labels, gridlines and the data table

Data labels put the value on the mark. Add them with Chart Elements > Data Labels and choose a position: Outside End for columns and bars, Above for lines, Best Fit for pies. In Format Data Labels > Label Options you can show the series name, category name, value or percentage, and in Excel 2013 and later the Value From Cells option lets you label points with text from any range, such as a growth percentage you calculated in a helper column.

When labels show the exact values, gridlines become clutter. Untick Gridlines or keep only Primary Major Horizontal in a light grey. Never use minor gridlines on a business chart.

The data table (Chart Elements > Data Table > With Legend Keys) prints the numbers beneath the plot. It is useful on a one-page report but takes space, so avoid it in dashboards where the reader can see the source table.

Axes: bounds, units and number formats

Double-click the value axis to open Format Axis. Under Axis Options you control:

Setting What it does Typical use
Bounds: Minimum and Maximum Fixes the start and end of the scale Set Minimum to 0 for bars and columns so lengths are honest
Units: Major Spacing between gridlines and labels Round numbers such as 10,000 or 25%
Display units Shows 1,250,000 as 1.25 with a Millions label Large currency values
Number format Applies a custom code to axis labels #,##0,"K" to show thousands; 0% for rates
Categories in reverse order Flips the category axis Bar charts, so the first row appears at the top
Logarithmic scale Each gridline is a multiple of the last Values spanning several orders of magnitude

On a date axis Excel recognises real dates and lets you set Units in days, months or years. If your months are text, Excel treats the axis as categories, which is fine for twelve labels but will not space irregular dates correctly.

Chart styles, colours and Quick Layouts

The Chart Design tab has Quick Layout, a set of preset combinations of elements (title plus labels plus legend, for example), and Chart Styles, which change fills, effects and gridlines in one click. Both are useful starting points, but a professional chart usually needs a manual pass: one accent colour for the series that matters, grey for the rest, no 3-D, no shadows. Change a single series colour with Format Data Series > Fill, and change one point with a second click on that point before formatting.

The second button beside the chart, Chart Styles (the paintbrush), shows the same styles and a Color tab with palettes drawn from the workbook theme. The third button, Chart Filters, hides series or categories without changing the source data.

Worked example: a clean monthly sales chart

Sample data in A1:B7:

Month Sales (USD)
Jan 42,500
Feb 39,800
Mar 47,200
Apr 51,900
May 49,300
Jun 56,100
  1. Select A1:B7 and choose Insert > Charts > Insert Column or Bar Chart > Clustered Column.
  2. Click the (+) button. Untick Legend (one series) and Gridlines.
  3. Tick Data Labels > Outside End. Double-click a label, open Number, choose Custom and enter #,##0,"K" so 42,500 displays as 43K.
  4. Double-click the value axis and set Minimum to 0. Then untick Axes > Primary Vertical, since the labels now carry the values.
  5. Click the title, type = in the formula bar, click cell D1 which contains ="Sales reached "&TEXT(B7,"$#,##0")&" in June", and press Enter.
  6. Click any column, open Format Data Series and set Gap Width to 60%. Click the June column a second time and give it a darker fill.

Result: a six-column chart with a sentence title that updates from the data, K-format labels on each bar, no axis, no gridlines and one highlighted month. It reads in two seconds.

Tips and common mistakes

  • Start value axes at zero. A column that starts at 40,000 makes a 5% difference look like a collapse.
  • One click selects the series, two clicks select the point. Formatting after one click recolours every bar; wait a moment between clicks so Excel does not read a double-click.
  • Do not show both data labels and a value axis with gridlines. Pick one.
  • Link titles to cells. Typed titles go stale the moment the data changes.
  • Format labels with a number format, not by rounding the data. #,##0,"K" keeps the source exact.
  • Remove the legend for single-series charts and move it to the bottom for the rest, which leaves more width for the plot.
  • Press Ctrl + 1 with any element selected to open its Format pane straight away.

Errors and how to fix them

Problem Cause Fix
Data labels show 0 or blanks Formula results are text or empty strings Convert to numbers; use NA() instead of “” for gaps
Legend shows Series1, Series2 Header row not included in the selection Select Data > Edit and point the series name at the header cell
Axis labels overlap Too many categories or long text Switch to a bar chart, or set Format Axis > Labels > Interval between labels
Title stops updating Formula link replaced by typed text Re-link with = in the formula bar
Dates spaced unevenly or missing Axis type set to Text Format Axis > Axis Type > Date axis

Practice exercise

  1. Build a clustered column chart from the six-month table above and remove the legend, gridlines and vertical axis.
  2. Add Outside End data labels with the format #,##0,"K".
  3. Write a dynamic title in a cell using TEXT and link the chart title to it.
  4. Add a linear trendline and show its equation on the chart.
  5. Copy the chart, change it to a bar chart and tick Categories in reverse order so January is at the top.

Key takeaways

  • The (+) button beside a chart switches every element on or off; Chart Design > Add Chart Element is the ribbon equivalent.
  • Double-click any element, or press Ctrl + 1, to format it in the Format pane.
  • Show data labels or a value axis with gridlines, not both.
  • Link chart and axis titles to cells so they update with the data.
  • Fix the value-axis minimum at zero for bars and columns.
  • Use custom number formats such as #,##0,"K" on labels and axes rather than changing the data.

Related lessons

Frequently asked questions

Where is the Chart Elements button in Excel?

Select the chart and look at its top-right corner. The first of the three buttons, a plus sign, is Chart Elements. If you do not see it, the chart may be on a protected sheet or you are using Excel 2010 or earlier, where the same options live on the Chart Tools Layout tab.

How do I add axis titles in Excel?

Select the chart, click the Chart Elements (+) button and tick Axis Titles. Use the arrow next to it to choose Primary Horizontal or Primary Vertical. Click the placeholder and type the title, or link it to a cell by typing an equals sign in the formula bar and clicking the cell.

How do I make a chart title update automatically?

Write the title text in a worksheet cell, using TEXT or ampersands to include numbers. Select the chart title, click in the formula bar, type = and click that cell, then press Enter. The title now shows whatever the cell contains and changes whenever the data changes.

Why do my data labels show the wrong numbers?

Data labels show the underlying series values by default. If they look wrong, check Format Data Labels > Label Options: Value From Cells may point at a different range, or Percentage may be ticked instead of Value. Also confirm the cells are numbers, not text, and that the chart is reading the correct rows.

Should I use gridlines or data labels?

Use one, not both. Data labels give exact values and suit charts with fewer than about a dozen points. Gridlines help readers estimate values on busier charts such as long line charts. When you add labels, remove gridlines and often the value axis too, so the chart stays clean.

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