Change the look of chart text and labels

You can change the look of all the chart text at once.

1. Click the chart, then click the Chart tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.

   If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have a Chart tab, click in the toolbar.

2. Use the controls in the Chart Font section of the sidebar to do any of the following:

   • Change the font: Click the Chart Font pop-up menu and choose a font.

   • Change the character style: Click the pop-up menu below the font name and choose an option (Regular, Bold, and so on).

   • Make the font smaller or larger: Click the small A or the large A.

     All text in the chart increases or decreases proportionally (by the same percentage).

To learn how to style the chart title and value labels so they look different from the other text, see the topics below.

Charts have a placeholder title (Title) that’s hidden by default. You can show the chart title and change it.

1. Click the chart.

2. Click the Chart tab at the top of the sidebar on the right, then select the Title checkbox.

   If you don’t see the sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have a Chart tab, click in the toolbar.

3. Double-click the placeholder title on the chart and type your own.

4. To change the look of the title—for example, its font, size, and color—double-click the title again, then use the controls in the Chart Title tab of the sidebar to make changes.

Charts have labels that show the values of specific data points. By default, these value labels are hidden for new charts, but you can make them visible and specify a format for them (for example, number, currency, or percentage), change their font and color, and more.

1. Click the chart.

2. Click the Series tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.

   If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have a Series tab, click in the toolbar.

3. Click the disclosure triangle next to Value Labels, select the Values checkbox (if there is one), then click the pop-up menu and choose a number format.

   Or, to hide the value labels, choose None.

4. Fine-tune the value labels (these controls are available only for some chart types):

   • Set the number of decimal places: Click the up or down arrow.

   • Show the thousands separator: Select the Thousands Separator checkbox.

   • Add a prefix or suffix: The text you enter in these boxes is added to the beginning or end of the label.

   • Specify where numbers appear: Click the Location pop-up menu and choose an option.

5. To change the font, color, and style of the labels, click any value label on the chart, then use the controls in the Font section of the sidebar to make changes.

   When you click a value label, all value labels for that series are selected (white dots appear to the right and left of each label). Only these labels are modified. To change labels for another data series, click one of its labels, then make changes.

   To select multiple series, select a series, then Command-click another. To select all series, select one, then press Command-A.

1. Click the chart.

   To make changes for only one wedge, click the wedge.

2. Click the Wedges tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.

   If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have a Wedges tab, click in the toolbar.

3. Click the disclosure triangle next to Labels, then do any of the following:

   • Show data point labels: Select the Data Point Names checkbox.

   • Show data values: Select the Values checkbox.

   • Change the number format: Click the Value Data Format pop-up menu and choose a format.

4. Use the other controls to make further adjustments to the labels:

   • Add a prefix or suffix: The text you enter in these boxes is added to the beginning or end of the label.

   • Change the position of the labels: Drag the Distance from Center slider to specify where the numbers appear.

To change the font, color, and style of wedge labels, click any wedge label on the chart, then use the controls in the Font section of the sidebar to make changes.

You can specify which labels appear on an axis, edit their names, change their angle of orientation, set the range and frequency of the tick marks, and more.

1. Click the chart, then click the Axis tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.

   If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have an Axis tab, click in the toolbar.

2. Do either of the following:

   • Modify markings on the value axis: Click the Value (Y) button at the top of the sidebar.

   • Modify markings on the category axis: Click the Category (X) button at the top of the sidebar.

3. Use the controls in the sidebar to make adjustments.

   To see all options, click the disclosure triangles to the left of the section headings.

   

4. If you selected the Axis Name checkbox and want to change the name on the chart, click the chart, double-click the axis name on the chart, then type your own.