4 Add Notes to an Excel Chart When you create a graph in Microsoft Excel 2010, the axis labels and legend titles are drawn from the information in the cells surrounding the data. Much to my chagrin, pivot charts are PC swim only. You can’t create a pivot chart in Excel 2011 for Mac. (Boo hiss!!!) But not only can you not create one, you can’t even use a report filter on the Mac. You can see this epic fail in action here.
You can add titles to a chart to help describe its purpose. By default, titles are not added when you create a basic chart, but you can add them later manually. In addition to a main chart title that is generally displayed above a chart, you can add descriptive titles to the x-axis (category axis) and the y-axis (value axis).
Follow these steps to insert and edit chart titles in Excel 2007:
- Click anywhere on the chart you want to modify.
- Click the Chart Title button in the Labels group of the Chart Tools Layout tab.A list of options appears:
- None: The default choice; it means you don’t want to display a title. Also use this option to remove a chart title you don’t want.
- Centered Overlay Title: Centers the title over the chart but retains the existing size of the chart.
- Above Chart: Centers the title over the chart but adds room at the top so the title doesn’t interfere with the chart itself.
- Make a selection from the Chart Title drop-down list.A box with the words Chart Title appears on the chart.
- Double-click Chart Title and drag across the words Chart Title.The words become highlighted.
- Type the desired title.The text you type replaces the words Chart Title.
- Click anywhere outside the chart title to deselect it.
- (Optional) To add an axis title, click the Axis Titles button on the Chart Tools Layout tab and then select the axis and the type of title you want to add. Repeat Steps 4–6 to edit the axis title.
A spreadsheet, such as the kind you can create using Microsoft Excel, can be a powerful business tool, used for everything from tracking inventory to managing employee schedules. Sometimes, the spreadsheets grow so large that it becomes difficult to keep track of all the data while you scroll through the sheet or print it out. Creating a title line, which is sometimes called a header row, allows you to always keep the first line of the spreadsheet visible while you scroll through the rest of it. You can also change a print option to see that line at the top of every page when you print out the spreadsheet.
Step 1
Open the spreadsheet where you want to create a title line using Excel. If you already have information in the spreadsheet and need to create a blank line at the top of the spreadsheet, right-click on the '1' on the left side of the sheet and choose 'Insert.'
Step 2
Enter your titles into the cells at the top of the spreadsheet. You can choose to just enter one large title into cell 'A1,' or you can choose to label individual columns using the top cells in every column.
Step 3
Click 'View,' then click 'Freeze Panes.' Choose 'Freeze Top Row' from the menu that appears. The spreadsheet will now always show the top row when you scroll down.
Step 4
Click 'Page Layout,' then click 'Print Titles.'
Step 5
Click inside the box next to 'Rows to repeat at top.'
Step 6
Click the '1' on the left side of the spreadsheet, then click 'OK.' The spreadsheet will now show the first row on every page you print out.
Tip
- To freeze multiple rows, select the number of the first row beneath the rows you want to freeze, then click 'Freeze Panes' instead of 'Freeze Top Row.'
- To set up multiple rows as headers when you print out the sheet, just click and drag to select multiple rows instead of just clicking the '1.'
References
About the Author
Shawn McClain has spent over 15 years as a journalist covering technology, business, culture and the arts. He has published numerous articles in both national and local publications, and online at various websites. He is currently pursuing his master's degree in journalism at Clarion University.