How the heck do I plot 'my text' for the X axis? (instead of 1, 2, 3, 4 etc.)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Father Guido
  • Start date Start date
F

Father Guido

Hi,

I'm using XL2002 & Win2000Pro.

How can I display the week numbers (as shown) in the x axis, rather than
1, 2, 3, 4 etc. that M$ uses.

Here's my data

Week 11 12 13 14
Sales A 43 55 48 32
Sales B 32 36 41 29

Here's what I want the axis's to look like

50
40
30
20
10
0
11 12 13 14

How do I do it?

Many thanks!!!

Norm

Father Guido
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I plan on living forever... so far, so good
 
Option 1: Delete the word Week and use the Chart Wizard. For some
unexplicable reason, if XL finds an empty cell in the first row (or
column) it assumes that is the x-axis values, otherwise it assumes all
rows (columns) are y-values. Once the chart is complete put the
contents of the deleted cell back.

Option 2 (and my preferred choice): Leave the data alone. In step 2 of
the wizard, click the Series tab. In the Series field select the first
row (column). Copy the Values field into the 'Category (X) axis
labels' field. Click the Remove button.

--
Regards,

Tushar Mehta, MS MVP -- Excel
www.tushar-mehta.com
Excel, PowerPoint, and VBA add-ins, tutorials
Custom MS Office productivity solutions
 
Option 1: Delete the word Week and use the Chart Wizard. For some
unexplicable reason, if XL finds an empty cell in the first row (or
column) it assumes that is the x-axis values, otherwise it assumes all
rows (columns) are y-values. Once the chart is complete put the
contents of the deleted cell back.

Option 2 (and my preferred choice): Leave the data alone. In step 2 of
the wizard, click the Series tab. In the Series field select the first
row (column). Copy the Values field into the 'Category (X) axis
labels' field. Click the Remove button.

--
Regards,

Tushar Mehta, MS MVP -- Excel
www.tushar-mehta.com
Excel, PowerPoint, and VBA add-ins, tutorials
Custom MS Office productivity solutions
Click to expand...

WOW!!! Thanks a million Tushar, you made my day. Both solutions are
great, the first if you are creating the chart by selecting the data and
pressing F11, the second as you say, using the Chart Wizard.

Thanks again,

Norm

Father Guido
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I plan on living forever... so far, so good
 
I prefer the first option, since I'm too lazy to delete and retype the
header values. Often I put them in the row above the Y column headers,
leaving blanks above the X column header(s). The trick with blanks
works out nicely too if you want multiple row category labels. If you
use two blank cells (say FG had another row, with some other info about
his weeks), if the blank region is two rows high, the first two rows
will be used in the chart:

Data:

A B C D
11 12 13 14
Sales A 43 55 48 32
Sales B 32 36 41 29

Chart:

50 |
40 |
30 |
20 |
10 |
0 |______|______|______|______|
11 12 13 14
A B C D


- Jon
 
Thanks Jon, for the extra lesson. Isn't Excel wonderful?

Heres a last quick question on this subject. When I fixed up my charts,
I had to redo them from scratch to get the week numbers in the x-axis.

Is there a way to change the x-axsis of an existing chart? Possibly
someone may have need for this option in the future, but wouldn't want
to re-create each chart to achieve this.

Thanks again!

Norm
__________________________________________________________
I prefer the first option, since I'm too lazy to delete and retype the
header values. Often I put them in the row above the Y column headers,
leaving blanks above the X column header(s). The trick with blanks
works out nicely too if you want multiple row category labels. If you
use two blank cells (say FG had another row, with some other info about
his weeks), if the blank region is two rows high, the first two rows
will be used in the chart:

Data:

A B C D
11 12 13 14
Sales A 43 55 48 32
Sales B 32 36 41 29

Chart:

50 |
40 |
30 |
20 |
10 |
0 |______|______|______|______|
11 12 13 14
A B C D


- Jon
Click to expand...


Father Guido
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I plan on living forever... so far, so good
 
Norm -

There are lots of hidden gems, and either you find them out by accident,
or someone else who found them by accident told you about them.

In a line/column/bar/area chart, right click the chart and pick Source
Data from the pop up menu. Click on the Series tab, select the first
series, select whatever is in the Category (X) Axis Labels box, and with
the mouse select the multiple-row range you want to use. Since all
series use the same categories, you're done.

I made a set of charts at work last week that used five or six rows for
the category labels. This allowed me to put lots of additional
information, test conditions, etc., in the chart under each point. This
made the charts very easy to understand, and the customers went away
happy for a change.

- Jon
 
Norm -

There are lots of hidden gems, and either you find them out by accident,
or someone else who found them by accident told you about them.

In a line/column/bar/area chart, right click the chart and pick Source
Data from the pop up menu. Click on the Series tab, select the first
series, select whatever is in the Category (X) Axis Labels box, and with
the mouse select the multiple-row range you want to use. Since all
series use the same categories, you're done.

I made a set of charts at work last week that used five or six rows for
the category labels. This allowed me to put lots of additional
information, test conditions, etc., in the chart under each point. This
made the charts very easy to understand, and the customers went away
happy for a change.

- Jon
Click to expand...

Once again I thank you, my charts are looking much better now.

Father Guido
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I plan on living forever... so far, so good
 
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