Part III: Creating Charts and Other Visualizations
button on the right side of the chart. Place a check mark next to Data Labels. Click the
arrow next to the Data Labels item to specify the position for the labels.
To add data labels for all series, use the same procedure, but start by selecting something
other than a data series.
Figure 21.22 shows three minimalist charts with data labels.
FIGURE 21.22
These charts use data labels and don’t display axes.
To change the type of information that appears in data labels, select the data labels for
a series and use the Format Data Labels task pane. (If the task pane isn’t visible, press
Ctrl+1.) Then use the Label Options section to customize the data labels. For example, you
can include the series name and the category name along with the value.
The data labels are linked to the worksheet, so if your data changes, the labels also change.
If you want to override the data label with other text, select the label and enter the new
text.
In some situations, you may need to use other data labels for a series. In the Format Data
Labels task pane, select Value from Cells (in the Label Options section) and click Select
Range to specify the range that contains the data point labels.
Figure 21.23 shows an XY chart that uses data labels stored in a range. In versions prior to
Excel 2013, adding these data labels had to be done manually or with the assistance of a
macro. Because it’s a new feature (introduced in Excel 2013), data labels applied using this
method will not be displayed in Excel 2007 or earlier.
