Chapter 19: Learning Advanced Charting
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Tip
If you find these chart tips annoying, you can turn them off. Choose File ➪ Options and click the Advanced tab
in the Excel Options dialog box. Locate the Display section and clear either or both the Show Chart Element
Names on Hover or the Show Data Point Values on Hover check boxes. n
Some chart elements (such as a series, a legend, and data labels) consist of multiple items. For
example, a chart series element is made up of individual data points. To select a particular data
point, click twice: First click the series to select it and then click the specific element within the
series (for example, a column or a line chart marker). Selecting the element enables you to apply
formatting to only a particular data point in a series.You may find that some chart elements are difficult to select with the mouse. If you rely on the
mouse for selecting a chart element, you may have to click it several times before the desired ele-
ment is actually selected. Fortunately, Excel provides other ways to select a chart element, and it’s
worth your while to be familiar with them. Keep reading to see how.Selecting with the keyboard
When a chart is active, you can use the up-arrow and down-arrow navigation keys on your key-
board to cycle among the chart’s elements. Again, keep your eye on the Chart Elements control to
ensure that the selected chart element is what you think it is.l (^) When a chart series is selected: Use the left-arrow and right-arrow keys to select an
individual item within the series.
l (^) When a set of data labels is selected: You can select a specific data label by using the
left-arrow or right-arrow key.
l (^) When a legend is selected: Select individual elements within the legend by using the
left-arrow or right-arrow keys.
Selecting with the Chart Element control
The Chart Element control is located in the Chart Tools ➪ Format ➪ Current Selection group and
also in the Chart Tools ➪ Layout ➪ Current Selection group. This control displays the name of the
currently selected chart element. It’s a drop-down control, and you can also use it to select a par-
ticular element in the active chart (see Figure 19.2).The Chart Element control also appears in the Mini toolbar, which is displayed when you right-
click a chart element.The Chart Element control enables you to select only the top-level elements in the chart. To select
an individual data point within a series, for example, you need to select the series and then use the
navigation keys (or your mouse) to select the desired data point.