how to edit a legend in excel

Figure  13. Got it! To bring the Legend on the Chart, we go to the Chart Tools – Design – Add chart element – Legend – Top. Our professional experts are available now. Open the file with the chart you want to change the legend for, or insert a chart in a document. I haven't been able to make a Legend Title on the newest version of Excel (16.35). ; To see if this video matches your skill level (see the suggested skill score below) do our free MS Excel skills assessment. The fill color will automatically be updated to the chosen color. Open a spreadsheet, and click the chart you want to edit. Click the Plus Icon. Simply click the chart, then click the. drop-down menu, select the position we prefer for the legend. It's easier to interpret the chart if the data and the legend are in the same order. Actually, it's very easy to change or edit Pivot Chart's axis and legends within the Filed List in Excel. Step 2. The legend in a chart can be edited by changing the name, or customizing its position and format. It should also work with any version of MS Excel that y… We guarantee a connection within 30 seconds and a customized solution within 20 minutes. A new window, called Select Data Source will appear. 1. First, we must determine the cell that contains the legend name for our chart by clicking the chart. When you press the “Edit” button, a box titled “Edit Series” will appear. In the Select Data Source box, click on the legend entry you want to change, and then click the Edit button. From the Legend drop-down menu, select the position we prefer for the legend. Figure  12. For updated video clips in structured Excel courses with practical example files, have a look at our MS Excel online training courses . Select your chart in Excel, and click Design > Select Data. Get more insight from our article with screenshots. Your question will be answered by an Excelchat Expert. In our example, it is the Ratings from customers. Get instant live expert help on how to edit legend in excel. Step 1. Click on the name of the “Legend entry” that you wish to edit. Most of the time, the problem you will need to solve will be more complex than a simple application of a formula or function. When a chart is selected, the Chart Tools tab becomes active. When we encounter an Excel chart without a legend, we can easily add a legend through these steps: Step 2. If you want to save hours of research and frustration, try our live. As shown below, the legend is transferred to the top of the chart. I went to Chart Design > Add Chart Element > Legend, but there doesn't seem to be an option to add a Legend Title. Try Change the legend name using select data. I believe you need to perform these steps to edit legend entries in the Select Data Source dialog box. right click > select Data ranges > Tab Data series select the series you want to change (left window Data series)and it should contain Column A, B, ..) in the Data range window right > click Name > Click button at right side of Range of names > select a cell (or more) with the name of your column do above for each column and click OK at the end service! Click the chart that displays the legend entries that you want to edit. % of people told us that this article helped them. Below chart shows the legend format with a 5% pattern fill and an orange border color. To change options related to the whole legend and not just a specific entry, right-click or tap-and-hold to find the Format Legend option. Final result:  How to edit legend. wikiHow's. Enter a new value into the Y values box. Figure 1. Note: You can update Legend Entries and Axis Label names … We want to fill the legend box with Aqua, Accent 5, Lighter 60%. Enter a new name into the Series Name or Name box. Change legend text through Select Data. In the Series Name field, type a new legend entry. The attached file has been created in Excel 2010 and saved as an Excel 2003 compatible file. Hang tight for 30 secs while we redirect you. Under Legend, choose the preferred position from the drop-down menu. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. 2. Tip: You can also select a cell from which the text is retrieved. To do this, right-click on the legend and pick Font from the menu. The legend name is immediately changed to “A”. You can right-click or tap-and-hold on a legend key, and choose Format Legend, to change the color, pattern, or image used to represent the data. The Format Legend dialog box will appear. As shown below, the column chart for Brand B is linked to cells D2:D7. To change the legend entry for a series you have to change the name of the series. This wikiHow teaches you how to change the name or value of a chart's legend entries in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, using a computer. Select the chart whose legend you want to edit. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. As soon as we do this, there appears an extra element on the chart shown as follows. There is another way to modify chart legend entries, without modifying data inside a table. This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Since D2 contains the legend name, we select D2 and type the new legend name “B Sales”. There are two ways to change the legend name: Step 1. 5. 7. I don't know of a way to change just one other than font size in the legend. Just click the chart, then click the Layout tab. To rename a legend in Excel, you need an existing document with data and a chart. It can be done but you may not like the side effects. In order to change the format, right-click the legend and select, Most of the time, the problem you will need to solve will be more complex than a simple application of a formula or function. Enter a new value into the Y values box. Step 3. Open a Microsoft Excel 2007 document. The text in the legend comes from the data series, so it can be changed in the series through the Source Data settings. These are only valid for charts in Excel 2003 and earlier, as there seem to be some substantial differences in behavior introduced by Excel 2007. Click on the legend name you want to change in the Select Data Source dialog box, and click Edit. 4. If you have multiple Y output categories in your chart, such as multiple bars, make sure to use a comma to separate each value here. Select the series Brand A and click Edit. Figure 4. Right-click anywhere on the chart and click Select Data. Your privacy is guaranteed. Be aware that if you change the category order in the helper series in H2 to I5, you will have to re-create the color mapping if you still want to make sense of your chart. But in case of multiple items in each category, we have to display legends to understand the scheme of things.For an example look at the below image.Here 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 are the main categories. The wikiHow Tech Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work. Double-click on the graph for which you'd like to modify the legend text. Login Try for Free. 4. First, we must determine the cell that contains the legend name for our chart by clicking the chart. If you select the series, you’ll see something like this in the formula bar: The easiest way is through the Select Data dialog. In this case, you can skip this step, and look for the. Select Show Legend at Top from the drop-down menu. If you want to save hours of research and frustration, try our live Excelchat service! In an Excel chart, the series is in a particular order, and the legend entries are listed in their own particular order based on certain criteria. Simply click the chart, then click the Layout tab. 6. Click the Design or Chart Design tab. This is a Legend. Delete the current entry “=Sheet1!$C$2” in series name and enter “, Step 1. To access the Select Data Source dialog and edit the series name, select your chart and use the right mouse button to pick Select Data from … There are two ways to change the legend name: Change series name in Select Data Change legend name Change Series Name in Select Data . You can also click the Add Chart Element button on the Design tab. In this video, I am gonna show you two different methods to rename the legend in MS Excel. Line graphs, bar graphs, pie charts, stacked charts, area charts, etc.. This article has been viewed 23,594 times. Delete the current entry “=Sheet1!$C$2” in series name and enter “A” into the text box. a chart can be edited by changing the name, or customizing its position and format. By using our site, you agree to our. How to edit legend format? We guarantee a connection within 30 seconds and a customized solution within 20 minutes. Formatting an excel legend. Our Excel Experts are available 24/7 to answer any Excel question you may have. In our example we are just using our Trade Show Checklist. , choose the preferred position from the drop-down menu. Click OK. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. About Pricing. FREE HELP AVAILABLE IN JUST 30 SECONDS. Output:  Add legend to a chart. Legends can be customized by changing the layout, position or format. Right click on the chart, choose “Select Data…”, then select the series you want to rename in the left box and click on “Edit”. Sometimes, there's a need to move the series within a chart or within a legend. Get instant live expert help on how to edit legend in excel “My Excelchat expert helped me in less than 20 minutes, saving … Click OK. How to Change the Placement of Legend Click on the Chart. Click Chart Filters next to the chart, and click Select Data. Alternatively, you can click on the graph once and find the "Edit" button next to graph text under the Presentation properties tab. 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, etc.) Select the chart and click on the “+” symbol at the top right corner. I have seen cases where pasting the chart as an Excel chart embeds enough of the spreadsheet information to edit the file. How to customise the legend in an Excel chart. As shown below, the legend is transferred to the top of the chart. Step 1. 1. Make sure it’s editable. Step 2. 2. Right-click the legend, and click Select Data… 2. 4. The 'Chart Tools' will appear in the Ribbon, including the 'Design, Layout and Format' tabs. Post your problem and you’ll get expert help in seconds. Final result:  How to edit legend. In the chart above, the legend is located in the top center of the graph, showing a bulleted list with text “A” and “B Sales”. Figure  17. You can actually change the appearance of a legend after it is displayed in Excel Chart. Click the Design or Chart Design tab. Select a position for the legend. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. The Series name box contains the address of the cell from which Excel pulls the label. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. Summary of Legend Entry Order Rules. There are several options where we can change the legend position, fill, border color, border styles, and other formatting options. Under Legend, choose the preferred position from the drop-down menu. for free. 5. There is an option to change the marker size but it affects both the marker in the chart and the one in the legend. Press the “Edit” button. Click Select Data on the toolbar. Charts that you copy and paste between MS Office apps are generally editable so you won’t have any trouble. Get FREE step-by-step guidance on your question from our Excel Experts. Select the series Brand A and click Edit. A legend gives us a direction as to what is marked in the chart in blue color. Click Edit under Legend Entries (Series). Change legend text through Select Data, Step 2. Select an entry in the Legend Entries (Series) list, and click Edit. And you can do as follows: Step 1: Select the Pivot Chart that you want to change its axis and legends, and then show Filed List pane with clicking the Filed List button on the Analyze tab. 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