XL: Column Charts May Not Show All Data Labels

ID: Q115341

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0c
Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 5.0, 5.0a

SYMPTOMS

In the versions of Microsoft Excel listed at the beginning of this article, if you create a column chart with column titles along the x-axis, Microsoft Excel may print only every other title if the title is too long to fit under the column or columns. Column labels may or may not wrap on the screen and may or may not wrap when you view them in print preview or when you print them.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use any of the following methods:

Resize the chart on the chart sheet. When you resize the chart to certain sizes, Microsoft Excel will wrap some text labels. Sometimes the text will wrap such that all labels are displayed. When you view the chart in print preview, it will have results independent of the screen results.
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On the chart, format the x-axis data labels in a smaller point size, making the labels small enough to fit under the data columns. This workaround is useful in cases where one or two labels are only slightly too long for the available space.
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Place blank columns on either side of the data in the worksheet and include those columns in the chart data as the first and third data series. This will result in thinner data columns and excess items in chart legends, but the data labels will now wrap under the data columns. To adjust columns that are too thin: select the column series, and click Column Group on the Format menu. Click the Options tab, and then adjust the Gap Width option to the width you want.
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Insert line break characters by pressing ALT+ENTER (or COMMAND+OPTION+RETURN on a Macintosh computer) to force the data labels on the worksheet to be wrapped. These line break characters will be carried through to the chart.

MORE INFORMATION

When you print a chart or view it in print preview, there is no way to force automatic line wrapping (even if you've formatted the lines in the worksheet with the Wrap Text option). Not having the "text wrap" feature can be a problem when each data group has a unique name and no obvious pattern.

Additional query words: 5.00 5.00a 5.00c 7.00 7.00a 97 XL97 XL7 XL5 category

Keywords          : kbdta kbchart xlchart 
Version           : WINDOWS:5.0,5.0c,7.0,7.0a,97; MACINTOSH:5.0,5.0a
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: January 7, 1999