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Add axis titles to a chart. Excel for the web More. After you create a chart, you can add axis titles to the horizontal and vertical axes in charts that have axes. You can’t add them to charts that don’t have axes such as pie and doughnut charts. You can change the axis titles or remove them from the chart. Click anywhere in the. How to Add Secondary Axis in Excel Charts The first step to create advanced Excel charts is to learn how to add a secondary axis in a chart. If you look at the below two charts, in the first chart you have two different data column series but the axis is the same.
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Microsoft Excel charts give you a large number of options for displaying the data in your spreadsheet. Sometimes, it is useful and informative to plot two different sets of data on the same chart, even though they may have very different values. For example, you could show line graphs for temperature and humidity on top of each other. For this purpose, Excel lets you add a series of data to a chart and plot it on a second y-axis.
Series
A simple chart consists of an x-axis and a y-axis, with the x-axis representing the various rows or columns of the selected area of your spreadsheet and the y-axis representing the values in the cells. It displays the information in a single row or single column of data in the spreadsheet.
If you instead make a chart from multiple rows and multiple columns, Excel will make one dimension the x-axis and make the other into different series. These series are displayed in parallel on the chart, as side-by-side columns, different lines or whatever is appropriate for the chart type.
Adding a Series
It isn't hard to add a second series to a chart. Click the chart. This will cause the chart tools to display. Next, click the Design tab and click Select Data, under the Data group. The Select Data Source dialogue box will pop up. Under Legend Entries, click Add.
This brings up the Edit Series dialogue box. Here you can enter a name for the new series and enter the cell range containing its data. For either one, you can click inside the box and then select the appropriate cell or cells on the spreadsheet, rather than manually typing them in.
Adding a Second Y-Axis
Your new series may not be measured with the same range of numbers as the old one. To make the chart look better, you can plot the new series on a differently scaled y-axis. Click the chart and select the Format tab. In the Current Selection group, click the arrow by Chart Elements and select the new series from the list that pops up.
With that selected, click Format Selection (also in the Current Selection group). In the Format Data Series dialogue box, select the Series Options tab. Under Plot Series On, select the Secondary Axis option, then click 'Close' to finish.
Formatting
Now that you have the new series plotted on a secondary axis, the chart will automatically try to adjust the scale of the axis to something appropriate. Half the time, however, it isn't quite what you want. You can adjust the settings for the axis easily. Right-click the new axis and select Format Axis. This will bring up a bunch of options that you can set to your liking.
You can also change the chart type for one series (for example, make it a line graph instead of a bar graph). With the series selected, click the Design tab, go to the Type group, click Change Chart Type and choose the option you want.
References (2)
About the Author
Hailing from Port Townsend, Wash., James Porter has been writing informational online content since 2010. His articles on physics and chemistry have been published on eHow. Porter holds a Bachelor of Science from Evergreen State College, with a broad focus covering computer science, chemistry, physics, and music.
Cite this Article Choose Citation Style
Porter, James. 'How to Add a Second Y-Axis on Excel & Make a Second Series at the End of the Chart.' Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/add-second-yaxis-excel-make-second-series-end-chart-33597.html. 11 January 2019.
Porter, James. (2019, January 11). How to Add a Second Y-Axis on Excel & Make a Second Series at the End of the Chart. Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/add-second-yaxis-excel-make-second-series-end-chart-33597.html
Porter, James. 'How to Add a Second Y-Axis on Excel & Make a Second Series at the End of the Chart' last modified January 11, 2019. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/add-second-yaxis-excel-make-second-series-end-chart-33597.html
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Microsoft Excel isn't just for organizing and maintaining spreadsheets; Excel contains a powerful graphing component that can make dozens of different dynamic graphs that update automatically when your spreadsheet updates. If you have more than one data type in a graph (for example, volume and weight), you may want to plot the different data types on their own axes. Excel 2007 makes this process possible by allowing you to add a secondary axis to your chart.
Secondary Vertical Axis
Step 1
Open the spreadsheet in Excel that contains the chart to which you want to add a secondary axis. Click the 'Microsoft Office' button, then click 'Open' and then locate the file on your computer. Click 'Open' to open the file. Your existing chart should pop up on the screen when you open the spreadsheet. Depending on the type of graph you created, it could be a bar chart, line graph or other graph type.
Step 2
Click the data series in the chart you want to plot on a secondary axis.
Step 3
Click the 'Format' tab, then click 'Format Selection' in the 'Current Selection' group.
Click the 'Series Options' tab, then click 'Secondary Axis' below 'Plot Series On.' The secondary axis will be display in the chart.
Secondary Horizontal Axis
Step 1
Click anywhere on the chart to display Chart Tools.
Step 2
Click the 'Layout' tab, then click on 'Axes' from the 'Axes' group.
Click 'Secondary Horizontal Axis,' then click the type of display you want. For example, if you want an unlabeled axis, click 'Show Axis Without Labeling.'
Tip
- Distinguish the secondary axis from the primary axis by changing the chart type for a single data series. For example, display the first series as a line chart and the second series as a bar graph.
Warning
- You cannot make a secondary horizontal axis unless you have made a secondary vertical axis first.
Items you will need
- Existing Excel spreadsheet with a chart
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