Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007 and 2010. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Reordering the Display of a Data Series.

Reordering the Display of a Data Series

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 30, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007 and 2010

4

When you create a chart in Excel, you may have a need to change the order in which the data series are displayed in the chart. One way to do this, of course, is to change the order of the data in the underlying worksheet range. For instance, you can sort the data in the worksheet range, and the change in order should be reflected in the chart based on that data.

Another way is to manually customize the chart to rearrange the data series. Follow these steps:

  1. Right-click on one of the data series that you want to move. Excel displays a Context menu.
  2. Select the Select Data option from the Context menu. Excel displays the Select Data Source dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The Select Data Source dialog box.

  3. In the list of data series at the left of the dialog box, click once on the one you want to move.
  4. Use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow buttons to reposition the selected data series.
  5. When finished, click OK.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6237) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007 and 2010. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Reordering the Display of a Data Series.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

How to Stop a Table Row from Splitting Over Two Pages

Do you want your table rows to be split between pages? Word allows you to format the table so that rows stay together and ...

Discover More

Inserting Video into Worksheets

You can add all sorts of objects to your workbooks, including video clips. Here's the pros and cons (along with the ...

Discover More

Jumping Between Fields

Need to step through the fields in a document? It's easy using the shortcuts detailed in this tip.

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! This guide will provide you with all the information you need to automate any task in Excel and save time and effort. Learn how to extend Excel's functionality with VBA to create solutions not possible with the standard features. Includes latest information for Excel 2024 and Microsoft 365. Check out Mastering Excel VBA Programming today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Ignoring Empty Cells in a Chart

If the data you are using as the source for a chart includes some cells that are empty, you may want to exclude those ...

Discover More

Preparing a Chart Sheet for Printing

One type of chart that Excel allows you to create is one that occupies an entire worksheet. When it comes time to print ...

Discover More

Negatives in Pie Charts

Pie charts are a great way to graphically display some types of data. Displaying negative values is not so great in pie ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 6 - 1?

2018-02-06 07:34:50

me

And how do I do this in vba scrip???

2018-01-16 03:23:02

gerdami

Unfortunately, after having reordered the data series, a click on the chart no longer shows the data range.

2015-06-08 11:19:09

Sophie

Allen, I tried this in Excel 2013, but all the options under Legend Entry (Series) are greyed out.

2014-05-21 12:53:32

Surendera M. Bhanot

People do not know much about the harts and Graph maipulations. The Tips recently appearing are making us wiser. Thanks Allen Wyatt for bringing them to us.

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.