Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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: Adding Data Labels to Your Chart.

Adding Data Labels to Your Chart

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated July 2, 2016)

Data labels are used to indicate what the main part of the chart represents. Depending on the type of chart you are creating, data labels can mean quite a bit. For instance, if you are formatting a pie chart, the data can be more difficult to understand if you don't include data labels.

To add data labels in Excel 2007 or Excel 2010, follow these steps:

  1. Activate the chart by clicking on it, if necessary.
  2. Make sure the Layout tab of the ribbon is displayed.
  3. Click the Data Labels tool. Excel displays a number of options that control where your data labels are positioned.
  4. Select the position that best fits where you want your labels to appear.

To add data labels in Excel 2013 or Excel 2016, follow these steps:

  1. Activate the chart by clicking on it, if necessary.
  2. Make sure the Design tab of the ribbon is displayed. (This will appear when the chart is selected.)
  3. Click the Add Chart Element drop-down list.
  4. Select the Data Labels tool. Excel displays a number of options that control where your data labels are positioned.
  5. Select the position that best fits where you want your labels to appear.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6788) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Adding Data Labels to Your Chart.

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

Creating an Executive Summary

Word includes an "executive summary" tool that allows you to automatically summarize a document. This tool provides a ...

Discover More

Understanding WordArt

One of the small graphical features provided with Word is the ability to apply artistic treatment to words or phrases. ...

Discover More

Editing the Same Cell in Multiple Sheets

When creating a workbook, you may need to make changes on one worksheet and have those edits appear on the same cells in ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Identifying Scatter Plot Points

Do you want to add data labels to the data points in an xy graph? Excel doesn't provide a way to get the desired labels, ...

Discover More

Changing Elements in Lots of Charts at One Time

Got a bunch of charts that you need to make formatting changes in? You can use a macro (or two) to apply the formatting ...

Discover More

Reordering the Display of a Data Series

Once you create a chart, you aren't limited to keeping the data series in the order they originally appeared. You can ...

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}] 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 nine more than 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

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 AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.