Changing the Axis Scale

Excel includes an impressive graphing capability that can turn the dullest data into outstanding charts, complete with all sorts of whiz-bang do-dads to amaze your friends and confound your enemies. While Excel can automatically handle many of the mundane tasks associated with turning raw data into a chart, you may still want to change some elements of your chart.

For instance, you may want to change the scale Excel uses along an axis of your chart. (The scale automatically chosen by Excel may not represent the entire universe of possibilities you want conveyed in your chart.) You can change the scale used by Excel by following these steps in Excel 2007 or Excel 2010:

1. Right-click on the axis whose scale you want to change. Excel displays a Context menu for the axis.
2. Choose Format Axis from the Context menu. (If there is no Format Axis choice, then you did not right-click on an axis in step 1.) Excel displays the Format Axis dialog box.
3. Make sure Axis Options is clicked at the left of the dialog box. (See Figure 1.)



Figure 1. The Axis Options of the Format Axis dialog box.

4. Adjust the scale settings (top of the dialog box—Minimum, Maximum, etc.) as desired.
5. Click on OK.

In Excel 2013 and later versions, the steps are different:

1. Right-click on the axis whose scale you want to change. Excel displays a Context menu for the axis.
2. Choose Format Axis from the Context menu. (If there is no Format Axis choice, then you did not right-click on an axis in step 1.) Excel displays the Format Axis task pane at the right side of the screen.
3. Make sure Axis Options area is expanded. (Click on Axis Options and then the Axis Options icon.) (See Figure 2.)



Figure 2. The Axis Options in the Format Axis task pane.

4. Adjust the Bounds and Units settings, as desired. These, along with a couple of other settings in the task pane, determine the scale used to display your chart.
5. Close the Format Axis task pane.

Note that in order to adjust the Bounds and Units settings, Excel needs to recognize the data in an axis as a range of values (e.g. dates). There will not be the option to change Bounds and Units if the data is recognized as discreet values by Excel (e.g. item names).

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9267) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Changing the Axis Scale.