Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. 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: Controlling Chart Gridlines.

Controlling Chart Gridlines

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 20, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365


When you create a chart from your data, Excel automatically takes care of many of the actual details related to how a specific chart appears. One of the elements that can be included on many of the charts is gridlines. Gridlines are helpful for easily determining the height or width of graphic elements used in your chart.

Excel allows you to specifically control which gridlines are displayed or if any are displayed at all. You can do so by following these steps if you are using Excel 2007 or Excel 2010:

  1. Select the chart by clicking on it. You should see selection handles appear around the outside of the chart.
  2. Make sure that the Layout tab of the ribbon is displayed. (This tab is only visible when you've selected the chart in step 1.)
  3. Click the Gridlines tool in the Axes group. You'll see a drop-down menu appear with various options.
  4. Use the Primary Horizontal Gridlines option or the Primary Vertical Gridlines option to make changes to the gridlines, as desired.

You can't use the above steps in later versions of Excel because Microsoft decided, in their wisdom, to remove the Layout tab entirely. Instead, you can control the gridlines by following these steps:

  1. Select the chart by clicking on it. You should see selection handles appear around the outside of the chart.
  2. Make sure that the Format tab of the ribbon is displayed. (This tab is only visible when you've selected the chart in step 1.)
  3. In the Current Selection group, use the drop-down list to choose the gridlines you want to control.
  4. Click the Format Selection tool, also within the Current Selection group. Excel displays a Format task pane at the right side of the program window.
  5. Use the controls in the task pane to make changes to the gridlines, as desired.
  6. Close the task pane.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9902) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Controlling Chart Gridlines.

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

Quickly Transposing Cells

If you want to turn a range of cells by 90 degrees within a worksheet, you need to understand how Excel can handle the ...

Discover More

Jumping to the End of a Word

Using shortcut keys to navigate through your document is really handy. One navigation shortcut that Word doesn't provide ...

Discover More

Hiding the Taskbar when It is Not in Use

Don't like the Taskbar visible on the screen? You can easily hide it when you aren't using it by making just one small ...

Discover More

Save Time and Supercharge Excel! Automate virtually any routine task and save yourself hours, days, maybe even weeks. Then, learn how to make Excel do things you thought were simply impossible! Mastering advanced Excel macros has never been easier. Check out Excel 2010 VBA and Macros today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Missing Bounds Options for a Chart

When your chart contains dates along one axis, you can set bounds on the way the chart is displayed. What causes, though, ...

Discover More

Formatting Axis Patterns

Create a chart in Excel and you can then modify it almost any way you desire. One modification is to adjust the color or ...

Discover More

Excluding Some Data from a Chart

Excel is a whiz at creating charts from your worksheet data. When the program tries to determine what should be included ...

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.

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 one more than 9?

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.