Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Selecting Fonts for a Chart.

Selecting Fonts for a Chart

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 6, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

When creating a chart in Excel, you can add various elements to the charts, such as titles or data labels. Excel allows you to change the font used to display these elements, if you desire. You can change fonts for these elements individually. To do this, use these steps:

  1. Make sure your chart is visible on the screen and you have selected it. (You do this by clicking on the chart.)
  2. Select the text element whose font you wish to change. For instance, if you want to change the chart's title, click on the title. Excel displays small black squares around the element; this lets you know it is selected.
  3. Display the Home tab of the ribbon.
  4. In the Font group, use the available tools to specify the font characteristics for the element you selected in step 2.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10597) 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: Selecting Fonts for a 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

Using Callouts

If you want to put comments in your document, you can use Word's built-in comment feature. Another way is to use callout ...

Discover More

Determining Month Names for a Range of Dates

Given a starting date and an ending date, you may want to generate the names of all the months between those two dates. ...

Discover More

Naming Tabs for Weeks

Need to set up a workbook that includes a worksheet for each week of the year? Here's a couple of quick macros that can ...

Discover More

Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Colorizing Charts

Need to change the color of different parts of your chart? It's easy to do when you apply the technique described in this ...

Discover More

Using Chart Titles

Titles can be a great addition to any chart. They help provide explanatory information about the information in the ...

Discover More

Controlling Chart Gridlines

Gridlines are often added to charts to help improve the readability of the chart itself. Here's how you can control ...

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 0 + 1?

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 SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.