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You are here: Home / Design / Charts, tables & diagrams / Moving the axis labels when a PowerPoint chart/graph has both positive and negative values

Moving the axis labels when a PowerPoint chart/graph has both positive and negative values

July 14, 2014 by Ellen Finkelstein 5 Comments

READ LATER - DOWNLOAD THIS POST AS PDF >> CLICK HERE <<

For her PhD dissertation, my friend, Leslee Goldstein, did research teaching the Transcendental Meditation technique to Ugandan women who were part of an NGO (non-governmental organization) program that taught them skills to help them support themselves, such as sewing.  These women had been subjected to a huge amount of stress in their lives and this stress made progress difficult.

She did 3 pre- and post-tests that are commonly used in this situation and got great results. But when she created the chart in PowerPoint, she had a problem.

powerpoint-tips-chart-axis-label-placement-1

As you can see, by default PowerPoint puts the horizontal axis labels near the axis. Usually, this works, but when you have a combination of positive and negative numbers, the bars interfere with the labels. While the results for the Self-Efficacy Scale and Medical Outcomes Survey increased, the Perceived Stress Scale numbers decreased.

Here’s how to fix this problem:

  1. Select the chart.
  2. Right-click the horizontal axis text and choose Format Axis.
  3. In PowerPoint 2013: In the taskpane on the right, click the arrow next to Labels to expand that section.
  4. In PowerPoint 2007, 2010 and 2013: Click the Label Position or Axis Labels drop-down list and choose High. (Another option that works in some situations is Low.)

Here’s the result.

powerpoint-tips-chart-axis-label-placement-2

Much better, right?

3 orange large asterisks

Do you have frustrations getting charts to look right in PowerPoint? Leave a comment!

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READ LATER - DOWNLOAD THIS POST AS PDF >> CLICK HERE <<

Related posts:

  1. Adjust the location of the X (horizontal) chart axis in a PowerPoint chart
  2. Create a PowerPoint chart/graph with 2 Y-axes and 2 chart types
  3. Changing the order of items in a chart
  4. How to Create a Chart-Graph in PowerPoint from Excel Data-Part III

Filed Under: Charts, tables & diagrams Tagged With: axis labels, chart axis

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Great post, 🙂 I’ve been enjoying all your blog tips posts!

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5 years ago
Dan
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Dan

awesome! thanks for posting!

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5 years ago
Nandhakumar Ellappan
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Nandhakumar Ellappan

Great. Its work.

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3 years ago
financefreak
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financefreak

Thank you!!! My problem is solved!

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2 years ago
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Waterfall Chart Excel 2010 With Negative Values

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10 months ago
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