Numbers - Formatting Chart Axes

To show or hide an axis or chart borders, set the scale (linear or log) and span of
the value axis, or adjust grid and tick marks along the axes, make selections, and enter
appropriate values in the Axis pane of the Chart inspector.

Many of these formatting options are also available using the format bar. Just as with
the Chart inspector, the options available on the format bar are always appropriate to
the type of chart you have selected.

To place gridlines and tick marks along the chart axes:
Select the grid lines and tick marks you want from one or both of the Choose Axis

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Options pop-up menus in the Axis pane of the Chart inspector.

To format the values along the value axis, do any of the following in the Axis pane
of the Chart inspector:
To set the highest number displayed on the value axis, type a number in the Max field

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under Value Axis. This value can’t be lower than the maximum value of your entire data
set. If you don’t specify a number, the field displays the word “Auto,” and the value is
automatically calculated based on the data.
To set the value at the origin point of the value axis, type a number in the Min field

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under Value Axis. This value can’t be greater than the minimum value of your entire
data set. If you don’t specify a number, the field displays the word “Auto,” and the value
is automatically calculated based on the data.
To specify the number of axis markings between zero and the minimum and maximum

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values on the value axis, specify a number in the Steps field under Value Axis.
To display the data values on the value axis, choose Show Value Labels and/or Show

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Minimum Value from the Choose Axis Options pop-up menu under Value Axis.
To format values differently from the way they’re formatted in the related table, choose

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an option from the Format pop-up menu under Value Axis.

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Chapter 7

Creating Charts from Data

Chapter 7

Creating Charts from Data

147

Number: Displays the data point value with no units, unless you specify them. To
specify units, type them into the Suffix field. In the Decimals field, specify how many
decimal places you want to appear, and then choose –100 or (100) from the adjacent
pop-up menu to choose a style for displaying negative numbers. Select Separator if
you want to show a thousands separator on the left side of the decimal.
Currency: Displays the data point value as a monetary amount. Choose the currency
unit symbol from the Symbol pop-up menu. In the Decimals field, specify how many
decimal places you want to appear. To display negative values preceded by a minus
sign or in parentheses, choose –100 or (100) from the pop-up menu. Select Separator if
you want to show a thousands separator on the left side of the decimal.
Percentage: Displays the data point value as divided by 100. In the Decimals field,
specify how many decimal places you want to appear. To display negative values
preceded by a minus sign or in parentheses, choose –100 or (100) from the pop-up
menu. Select Separator if you want to show a thousands separator on the left side of
the decimal.
Date and Time: Displays data point values with a date and time format.
Duration: Displays data point values as a unit of time (for example, seconds, minutes,
or weeks).
Fraction: Displays data point values less than 1 as one integer over another. (If your
values are greater than 1, you won’t see any fractional representation of your data.)
Select how accurately you want the fractions rounded in the Accuracy pop-up menu.
Selecting an option such as Halves or Quarters represents the values as a portion of
the total pie, rounded to the nearest division you selected.
Scientific: Displays data point values in scientific notation, where 10 raised to a power
is represented as E+ an integer. In the Decimals field, specify how many decimal places
you want to show.
Custom: Select a custom number format you’ve already created, or create a new one.
See “Using Your Own Formats for Displaying Values in Table Cells” on page 101 for
more information.

To display category (data set) titles:

1

Choose Show Categories from the Choose Axis Options pop-up menu under Category

Axis in the Axis pane of the Chart inspector.

2

To change the category labels, insert the pointer in the Labels field, do one of the

following, and then click the Accept button (the green check) to save your changes:

To include a label, click the cell of the table where the label you want appears.

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A reference to the cell is added to the Labels field.
To exclude a label, select the cell reference in the Label field and press the

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Delete key.