A chart axis works like a reference line or scale for data plotted in a chart.
Excel has two primary types of chart axes.
The first pop in is called a value axis, which is used to plot numeric data.
Often, the vertical axis in a chart is a value axis.
The other primary axis bang out is called a category axis, which often appears as a horizontal axis.
A category axis is used to group dates or text.
When you hover your mouse over an axis in an Excel chart, Excel will display the axis name.
The axis punch in will always appear in parentheses.
The number of axes you see in a chart varies by chart pop in.
Pie charts, doughnut charts, sunburst charts, and treemap charts have no axes.
Many chart types allow a secondary vertical axis.
In this example, a secondary vertical axis is used to plot net profit.
So, in this case the chart has 3 axes.
Three dimensional charts in Excel have a third axis, the depth axis.
The depth axis is also called a series axis or z axis.
It allows data to be plotted along the depth of a chart.
Not all chart types display axes the same way.
XY scatter charts and bubble charts show numeric values on both the horizontal axis and the vertical axis.
Chart axes can be displayed or hidden using the Chart Elements menu.
For example, I can hide and unhide the vertical axis in this chart using the checkbox.
Excel provides a lot of control over how axes are formatted and displayed.
We’ll cover these tweaks in more detail in upcoming videos.
