Excel 2010 Just the Steps For Dummies
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You can add data labels to an Excel 2010 chart to help identify the values shown in each data point of the data series. Excel provides several options for the placement and formatting of data labels.

Use the following steps to add data labels to series in a chart:

  1. Click anywhere on the chart that you want to modify.

  2. On the Chart Tools Layout tab, click the Data Labels button in the Labels group.

    A menu of data label placement options appears:

    • None: The default choice; it means you don't want to display data labels.

    • Center to position the data labels in the middle of each data point.

    • Inside End to position the data labels inside the end of each data point.

    • Inside Base to position the data labels inside the base of each data point.

    • Outside End to position the data labels outside the end of each data point.

  3. Select where you want the data label to be placed.

    Data labels added to a chart with a placement of Outside End.
    Data labels added to a chart with a placement of Outside End.
  4. On the Chart Tools Layout tab, click Data Labels→More Data Label Options.

    The Format Data Labels dialog box appears. You can use the options on the Label Options, Number, Fill, Border Color, Border Styles, Shadow, Glow and Soft Edges, 3-D Format, and Alignment tabs to customize the appearance and position of the data labels.

  5. If you don't want the data label to be the series value, choose a different option from the Label Options area.

    You can change the labels to show the Series Name, the Category Name, or the Value.

  6. Select Number in the left pane, and then choose a number style for the data labels.

  7. Customize any additional options and then click Close.

You can easily remove the data labels by clicking the Data Labels button in the Labels group on the Chart Tools Layout tab and selecting None from the drop-down menu.

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Diane Koers owns and operates All Business Service, a software training and consulting business formed in 1988, that services the central Indiana area. Her area of expertise has long been in the word-processing, spreadsheet, and graphics areas of computing. She also provides training and support for Peachtree Accounting Software. Diane's authoring experience includes over 40 books on topics, such as PC security, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Works, WordPerfect, Paint Shop Pro, Lotus SmartSuite, Quicken, Microsoft Money, and Peachtree Accounting. Many of these titles have been translated into other languages, such as French, Dutch, Bulgarian, Spanish, and Greek. She has also developed and written numerous training manuals for her clients.
Diane and her husband enjoy spending their free time fishing, traveling, and playing with their four grandsons and their Yorkshire Terrier.

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