Clustered Column Chart - moving legend data under bars?

[mcheeken]

Hi all, Firstly, thanks for having this forum dedicated to Excel. I've searched around this forum, and via google, and haven't been able to find out if what I want to do is actually possible.

Let's start with the first graph on this page, as it's a perfect example of what I'm dealing with: http://peltiertech.com/Excel/Charts/VarWidthColumn.html

In that example, we have 'a then and a now,' b then and b now,' etc. where the bar axis labels are 'a, b, and c' and in each cluster is a 'then' and 'now' bar.

My question is, is it possible to have the 'then' and 'now' label directly under each of the three bars, right above the 'a' 'b' and 'c' label. I'm thinking of it as 'stacked labels' at the bottom of the chart.

So, you'd see the first two clustered columns, and below each would be 'then' and 'now,' and below that would be the label 'a,' describing that two-bar cluster.

Is there a way to do this? I've tried rearranging my cells, and adjusting the format of the chart in various ways, but haven't had any luck doing this. I've been able to get the legend, and I've also added the numerical values of my bars inside and/or above my individual bars (like bar 'then, a' has a value of 2, that value shows up floating above the bar, but I can't get 'then' to show up under the chart like I've described.

I hope this makes sense and isn't overly wordy. Thanks so much!

 

[Gerald Higgins]

Hi m, welcome to the board.

I think it is possible to do this, but it's a bit fiddly, and you will need to be careful how you set it up.

If you want it to look like this

Before
A

then enter this in the cell that contains the X axis values....
Before A

Play about with the spacing between "Before" and "A" until it is right.

For bars that just have a letter, like "B", try putting lots of spaces before the B.

Another way to do it is by using a big text box.