Page 559 - Excel 2013 All-in-One For Dummies

(in pixels), and even modify the Label Position with the same High, Low, and None options.
To assign a new number format to a value scale (General being the default), click Number in the Format Axis task pane to display its formatting options. Then, select the number format from the Category drop-down list and spec- ify the number of decimal places and symbols (where applicable) as well as negative number formatting that you want applied to the selected axis in the chart.
Saving a customized chart as a template
After going through extensive editing and formatting of one of Excel’s basic chart types, you may want to save your work of art as a custom chart type that you can then use again with different data without having to go through all the painstaking steps to get the chart looking just the way you want it. Excel makes it easy to save any modified chart that you want to use again as a custom chart type.
To convert a chart on which you’ve done extensive editing and formatting into a custom chart type, you take these steps:
1. Right-click the customized chart in the worksheet or on its chart sheet to select its chart area and display its shortcut menu.
You can tell that the chart area (as opposed to any specific element in the chart) is selected because the Format Chart Area option appears near the bottom of the displayed shortcut menu.
2. Choose the Save As Template option from the shortcut menu.
Excel opens the Save Chart Template dialog box. The program auto- matically suggests Chart1.crtx as the filename, Chart Template Files (*.crtx) as the file type, and the Charts folder in the Microsoft Templates folder as the location.
3. Edit the generic chart template filename in the File Name text box to give the chart template file a descriptive name without removing the .crtx filename extension.
4. Click the Save button to close the Save Chart Template dialog box.
After creating a custom chart template in this manner, you can then use the template anytime you need to create a new chart that requires similar for- matting by following these steps:
1. Select the data in the worksheet to be graphed in a new chart using your chart template.
2. Click the Dialog Box launcher in the lower-right corner of the Charts group on the Insert tab of the Ribbon.
Worksheet Charting 101 541
Book V Chapter 1
Charting Worksheet Data