OmniDocHow to change the position of the Excel chart legend so that the legend is arranged in two lines
Explain how to move the legend to the four directions of up, down, left, and right in Excel, as well as several ways to arrange the legend items into two rows, and explain clearly where the legend item names come from and how to change them.
Key points of this article
- The legend position is set in the chart element list, choose top or bottom, it is usually easier to arrange it in multiple lines than placing it on the right.
- The legend items are arranged in two lines. Drag the legend border to adjust the width or shorten the series name. This is generally more effective than changing the font size.
- The text of the legend item comes from the series name. To change it, you should change the header of the source data, or edit the series name in the Select Data dialog box.
- After the chart is embedded in the PDF, the legend text should not be changed directly in the PDF. The safe way is to go back to the original table, modify it and re-export it.
When making charts, placing the legend on the right side often squeezes the drawing area. If there are too many series, the legend will make the chart narrow and long. Many people want to move the legend to the bottom, or have it line up in two rows horizontally, but they can't find a direct "two rows" option in Excel, so they try and make mistakes again and again.
This article is written for readers who need to organize reports, papers or weekly charts. You will learn three things: which side to move the legend to the top, bottom, left, and right, several ways to arrange the legend items in two lines, and where the text in the legend comes from and how to change it. The following methods are mainly based on the common operations of Excel. The interfaces of different versions may be slightly different, but the idea is the same.
How to change the legend position? One sentence conclusion
The legend position itself is easy to change, just select a direction in the chart element. What really requires some thinking is "lining up in two lines", which depends on where the legend is and how wide it is.
| your situation | Recommended practices | reason |
|---|---|---|
| There are few series (2–3) and I want to save space on the left and right | Place the legend on the right or left | Vertical arrangement saves trouble and does not affect the horizontal width |
| There are many series and long names | Place the legend at the bottom or top and drag the legend wider | Horizontal arrangement can accommodate more items, and will automatically wrap when the width is sufficient. |
| I want the legend to line up neatly in two lines | Drop the bottom and drag the legend border so that it only holds two lines | Typesetting is determined by the width of the legend. Adjusting the width is more direct than changing the font size. |
| The legend text is too long, and it’s too crowded no matter how I change it. | Shorten the series name, or change the header in the source table | The text itself takes up space, and the number of lines will naturally be reduced after shortening. |
| Charts to be placed into PDF or Word reports | Adjust it in Excel first, then export it as a whole | Changing the legend after exporting can easily cause misalignment and high maintenance costs. |
Before you start: Confirm these points first
First confirm what the legend corresponds to. The legend item is the name of each data series in the chart, not just any description text. If what you want to change is the chart title or axis label, those are different elements and the operation path is different.
Confirm that the chart is a real Excel chart. If the chart is a picture pasted from elsewhere, the legend cannot be modified individually in Excel and needs to be regenerated back to the original data.
Think clearly about where to place the legend. It is common to place it at the bottom and is suitable for reports that are read horizontally; placing it on the right side is suitable for scenarios where there are many series and vertical comparison is required. Now that the location has been decided, let’s talk about how many rows to line up.
Prepare the source data table. The series name usually comes from the header row of the table. If the table header is very long, the legend will be very long. It is recommended to shorten the table header in the table first, and then come back to adjust the chart.
Pay attention to the chart width. How many rows the legend can fit in depends on how wide the chart itself is. When the chart is too narrow, the legend can only be arranged vertically no matter how you adjust it.
Steps to move the legend position in Excel
- Select the chart. Click on the blank space of the chart, and a border will appear around the chart, indicating that the chart has been selected.
- Open the chart element. After selecting the chart, a plus button will usually appear in the upper right corner of the chart. Click to expand the list of chart elements.
- Check the legend. If the chart does not have a legend, check it in the list first. This step can be skipped if the legend is already displayed.
- Expand the location options of the legend. Move the mouse over the legend item, and a right arrow will appear. After clicking it, you can see the top, bottom, left, right and other directions.
- Select direction. If you want the legend to be arranged horizontally, select Bottom or Top. The legend will immediately move to the corresponding position, and the drawing area will automatically resize.
- Check whether the legend is truncated. Check to see if the legend is fully displayed after moving. If only part of the chart is displayed, it means the chart is not wide enough and needs to be processed in the next step.
- Enter more detailed settings if needed. Right-click on the legend and select Format Legend to adjust the font size, border, etc. The choice of location does not need to be made here.
How to make the legend line up in two lines
The key to this step is to make the legend items occupy exactly two rows when arranged horizontally. Excel usually does not provide the option to directly specify "two rows". The following methods can be used in combination.
- Drag the legend border to widen. After selecting the legend, borders will appear around it. Drag the control points on both sides to reduce the legend width so that one row can't fit and two rows can fit. Excel will automatically break lines.
- Drag the legend border to raise it. Sometimes, after adjusting the width, the legend will have three or more lines, allowing you to reduce the height so that only two rows of space remain at the top.
- Shorten the series name. The shorter the series name, the more items can be placed in a single line. Changing "Q1 2023 actual sales" to "Q1 2023 sales" can significantly reduce the number of lines.
- Adjust chart width. If legends are still crowded together, you can drag the right border of the chart to widen the chart, increasing the available space for legends.
After completion, check each item one by one
| Inspection items | How to see it | What should you do if there's a problem? |
|---|---|---|
| Legend position | Whether the legend is in the direction you have chosen | Reopen the chart element and select the correct direction |
| Whether the legend is complete | Can you see the names of each series? | Broaden the legend, or shorten the series name |
| Check if the number of rows is appropriate | Check whether the legend has exactly two rows, with no isolated items starting from a new line | Fine-tune the legend width until the layout is neat |
| Check if the name is correct | Check whether the legend text matches the data series | Check the series name in the selected data, or modify the source table header |
| Export the effect | Check if the legend is misaligned after copying or exporting | Check under the final size used; do not adjust the window size below the other size |
📊 Core Comparison
When adjusting legend layout, there are three common approaches, each suitable for different scenarios.
| Method | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|
| Only change the position | Fast operation | Even when the series name is long, it may still be crowded into multiple lines and may not be neat |
| Drag the frame to widen and adjust the height | Precisely controlled number of rows, the effect is intuitive | After the chart size changes, it needs to be readjusted |
| Shorten the name or header | Fundamentally reduce placeholder and make charts more concise | The name should retain sufficient distinctiveness and avoid excessive abbreviations |
In practice, the usual combination of these three methods is used: first select the position, then shorten the overly long name, and finally fine-tune the line count with the border.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. How to change the text of an example item?
The legend item displays the name of the data series. A simple method is to modify the header of the corresponding column in the source table; If you want to modify the table individually without changing it, you can right-click on the chart, select Data, and edit the series name in the series list.
2. Why can't legends be set to two rows directly?
Excel legend layout is determined by both position and width, and there is no option for "number of rows." To control the number of lines, you can only do so indirectly by adjusting the legend width, height, or the length of the series name.
3. The chart has already been added to the PDF. How do you modify the legend?
Charts in PDFs are usually fixed images, making it difficult to directly modify legends. A safe approach is to go back to the original Excel file to modify the chart, then re-export the PDF. If you only need to modify a specific paragraph, you can use a PDF editor to modify the paragraph text, but it is not recommended to use it to adjust chart layouts.
4. The sequence order in the legend is incorrect. How to adjust it?
The legend sequence generally follows the sequence of the data series. In the data selection dialog, you can move series up or down, and the legend order will change accordingly. After adjustment, remember to check whether the color of the drawing area still matches the series.
5. How can charts be used for formal documents? How can you ensure the layout is not messy?
Adjust at the final size, then copy or export. If the document needs multiple revisions, you can record the chart dimensions and legend positions to keep them consistent later.
📝 Summary
The legend position in Excel charts can be quickly switched within the chart elements, but to arrange the legend in two rows, you need to adjust the width, height, and series name together. First, choose the direction, then drag the legend border, and finally check the name and export effect. This will basically give you a neat Excel legend layout.
