Chart elements

The strangest section of the periodic chart comes in the first transition subgroup. Under scandium and yttrium (marked with stars on the periodic chart) fall two long horizontal lists of elements so much alike that they are squeezed into two squares of the chart. Elements with the atomic numbers 57-71 are called the lanthanides. The actinides are elements with the atomic numbers 89-103, and they are all radioactive. These transition elements are as follows ... 

Figure 2-3. The third Chart Wizard dialog box adding or removing chart elements.

The various components that make up a chart —Plot Area, Axes, Data Series, Arrows, Text, Gridlines, etc. — are the chart elements. The Format menu allows you to customize any of these chart elements. You can change the weight and style of lines, the color and shape of plotting symbols, the numerical ranges of axes, etc. 

Excel Tip As you move the mouse pointer around the chart, yellow Chart Tip boxes appear, with the name of the chart element that the mousepointer is currently passing over. If you find these Chart Tips distracting, you can deactivate them by choosing Options from the Tools menu. Choose the Chart tab and un-check the Chart Tips check box. 

Select a particular chart element by clicking once on it with the mouse pointer. The selected element will be indicated by the appearance of "handles" in addition, the name of the chart element will appear in the Name Box (the cell reference area of the formula bar). It s a good idea to look at the text in the Name Box when you choose a chart element, just to make sure that you ve selected the correct chart element. 

Excel Tip. Sometimes it s difficult to select a chart element by clicking on it (for example, if two chart elements are almost superimposed). Instead of selecting with the mouse pointer, you can use the up and down arrows on the keyboard to select chart elements. This allows you to select each chart element in turn (Chart, Plot, Axis, Series 1, etc.) the name of the selected chart element is displayed in the reference area of the formula bar. By using the left and right arrows, you can select related chart elements within a group (e.g.. Series 1 Point 1, Series 1 Point 2, etc.). 

Once the desired chart element has been selected, choose Format from the Chart Menu Bar. In Excel 2000 there is a single context-sensitive menu command in the Format menu, which appears as Selected Axis..., Selected Data Series..., etc., depending on which chart element is selected. 

Excel Tip. If you double-click on a chart element you will go directly to the... 

Avoid superfluous chart elements that detract from the data, such as putting too much writing on a graph. Remember that when everything is emphasized, nothing is emphasized. 

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