Data labels make a chart easier to understand because they show details about a data series or its individual data points. For example, in the pie chart below, without the data labels it would be difficult to tell that coffee was 38% of total sales.
Depending on what you want to highlight on a chart, you can add labels to one series, all the series (the whole chart), or one data point.
Add data labels
You can add data labels to show the data point values from the Excel sheet in the chart.
- This step applies to Word for Mac only: On the View menu, click Print Layout.
- Click the chart, and then click the Chart Design tab.
- Click Add Chart Element and select Data Labels, and then select a location for the data label option.
Note: The options will differ depending on your chart type.
- If you want to show your data label inside a text bubble shape, click Data Callout.
To make data labels easier to read, you can move them inside the data points or even outside of the chart. To move a data label, drag it to the location you want.
Note: If the text inside the data labels is too hard to read, resize the data labels by clicking them, and then dragging them to the size you want.
Click More Data Label Options to change the look of the data labels.
Change the look of your data labels
- Right-click on any data label and select Format Data Labels.
- Click Label Options and under Label Contains, pick the options you want.
Change the text displayed in the data labels
- Click the data label with the text to change and then click it again, so that it’s the only data label selected.
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Select the existing text and then type the replacement text.
- Click anywhere outside the data label.
Tip: If you want to add a comment about your chart or have only one data label, you can use a textbox.
Remove data labels
If you decide the labels make your chart look too cluttered, you can remove any or all of them by clicking the data labels and then pressing Delete.