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Add Extra Text Box to a Chart

BY STANLEY ZAROWIN

Please note: This item is from our archives and was published in 2006. It is provided for historical reference. The content may be out of date and links may no longer function.

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To help readers follow the instructions in this article, we used two different typefaces:

Boldface type is used to identify the names of icons, agendas and URLs.

Sans serif type shows the names of files and the names of commands and instructions that users should type into the computer.


When I create a chart in Excel, I often need to add another box inside the chart—such as a note of explanation. But since the box is not part of the data points, I can’t figure out a way to do this. Any ideas?

There are two very neat ways to do it. One is to use the Drawing toolbar by clicking on View , Toolbars , Drawing . Now click on the Text Box tool. Notice how the mouse pointer changes to cross-hairs; you then can click and drag to outline the text box you want to create.

The second way is to use the Formula bar. First click on any part of your chart (except a title or data label) and then go to the Formula bar and start typing the material you want to appear in the text box, like this:

When you press Enter , the text you typed gets placed in a text box. You then can move and resize the box.