#Label axis on excel for mac series#

We can also change the maximum so that the axis spans a non-integral number of cycles. Instead of the minor ticks being located at multiples of ten (20, 30, 40, 50,…), they are located at multiples of 8 (16, 24, 32, 40,…) Here the axis ranges from 8 to 80, still a decade on the base 10 log scale.

In 2007 we can change the min and max of the log axis to values other than 10 (i.e., other than the base). Here the log scale has been changed to base 2. Here is the same chart, with the scale transformed to a logarithmic scale, using the default base 10. Here is the data plotted on a linear scale. With such a narrow spread in the data, it’s not immediately apparent that the Y scale isn’t linear, but if you took out your ruler (you still have one of those, right? you’re not completely digital?) you can tell that the span between 8 and 9 is larger than that between 11 and 12.Īs described in Custom Axis, Y = 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, Excel 2007 makes working with log scales a bit easier.

#Label axis on excel for mac series#

We can hide the default labels, add a series with points where we want our custom labels using log(Y) data, and use the Y values as data labels. Since Excel 2003 only permits the axis to begin and end at powers of ten, we’re stuck with this, and the fanciest labeling doesn’t make the data easier to read.įollowing the steps in Custom Axis, Y = 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 we can plot the logs of the data on a linear scale, from log(8) = 0.903 to log(12) = 1.079. The data is squeezed into the middle of the chart. When we apply a logarithmic scale axis, the data spans across 10, so by default the axis ranges from 1 to 100. Here is the data charted using a linear axis. The data in the table below has a narrow range, from 8 to 12, and the range spans a power of ten. We’ll look at this for Excel 2003 and for Excel 2007, and then we’ll look at native logarithmic axis labeling. If the data isn’t spread out so nicely, you lose the opportunity to use a regular logarithmic axis.

In the previous post, the data was widely spaced, so it filled a base 10 log scale with two decades with only a reasonable amount of space above and below the data. In Excel 2007, the axis can be achieved with the untransformed data. In Excel 2003 it is necessary to transform the data to get the intended result. In Custom Axis, Y = 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 I showed axes with base 2 logarithmic scales in both Excel 20.