Adding Text Boxes to Charts

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 3, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

When you create a chart from your Excel data, you may want to add text boxes to the chart for any number of purposes (copyright statement, explanation, notes, etc.). There are two quick ways you can add a text box.

The first method is to use the Drawing toolbar. Simply make sure it is displayed, then click the Text Box tool. The mouse pointer changes to crosshairs, and you can click and drag to outline the text box you want created.

The second way to create a text box is to use the Formula bar. Make sure you select any part of your chart except a title or data label. Click in the Formula bar and start typing what you want to appear in the text box. When you press Enter, the text you typed is placed in a text box in the center of the chart. You can then move and resize the text box, as desired.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3000) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Selecting a Column or Row in a Table

Selecting rows and columns in tables is a common task. Because of this, Word provides a couple of ways you can accomplish ...

Discover More

When Clicking a Cell, Excel Jumps to a Different Cell

When you click on a cell, you expect the cell to be selected. What happens, though, if you are instead taken to an ...

Discover More

Checking Just the Selected Text

Having a hard time doing a spell check on just the portion of the document you've selected? This is apparently due to a ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Controlling Chart Gridlines

Gridlines are often added to charts to help improve the readability of the chart itself. Here's how you can control ...

Discover More

Changing Elements in Lots of Charts at One Time

Got a bunch of charts that you need to make formatting changes in? You can use a macro (or two) to apply the formatting ...

Discover More

Automatically Updating Charts for Additional Data

Add information to the data on which a chart is based, and you may find out that the information is excluded from the ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 5 + 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.