Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Selecting Fonts for a Chart.

Selecting Fonts for a Chart

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 15, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

When creating a chart in Excel, you can add various elements to the charts, such as titles or data labels. Excel allows you to change the font used to display these elements, if you desire. You can change fonts for these elements individually. To do this, use these steps:

  1. Make sure your chart is visible on the screen and you have selected it. (You do this by clicking on the chart.)
  2. Select the text element whose font you wish to change. For instance, if you want to change the chart's title, click on the title. Excel displays small black squares around the element; this lets you know it is selected.
  3. Choose Selected from the Format menu. (The word "Selected" in the menu will be followed by the type of object you selected, as in "Selected Chart Title.") Excel displays the Format dialog box for the element.
  4. Make sure the Font tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

    5. Figure 1. The Font tab of the Format Chart Title dialog box.

  5. Change the font settings, as desired.
  6. Click on OK.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3399) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Selecting Fonts for a Chart.

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

Adding a ScreenTip

Need to add a ScreenTip to your document? It's easy to do, provided you are adding a hyperlink.

Discover More

Getting a Count of Unique Names

When you've got a column full of names, you may want to get a count of how many of those names are unique. You can make ...

Discover More

Updating an Entire Table of Contents

A Table of Contents is a valuable addition to some types of documents. Updating a TOC is easy, but doing so always ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Reordering the Display of a Data Series

Once you create a chart, you aren't limited to keeping the data series in the order they originally appeared. You can ...

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

Noting a False Zero On a Chart

When creating charts that will be used by other people, you may need to take some liberties with the presentation of your ...

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 9 + 8?

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.