changing legend caption order

[Jamie Martin]

Hi again,

The captions in my chart legend look like this:

1
2 3
4
5 6

The eye naturally reads from 1 to 4, since they are closer together, and
the viewer gets disoriented. I would like to change to this layout:

1
3 5
2
4 6

Can I do this? I suspect my best fix is probably to move the legend
elsewhere on the page where the captions will automatically align
themselves in a better way, but I'd love it if there was some way for me
to take more control.

Thanks everyone,

Jamie

 

[Jamie Martin]

Thanks for your advice. I should have been explicit that I know about
this and it will not solve the problem. If I examine the series in the
column chart I'm working on from left to right (whatever order the
series are in), I must read the legend in rows and not in columns to
find out what each series represents. I want to be able to read my
legend like a book, reading from the top to the bottom and then over to
the next column--as my eye moves right on the chart to the next series,
it moves down the column of the legend to the next legend entry. This
seems especially natural if you have long series names, because then
each series name is right next to the one below it but a long way from
the one to the right of it. Everyone who has looked at my chart has
tried to read the legend top-to-bottom and has been confused.

I'm having trouble putting this precisely; I hope this is clear enough.

Thanks,

Jamie

 

[Jamie Martin]

Here's a way to visualize what I'd like to do.

My series are in this order:

ABCD

The legend is in this order:

AB
CD

I want it to be in this order:

AC
BD

My chart does use color, and I can get by OK with what I have. But if anyone
can do this, please let me know.

Best,

Jamie

 

[Dan E]

Jamie,

Changing the series order will accomplish this
With Series order ABCD
Legend set up to show 4 entries
AB
CD
Format Data Series and go to Series Order
Click on B
MOVE DOWN

New Order
AC
BD

Dan E

 

[Jamie Martin]

Hi Dan,

You're right, but what I'd like to do is have my legend read

AC
BD

while STILL having my series be in the order

ABCD.

I think that if someone is reading through a cluster of columns and wants
to find out what each column represents, he will most naturally read
through the legend the way we read through a book--in columns, not rows.

Again, this is not essential; just wondering if it's possible.

 

[Jon Peltier]

Jamie -

Want a severe workaround?

Put these series into your chart: A, B, C, B, D

The second B can be a duplicate of B or some dummy data, maybe all zero
values. Format both series B the same way. One by one, select the
points in the second series B, and set their formatting to None (no
lines, no borders, no markers, no area fills, whatever is relevant to
your chart type). Select the legend, then select the text label of the
legend entry for the first series B. Press Delete, which removes the
legend entry, but retains the series.

- Jon