Adjust chart markings and labels

There are several types of chart markings and axis labels you can add to your charts. You can modify their appearance to emphasize your data.

Chart with axis value labels, grid lines, category labels, and legend

Edit the chart title

Charts have a placeholder title (Title) that’s hidden by default. You can show and change the chart title.

  1. Select the chart.

  2. Click the Chart tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.

    If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have a Chart tab, click Format button in the toolbar.

  3. Select the Title checkbox.

  4. Double-click the placeholder title, then type your own.

  5. To change the appearance of the title, such as its font, size, and color, double-click the title again, then use the controls in the Chart Font section of the sidebar to make changes.

Add and modify chart value labels

Bar, column, line, area, bubble, and pie charts have labels that show the values of specific data points. By default, these value labels are hidden for new charts, but you can make them visible and specify a format (for example, number, currency, or percentage), change their font and color, and more.

  1. Select the chart.

  2. Click the Series tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.

    If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have a Series tab, click Format button in the toolbar.

  3. Click the disclosure triangle next to Value Labels, click the pop-up menu, then choose a number format.

    Note: Depending on the type of chart, this section may have a different name. For example, an interactive bubble chart has a Bubble Labels section. For scatter charts, you choose an axis, then set value labels.

  4. Use the other controls to make further adjustments to the labels.

    • Add a suffix or prefix. Anything you enter is appended or prepended to the label.

    • Click the Location pop-up menu, then choose an option to specify where the numbers appear in the chart.

  5. To change the font, color, and style of the labels, click any value label on the chart.

    All value labels for that series are selected.

  6. In the Value Labels tab of the sidebar, use the controls to make changes.

    Only the labels for the selected data series are modified. To change labels for another series, click one of its labels, then make changes.

    To select multiple series, select one, then Command-click another. To select all series, select one, then press Command-A.

If you change the font for the entire chart, it also changes the font for the value labels.

Add and modify pie chart wedge labels

  1. Select the chart.

    To make changes for only one wedge, click it.

  2. Click the Wedges tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.

    If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have a Wedges tab, click Format button in the toolbar.

  3. Click the disclosure triangle next to Labels, then do any of the following:

    • Show data point labels: Select the Data Point Names checkbox.

    • Show data values: Select the Values checkbox.

    • Change the number format: Click the Value Data Format pop-up menu, then choose a format.

      If you want the value labels to match the format of the original data in the table, choose Same as Source Data.

  4. Use the other controls to make further adjustments to the labels:

    • Add a suffix or prefix: Anything you enter is appended or prepended to the label.

    • Change the position of the labels: Drag the Distance from Center slider to specify where the numbers appear.

    • Change the orientation of the wedges: Move the Rotation Angle control. You may want to make a point, for example, by positioning certain wedges at the top or bottom of the chart.

Modify chart axis labels

You can specify which labels appear on an axis, edit their names, and change their angle.

  1. Select the chart.

  2. Click the Axis tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.

    If you don’t see the sidebar, or it doesn’t have an Axis tab, click Format button in the toolbar.

  3. Do one of the following:

    • Modify markings on the value axis: Click the Value (Y) button at the top of the sidebar.

    • Modify markings on the category axis: Click the Category (X) button at the top of the sidebar.

  4. Use the controls to make adjustments.

    To see all options, click the disclosure triangles to the left of the section headings.

    Controls for formatting chart axis markings
  5. If you turned on Axis Name and want to change the placeholder axis name, triple-click the name on the chart, then type your own.

Note: Y-axis options may be different for scatter and bubble charts.

Modify axis grid lines

You can specify whether to show chart grid lines, and you can modify their appearance.

  1. Click anywhere on the chart to select it.

  2. Click the Axis tab at the top of the sidebar on the right, then click the button for the axis you want to modify (X or Y).

    If you don’t see a sidebar, or it doesn’t have an Axis tab, click Format button in the toolbar.

  3. Do any of the following:

    • Set the line type: Click the pop-up menu below Major Gridlines or Minor Gridlines, then choose a line type.

    • Set the line color: In the Major Gridlines section, click the color well or color wheel, then choose a color.

    • Set the increment for major gridlines: In the Major Gridlines section, click the arrows to the right of the increment field, or type a value in it.

    • Show tick marks for the x or value axis: Click the Tick Marks pop-up menu, then choose a location.

Show or remove error bars

Error bars are represented as small marks whose length indicates the amount of uncertainty associated with a given data series (the data’s variability). These bars give you a general impression of your data’s accuracy.

  1. Click anywhere in the chart to select it.

  2. Click the Series tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.

    If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have a Series tab, click Format button in the toolbar.

  3. Click the disclosure triangle next to Error Bars, click the pop-up menu, then choose a type of error bar.

  4. Click the second pop-up menu, choose how error values are calculated, and change the range if you want.

  5. To change the appearance of the error bars, click an error bar so that you see white dots at either end, and the Error Bar controls tab appears at the top of the sidebar.

    All error bars for elements in the same series are selected.

  6. Use the controls in the Bar Style and Shadow sections to make changes.

    Repeat steps 4 and 5 to change the appearance of the error bars for other series.

To remove error bars, choose None from the Error Bars pop-up menu.

Show or remove trendlines

Trendlines show you the overall direction (or trend) of your data. Trendlines are mostly used for making financial investment decisions and appear in bar, line, scatter, and bubble charts.

  1. Select the chart.

  2. Click the Series tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.

    If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have a Series tab, click Format button in the toolbar.

  3. Click the disclosure triangle next to Trendlines, click the pop-up menu, then choose a type of trendline.

  4. Do one of the following:

    • Show names for the trendlines: Select the Name checkbox, then type a name in the field. The name you type appears for all trendlines on the chart. To change a name, double-click it on the chart, then type a new one.

    • Show the equation or coefficient of determination: Select the Show Equation or Select R2 Value checkbox.

  5. To change the appearance of a trendline, click the line so you see white dots at either end, and the Trendline controls appear in the sidebar.

    Use the controls in the Stroke and Shadow sections to make changes.

To remove trendlines, choose None from the Trendlines pop-up menu

Modify chart axis labels and grid lines

Most types of charts have axis markings, which you can modify in a number of ways. You can change which labels appear on an axis, the angle of the labels, the range and frequency of the markings, and more. You can also set whether to show chart grid lines, and specify their appearance.

  1. Select the chart.

  2. Click the Axis tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.

    If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have an Axis tab, click Format button in the toolbar.

  3. Do one of the following:

    • Modify markings on the value-axis: Click Value (Y) at the top of the sidebar.

    • Modify markings on the category-axis: Click Category (X) at the top of the sidebar.

  4. Use the controls in the sidebar to make any adjustments you want.

    To see all options, click the disclosure triangles to the left of the section headings.

    Controls for formatting chart axis markings
  5. If you selected an Axis Name checkbox, Keynote adds a placeholder axis name to the chart. To change it, triple-click the name on the chart, then type your own.

Add a chart legend

  1. Click anywhere on the chart to select it.

  2. Click the Chart tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.

    If you don’t see the sidebar, click Format button in the toolbar.

  3. In the Chart Options section, select the Legend checkbox.

  4. Click the chart, click the legend (to select only the legend), then do any of the following:

    • Click the Style tab at the top of the sidebar, then use the controls to change the appearance of the legend text, add a background fill, add a border, and more.

    • Drag the handles around the legend to resize it.

Use an interactive chart

An interactive chart presents data in stages so that you can emphasize the relationship between groups of data. Interactive charts can be used to show data like sales by group over time, expenses by department, and population changes by country per continent. The example below shows the growth of three species during a three-year period.

Three stages of interactive chart, each showing different data set

You can interact with the chart using a slider and buttons or buttons only.

  1. Select the chart.

  2. Click the Chart tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.

    If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have a Chart tab, click Format button in the toolbar.

  3. Click the disclosure triangle next to Interactive Chart, click the pop-up menu, then choose an option.

You can add a Magic Chart build effect to an interactive chart, which animates the different chart data series.