Although Excel’s 3-D charts do a pretty good job of simulating 3-D objects on a 2-D screen, it can sometimes be difficult to visually line up a data point with its corresponding position on the chart’s category axis. This is especially true when working with area or line charts. The task can be even more difficult if the chart has been rotated or the perceived angle of elevation has been changed. Fortunately, you can add drop lines, which are visual aids that help anchor each data point to the category axis.

To display drop lines in a chart:

1. Launch Excel and open the workbook that contains your chart.
2. Select a data series on the chart, and then choose Format | Selected Data Series from the menu bar. Alternatively, you can press [Ctrl]1.
3. Click on the Options tab in the Format Data Series dialog box.
4. Select the Drop Lines check box and then click OK.

Vertical lines now extend from each data point to the category axis, eliminating confusion and guesswork. Note that you can also apply this formatting option to 2-D area and line charts.

Adapt for Excel 2007
In Excel 2007, select the data series to which you want to add drop lines. On the Chart Tools ribbon’s Layout tab, click the Lines button in the Analysis group. Select Drop Lines from the dropdown list to add drop lines to that data series.

Filed under: Microsoft Office Tutor