WPS Office

Free All-in-One Office Suite with PDF Editor

correct-icon

Edit Word, Excel, and PPT for FREE.

correct-icon

Read, edit, and convert PDFs with the powerful PDF toolkit.

correct-icon

Microsoft-like interface, easy to use.

Free download

Windows • MacOS • Linux • iOS • Android

banner

How to add a second axis in excel charts (Step-by-Step)

July 21, 2022
4.9K Views

In a blank spreadsheet, we'll add the following three rows of data about Nike shoe sales for the process:

  • Shoe sizes

  • Number of shoes sold as per their size.

  • percentage of inventory of that size that was sold.

Your X axis should be Row 1, and your two Y axes should be Rows 2 and 3. We will use Row 3 as our secondary axis in this case

Create a chart with your data

In the top-left corner of your navigation bar, click Insert. Then, as seen below, choose Charts, go to the Column section, and choose Clustered Column — the first choice.

Then, your data set will be followed by your chart.

Add your second data series

The Percent of Nike Shoes Sold data, which is presently row 3 in the spreadsheet, must now be converted into your chart's secondary Y axis. Then, select Format from the top navigation bar. As seen in the screenshot at the far right of this article, this ought to appear in dark green next to Chart Design. Navigate to the dropdown menu on the top-left corner of your menu bar, where it could now say Chart Area, after choosing Format. Select Series 'Percent of Nike Shoes Sold' by clicking this option (or whichever series you want as your secondary axis).

Click the Format Selection button, which is located immediately below the dropdown, after choosing Series 'Percent of Nike Shoes Sold.' You can choose a secondary axis from a pop-up window that will appear. If the version of Excel you're using doesn't have a formatting button, continue to the fourth step below.\

Your primary Y axis should now be your secondary Y axis for this data series in excel

Your new data series will now be displayed in your chart, however it is presently being measured as a low-lying sequence of columns on your main Y axis. Click on one of these bars directly above the X axis line until it becomes highlighted to add a second Y axis to this data. A menu bar with the label Format Data Series ought to appear on the right side of your screen once you've highlighted this extra data series on your chart, as seen below.

To change the Percentage of Nike Shoes Sold data's primary Y axis to its own secondary Y axis, click the Secondary Axis bubble in this menu bar.

Adjust your formatting to add a second axis in excel:

We're not finished until your percentages are on their own Y axis on the right side of your chart. Look at how the columns for Number of Shoes Sold and Percent of Nike Shoes Sold cross each other. Your secondary data series should ideally be presented in a different format than your columns. Do that, then.

To highlight your second data series once more, click your orange columns as seen in the picture above. Then, on the Excel spreadsheet's top menu bar, select Chart Design. Hover over the Line graph choice by selecting the Change Chart Type icon on the far right-hand side. As seen below, choose the first line graph choice that presents.

Your graph, which displays both the quantity of shoes sold and their percentage by shoe size, is prepared.

Note: This article shows you how to add a second axis in excel online, 2016 and 2019 in both windows and mac. 

To get the newest version of WPS Office, you must first access this operating interface.

You just need to have a little understanding of how and which way things work and you are good to go. With having this basic knowledge or information of how to use it, you can also access and use different other options on excel or spreadsheet. Also, it is very similar to Word or Document. So, in a way, if you learn one thing, like Excel, you can automatically learn how to use Word as well because both of them are very similar in so many ways. If you want to know more about WPS Office, you can download WPS Office to access, Word, Excel, PowerPoint for free.

15 years of office industry experience, tech lover and copywriter. Follow me for product reviews, comparisons, and recommendations for new apps and software.