Chart & Visualization Issues

How to Make Small Bars Larger in an Excel Bar Chart

Natalie Taylor Oct 9, 2026 870 views

Question details

The user needs to make smaller values visible and comparable in a horizontal bar chart where one exceptionally large value dominates the scale.

How to Make Small Bars Larger in an Excel Bar Chart

Product: Excel
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Comparing data sets with extreme value differences in a horizontal bar chart, causing the smaller values to disappear or look identical.
Observed behavior: Because the standard linear axis scales to accommodate the largest value, the smaller bars are squashed visually and become difficult or impossible to compare.

Before you start

Before modifying your chart's axis, ensure that your dataset does not contain zero or negative values, as a logarithmic scale can only process positive numbers.

Solution 1Recommended

Change the Axis to a Logarithmic Scale

Since Excel does not natively support a broken-axis feature, applying a logarithmic scale is the most effective way to visualize extreme variances in a single chart.

A logarithmic scale changes the axis increments to increase by multiples (e.g., 10, 100, 1000) rather than equal additions. This prevents massive values from visually crushing smaller ones.

Select the Horizontal Axis

Click on the horizontal value axis (the numbers at the bottom of your horizontal bar chart) to highlight it.

Open Axis Options

Right-click the highlighted axis and select 'Format Axis' from the context menu to open the formatting pane on the right side of your screen.

Enable Logarithmic Scale

In the Format Axis pane, under 'Axis Options', check the box labeled 'Logarithmic scale'.

Adjust the Base (Optional)

The default base is usually set to 10. You can change this base value depending on how drastically you want to scale the difference between your small and large bars.

Visual Balance Achieved: Your smaller bars will now be visually distinguishable, while the axis labels clearly indicate the exponential jumps in value.

Solution 2

Create a Separate Chart for Smaller Values

If a logarithmic scale is too confusing for your audience, plotting the outlier in one chart and the smaller values in another maintains a straightforward linear scale.

Professional Data Visualization

Visualize Complex Data Easily with WPS Spreadsheet

WPS Spreadsheet offers powerful charting tools fully compatible with Excel formats. You can easily adjust axis scales, apply logarithmic formatting, and create professional visualization reports without hassle.

1. Open your data file: Launch WPS Spreadsheet and open the workbook containing your bar chart.
2. Access the axis settings: Double-click the horizontal axis on your bar chart to immediately open the Format Axis properties pane.
3. Apply logarithmic scaling: Navigate to the Axis Options tab and check the 'Logarithmic scale' box to instantly fix the visual distortion of your smaller bars.
4. Customize the base: Adjust the logarithmic base value to 10 or another custom number to perfectly suit your data presentation needs.

100% compatible with Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) formatsAdvanced chart formatting options including logarithmic scalesFree, lightweight, and easy to use on multiple devices

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add a broken axis to an Excel bar chart?

No, Excel does not have a built-in feature to create a broken axis (a visual jump in the scale). You must rely on workarounds like switching to a logarithmic scale or creating overlapping transparent charts.

Why does my chart disappear when I click Logarithmic scale?

A logarithmic scale mathematically cannot compute zero or negative numbers. If your dataset contains zeros or negative values, the chart will fail to render the scale properly. You must filter out or adjust these values first.

Can I plot the large value on a secondary axis instead?

While secondary axes are great for combination charts (like overlaying a line graph on a column chart), they do not work well for standard single-series bar charts because the bars will overlap and share the same visual space confusingly.

Excel & Data Problems