Adding a title to your chart is always a good option since it provides your audience with an idea of what your chart is all about.
Yes, PowerPoint does provide this Chart Title option -- but before you go ahead and use this option, you must decide if you need a
chart title or not. Here are some guidelines that will help you make that decision:
- Do you have just one chart on your slide and nothing else? In that case, your slide's title can be the title of your chart and no separate chart
title is required.
- Do you need both, a title and a sub-title for your chart? In that case, the slide's title can be your chart title -- and thereafter you can use the
Chart Title option to type in your sub-title.
- Do you have more than one chart on a slide? Then of course, each chart will benefit from a separate title.
- Do remember that by default, PowerPoint adds no Chart Title option for any new charts -- this needs to be added as explained later in this
tutorial.
Now that we have explored these guidelines on chart titles, let us explore how you add and position them. First of all, you should have a chart
(or charts) inserted on your PowerPoint slide. To learn how to insert a chart, refer to our
Inserting Charts in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac tutorial -- you
can also change the chart type from one to another.
Follow these steps to learn more:
- Select the chart on your slide as shown
in Figure 1. This displays the Chart Layout and Format tabs on the
Ribbon area -- select the Chart Layout tab, as shown
highlighted in red within Figure 1.
Figure 1: Chart Layout tab selected
- Within the Chart Layout tab, click the Chart Title button (highlighted in red
within Figure 2). This opens the Chart Title drop-down gallery, as shown in Figure 2 (highlighted
in blue).
Figure 2: Chart Title drop-down gallery
Let us explore the options within the Chart Title drop-down gallery:
A. No Chart Title
This option, selected by default is indicated by a check mark in front of it. With this option selected, there is no
Chart Title shown on the chart.
B. Title Above Chart
Selecting this option adds a "Chart Title" text box above the chart, as shown in
Figure 3 (highlighted in red). You can then go ahead and change the text within the text box as
required, using the techniques explained in our
Selecting and Changing Text in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac
tutorial.
Figure 3: Chart Title added above the chart
C. Overlap Title at Top
Works similar to the Title Above Chart option except that it places the Chart Title overlapping the
Plot Area, as you can see in Figure 4
(highlighted in red). Notice that we changed the default name to 'New Chart'.
Figure 4: Chart Title added overlapping the Plot Area
D. Chart Title Options
Selecting this option opens the Format Title dialog box, as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Options to format the text in a Chart Title
The options within this Format Title dialog box work the same way as they do for Axis Title(s) -- refer to
Step 3-C in our
Axis Titles in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac tutorial to learn more.
Tip: Want your Chart Title to be placed below the chart for some reason? It's easy -- just drag the Chart Title placeholder anywhere
you want.
- Add and format the Chart Title as required. Save your presentation often.
See Also:
Chart Title in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows
