Gridlines are the lines that span wide and tall within the chart's
Plot Area. These Horizontal and Vertical gridlines originate from the
axes, which makes the data easier to comprehend for the viewer.
Gridlines may emerge from both the horizontal and vertical axes, although by default you can see only Horizontal gridlines on the
chart. Both Horizontal and Vertical Gridlines are shown in Figure 1, below in which we have colored the Horizontal gridlines in red
and the Vertical gridlines in purple (yes, we exaggerated them a bit, these are not the default colors of Gridlines!)
Figure 1: Horizontal and Vertical gridlines
There are a few points to be considered when you work with Gridlines:
- There are also Depth Gridlines in 3-D Column charts, these work best when your chart has a
Z-axis.
- Horizontal, Vertical, and Depth gridlines are of two types each, Major and Minor.
- When there are Major and Minor Tick Marks displayed on
the axes, Gridlines align themselves with these Tick Marks. They look like as if they emerge from the Tick Marks.
- By default, PowerPoint displays only Primary Major Horizontal as shown in Figure 4, later on this page.
In this tutorial, let us learn about Gridline options in PowerPoint 2013:
- You first need to have a chart in your presentation. If you don't have an existing chart,
insert a new chart in your slide. Now select the chart and click
the Chart Elements button (highlighted in red within Figure 2). This opens the
Chart Elements gallery as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Chart Elements gallery
- Within the Chart Elements gallery, select the Gridlines check-box (highlighted in
red within Figure 3). This shows Primary Major Horizontal Gridlines visible on the chart, and also
reveals a right-arrow icon, as shown highlighted in blue within Figure 3. Click this right-arrow icon
to open the Gridlines sub-gallery which includes various options for Gridlines.
Figure 3: Gridlines sub-gallery
Within the Gridlines sub-gallery (see Figures 3 above), you can select various check-boxes to make
Gridlines visible on the chart as required. Let's explore these Gridline options, as they are marked within Figures 3 above:
A. Primary Major Horizontal
Selected by default, this Option turns only the Primary Major Horizontal Gridlines on, as shown in
Figure 4.
Figure 4: Chart with only the Primary Major Horizontal Gridlines
B. Primary Major Vertical
This Option turns only the Primary Major Vertical Gridlines on, as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Chart with only the Primary Major Vertical Gridlines
C. Primary Minor Horizontal
This Option turns only the Primary Minor Horizontal Gridlines on, as shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6: Chart with only the Primary Minor Horizontal Gridlines
D. Primary Minor Vertical
This Option turns only the Primary Minor Vertical Gridlines on, as shown in Figure 7 (Gridlines
have been formatted to make clearly visible).
Figure 7: Chart with only the Primary Minor Vertical Gridlines
E. More Options
Select this option to summon the Format Major Gridlines
Task Pane that you see in Figure 8. The
name of this Task Pane may be different depending upon the Gridline selected. To learn more about the options in this Task Pane, refer to our
More Gridline Options for Charts in PowerPoint
2013 for Windows tutorial.
Figure 8: Format Major Gridlines Task Pane
See Also:
Chart Gridlines in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac
