Use a screen reader to add a title, data labels, and a legend to a chart in Excel
Applies ToExcel for Microsoft 365 Excel 2024 Excel 2024 for Mac Excel 2021 Excel 2021 for Mac Excel 2019 Excel 2016

This article is for people who use a screen reader program such as Windows Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA with Windows tools or features and Microsoft 365 products. This article is part of the Accessibility help & learning content set where you can find more accessibility information on our apps. For general help, visit Microsoft Support.

Use Excel with your keyboard and a screen reader to add a title, data labels, and a legend to a chart. We have tested it with Narrator, JAWS, and NVDA, but it might work with other screen readers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques. Titles, data labels, and legends help make a chart accessible because they provide non-visual elements that describe the chart.

Notes: 

In this topic

Add titles to a chart

You can give a title to the entire chart, as well as to its individual axes.

Note: Charts that don’t have axes, such as Pie or Doughnut charts, can't have axis titles.

  1. Select the chart that you want to work with.

  2. To open the Add Chart Element menu, press Alt+J, C, A.

  3. Select the type of title you want to add:

    • To add a chart title, press C. The focus moves to the Chart title list. Do one of the following:

      • To add a title above the chart, press A, type a title, and then press Enter.

      • To add a centered overlay title, press C, type a title, and then press Enter.

    • To add axes titles, press A. The focus moves to the Axis Titles list. Do one of the following:

      • To add a primary horizontal axis title, press H. The focus moves to the primary horizontal Axis Title field. Type a title and press Enter.

      • To add a primary vertical horizontal axis title, press V. The focus moves to the primary vertical Axis Title field. Type a title and press Enter.

  4. The title is added to your chart and the focus is on the chart title. To move the focus away from the chart title and back to the chart or worksheet, press Esc.

Tips: 

  • To remove a chart title, select the chart, and then press Alt+J, C, A, C, N.

  • To remove a primary horizontal axis title, select the chart, and then press Alt+J, C, A, A, H.

  • To remove a primary vertical axis title, select the chart, and then press Alt+J, C, A, A, V.

Add data callout labels to a chart

Data callout labels make a chart easier to understand because they show details about a data series or its individual data points.

  1. Select the chart that you want to work with.

  2. To open the Add Chart Element menu, press Alt+J, C, A.

  3. To add data callout labels to the chart, press D and then U.

Tip: To remove data labels, select the chart, and then press Alt+J, C, A, D, and then N.

Add a legend to a chart

Legends help you to quickly understand data relationships in a chart. For example, in your monthly budget worksheet, when you create a bar chart comparing projected costs with actual costs per expense category, a legend helps you to quickly identify the two different bars and to identify the categories with the greatest discrepancies.

  1. Select the chart that you want to work with.

  2. To open the Add Chart Element menu, press Alt+J, C, A.

  3. To open the Legend list, press L.

  4. To select where you want to add the legend, do one of the following:

    • To select Right, press R.

    • To select Top, press T.

    • To select Left, press L.

    • To select Bottom, press B.

Tip: To remove a legend, select the chart, and then press Alt+J, C, A, L, N.

See also

Use a screen reader to create a chart and select a chart in Excel

Keyboard shortcuts in Excel

Basic tasks using a screen reader with Excel

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Excel

Technical support for customers with disabilities

Microsoft wants to provide the best possible experience for all our customers. If you have a disability or questions related to accessibility, please contact the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk for technical assistance. The Disability Answer Desk support team is trained in using many popular assistive technologies and can offer assistance in English, Spanish, French, and American Sign Language. Please go to the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk site to find out the contact details for your region.

If you are a government, commercial, or enterprise user, please contact the enterprise Disability Answer Desk.

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