Illustrator

Format a graph’s axes

With the exception of pie graphs, all graphs have a value axis which displays the unit of measurement for the graph. You can choose to display the value axis on one side or both sides of the graph. Bar, stacked bar, column, stacked column, line, and area graphs also have a category axis which defines the categories of data in the graph.

You can control how many tick marks appear on each axis, change the length of tick marks, and add a prefix and suffix to numbers on the axis.

  1. Select the graph with the Selection tool.
  2. Choose Object > Graph > Type, or double-click the graph tool in the Tools panel.
  3. To change the position of the value axis, select an option from the Value Axis menu.
  4. To format tick marks and labels, select an axis from the pop‑up menu at the top of the dialog box, and set the following options:
    Tick Values
    Determines the placement of tick marks on value axes, left axes, right axes, bottom axes, or top axes. Select Override Calculated Values to manually calculate the placement of tick marks. Either accept the values set when you created the graph or enter a minimum value, a maximum value, and the number of divisions between labels.

    Tick Marks
    Determines the length of tick marks and number of tick marks per division. To prevent numbers from appearing on an axis, enter 0 in the Draw Tick Marks Per Division text box. For category axes, select Draw Tick Marks Between Labels to draw tick marks on either side of the labels or columns, or deselect the option to center tick marks over the labels or columns.

    Add Labels
    Specifies a prefix and suffix for numbers on value axes, left axes, right axes, bottom axes, or top axes. For example, you can add a dollar sign or percent sign to axis numbers.