Selecting Text Orientation for an Axis in Microsoft Graph

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 22, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

As you are working with a chart in Microsoft Graph, you might find if helpful to change how text appears on an axis. For instance, you might want the text to be vertical instead of horizontal. Microsoft Graph makes it easy to change this:

Select the axis whose text you wish to alter. Do this by clicking on the axis with the mouse.
Choose Selected Axis from the Format menu. Microsoft Graph displays the Format Axis dialog box.
Make sure the Alignment tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Alignment tab of the Format Axis dialog box

Specify an orientation for the text, in degrees. You can pick any setting from 90 degrees to -90 degrees. You can also click on the vertical orientation bar, at the left side of the dialog box.
Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (706) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

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