How to customize data labels beyond the basics???

Question

How to customize data labels beyond the basics???

I recently changed from a PC to a Mac and I am trying to recreate some charts I had in Excel. I need to edit some of the data labels individually (location, text color, etc.) to make them more visible. So far I have only been able to edit all the data labels as one group. Please tell me Numbers has the ability to do this! The chart is below and the labels I need to be able to edit on an individual basis are the ones with the dollar signs. I need to be able to change their location individually so they can all be seen and I need to change the color of one so it can be more easily read. I tried scaling the font size down, but this won't work. Any ideas other than exporting this to excel and doing it on my PC? I have also tried to get rid of the border around the chart but have been unsuccessful. Can that be done? I've googled galore but have found nothing on how to do this other than the basic mass editing of all labels at once. Help!! Thanks!

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4), Numbers 3.5.3

Posted on Aug 17, 2015 5:56 PM

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Answer 1

SGIII

Level 8

37,556 points

Aug 17, 2015 6:17 PM in response to houston_wehaveaproblem

I don't think you can edit individual data labels the way you can in recent versions of Excel for the Mac or Windows.

As for the border around the chart, that's an easy one. Uncheck this:

SG

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Answer 2

Yellowbox

Level 7

21,939 points

Aug 17, 2015 9:56 PM in response to houston_wehaveaproblem

Hi Houston,

You could change the fill in the columns (# homes) to a solid colour rather than gradient fill, and choose a colour that contrasts more with the house price labels. A pity, because the gradient fill looks good!

Do you need the decimals after the prices? That would allow a slightly larger font.

Regards,

Ian.

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Answer 3

Aug 18, 2015 6:55 AM in response to SGIII

Thanks SGIII. The checkbox for the border applies to the border around the plot area and I have that unchecked. The border I am trying to get rid of is the one around the outside of the whole chart, outside the title, axis labels, etc. Any idea how to get rid of that?

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Answer 4

Aug 18, 2015 6:59 AM in response to Yellowbox

Thanks Yellowbox. I would like to keep the gradient fill and digits after the decimal point. I'm so bummed. It sounds like I will have to export to Excel and use my PC. Excel has had these capabilities for years....why not Numbers?? Apple, you have failed me!

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Answer 5

SGIII

Level 8

37,556 points

Aug 18, 2015 7:47 AM in response to houston_wehaveaproblem

houston_wehaveaproblem wrote:

The border I am trying to get rid of is the one around the outside of the whole chart, outside the title, axis labels, etc. Any idea how to get rid of that?

How did you get that outside border to begin with it? I don't see that by default and can't figure out how to turn it on.

You may have noticed a different design philosophy with Numbers, and with Apple in general: keep the presentation simple and elegant. If you need complex, highly customized charts such as your example, then you're better off with Excel, which runs great on the Mac too.

If you want to give feedback to Apple in your menu go to Numbers > Provide Numbers Feedback.

SG

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Answer 6

Yellowbox

Level 7

21,939 points

Aug 18, 2015 8:15 AM in response to SGIII

Hi SG,

I have spent the last hour struggling with Numbers 3.5.3 to find out how that chart was created. Thanks for the reminder that Apple follows the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Sir).

Hi Houston,

Maybe black text for the house price labels?

Maybe drop the $ symbol from those labels to make the labels shorter? There is a $ symbol on the Y2 axis 😉.

Regards,

Ian.

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Answer 7

Aug 18, 2015 8:16 AM in response to SGIII

I have no idea how I got it. It travels with the chart when I cut and paste it in Pages too. Your comment makes me think it has something to do with the file originating in Excel even though the border doesn't show up in Excel. I didn't know I could use Excel on the Mac. I will look into that, maybe that will solve my problem. Thanks!!

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Answer 8

Aug 18, 2015 8:29 AM in response to Yellowbox

Thanks Yellowbox. I really appreciate you trying to figure this out. I could do those things, but I have been using this chart for years and I want to maintain consistency in its look because I have used it in marketing materials etc. I feel like Apple is forcing me to go backwards and I don't want to do that....stubborn, I know!

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Answer 9

Yellowbox

Level 7

21,939 points

Aug 18, 2015 8:38 AM in response to houston_wehaveaproblem

Hi Houston,

No worries mate. I enjoy playing around in Numbers.

Regards,

Ian.

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