I tested in my own environment Excel 2013, I cannot change the second level category labels in pivot chart. I tried to find any workarounds for this issue. But it seems that you can not change the orientation of the second level category.
I wanted to make an ordinary line chart. As typically I want to have the dates (years) to which my values belong on the horizontal (category) axis.
In Excel 2004 this could be done in the data editor for the chart. In the tab 'Series' data could be selected for the category axis labels. In Excel 2008 the data editor for charts is modified, the two tabs are merged, but the option to select data as labels for the category axis is missing. Without this option I cannot create the most ordinary diagrame with Excel 2008, just when I started liking it.
Any answers for this problem? Cannot add data as labels for the horizontal (category) axis. Posted:, 05:11 PM So, I called microsoft support and got the issue sorted out (not 100% to my liking but at least it works). In order to make an x-axis label, you have to start the chart off by selecting 2 columns of data with your label on the left hand column and your actual data in the right hand column. This should work if your label data is formatted to be text. If your label is formatted as a number, then when you select your data, you have to start your selection 1 cell above your label/data (for example, if your label and data start at cell A2 and B2, you select cells A1 and B1 as well as the rest of your data). Then click on the type of chart you want.
Personally I'd much rather see a field for 'x-axis labels' that existed in previous versions of excel. Posted:, 12:54 AM This 'feature' of Excel 2008 is driving me nuts.
I wasted a half hour today trying to figure out how to add labels to the X axis. I finally fired up my ancient Windows laptop, added labels with Excel 2002, and then re-opened the spreadsheet on my Mac. I'm not quite clear on the 'solution' which Ben describes. In my case, my series labels are in column A, and data begins in column B. My X axis labels are all in a row across the top of the spreadhseet, beginning in column B.
The labels are numbers (1992 through 2008). Excel picked up the series labels automatically, but no matter how I selected the data range, the X axis labels never appeared — all I got was numbers 1, 2, 3, etc. Is there some magic technique for selecting the data range that I somehow overlooked? I can't help but wonder why the Mac BU dropped the feature from Excel 2008 to specify a range for 'Category (X) axis labels.' However they intend users to select/add X axis labels in the new version is not at all obvious.