How to Get Chart Elements in Excel on Mac

If you're creating charts in Excel on a Mac, you might feel like you're missing a key tool. Nearly every online tutorial shows a handy little plus (+) icon next to the chart, which opens up all the "Chart Elements" options. But when you look at your screen, it's nowhere to be found. This article will show you exactly where Excel hides these essential features on a Mac and how to use them to create professional, easy-to-read charts.

Where Did the Chart Elements '+' Button Go on a Mac?

Let's clear this up right away: you're not going crazy, and your version of Excel isn't broken. The green '+' button for adding chart elements is a feature designed primarily for the Windows version of Excel. The interface on a Mac is slightly different, and this functionality is located in a different spot.

On a Mac, all the tools you need to add elements like titles, labels, legends, and more are housed within the Chart Design tab in Excel's main ribbon menu at the top of the application. Once you know where to look, you'll find it’s just as powerful and easy to use.

First Things First: Making a Basic Chart in Excel on Mac

Before you can customize a chart, you need to have one. The process for creating a chart from your data is quick and straightforward. Let's walk through it with a simple example, like tracking monthly website traffic.

Here’s a small data set you can use to follow along:

Example Data: Website Sessions Per Month

Month, Sessions
Jan, 8500
Feb, 9200
Mar, 11500
Apr, 10800
May, 12300
Jun, 14000

Follow these steps to turn this data into a visual chart:

1. Organize your data. Ensure your data is in clean columns with clear headers, just like the example above.
2. Highlight the data. Click and drag your mouse to select all the cells that contain your data, including the headers (e.g., A1 through B7 in our example).
3. Go to the Insert tab. In the top ribbon, click on the "Insert" tab.
4. Choose your chart type. You'll see several chart icons in the middle of the ribbon. For this data, a Column Chart or a Line Chart would work well. Hover over the options to see a preview, then click to select one.

Excel will instantly drop a basic, unformatted chart onto your worksheet. Now, it's time to customize it.

Your New Best Friend: The "Add Chart Element" Menu

This is the command center for chart customization on a Mac and the direct replacement for the missing '+' button. Finding it is easy once you know the secret.

Here’s how to access the menu:

1. First, click once anywhere on the chart you just created. This action is crucial because it makes a new set of contextual tabs appear in the top ribbon menu.
2. Look for the new green tabs at the top of Excel. You should see two: Chart Design and Format.
3. Click on the Chart Design tab.
4. On the far left side of the Chart Design ribbon, you’ll find a button labeled "Add Chart Element."

Clicking this button reveals a dropdown menu containing all the elements you can add or modify - like Axes, Chart Title, Data Labels, and more. This menu is your one-stop-shop for chart building in Excel on a Mac.

A Guided Tour of the Most Common Chart Elements

Now that you’ve found the "Add Chart Element" menu, let’s explore the most useful options and make our example chart easier to understand. For each step, make sure your chart is selected and you are in the Chart Design tab.

Axes & Axis Titles

Axes are the vertical (Y) and horizontal (X) lines that frame your chart and give it scale. By default, they are usually enabled, but you can add descriptive titles to make your data clearer.

• What they do: Axis titles explain what the numbers and categories on your X and Y axes represent. A chart with untitled axes can be confusing. For our example, "Jan, Feb, Mar" doesn't mean much without context, and the numbers "8000, 10000, 12000" are just numbers.
• How to use them:

Instantly, your chart is more descriptive and understandable for anyone who sees it.

Chart Title

Every chart needs a clear, informative title that tells the viewer what data they're looking at. Excel usually adds a generic title, but you should always customize it.

• What it does: It's the main headline for your chart.
• How to use it:

Data Labels

Sometimes, you want to see the exact value of each bar or point on your chart without having to guess by looking at the axis.

• What they do: Data labels place the numerical value directly onto your chart's data points (the bars, in our column chart example).
• How to use them:

Data Table

For viewers who want to see both the visualization and the raw numbers at the same time, the data table is a helpful feature, though it should be used wisely.

• What it does: It adds a small table of the source data directly beneath the chart.
• How to use it: Click Add Chart Element → Data Table and choose whether you want to include legend keys or not. This is great for presentation slides or reports where you want to provide all the information in one place, but be warned: it can make your chart look busy and cluttered.

Gridlines

Gridlines are the faint lines that run in the background of your chart, helping the eye gauge the position of your data points relative to the Y-axis values.

• What they do: They provide visual guides that make it easier to read the values of your data points.
• How to use them: Click Add Chart Element → Gridlines. You have options to add or remove gridlines for both axes. By default, Primary Major Vertical is often on. You can add Primary Minor Vertical for more detailed increments, but this can also add clutter. Removing gridlines entirely can give your chart a minimalist, modern look.

Legend

If your chart includes more than one set of data (e.g., tracking website sessions from two different years side-by-side), a legend is essential.

• What it does: The legend is a key that explains what the different colors or patterns on your chart represent.
• How to use it: Click Add Chart Element → Legend. You can choose where to place it - Right, Top, Left, or Bottom. For a single data series like our example, a legend isn't necessary and can usually be removed by turning it off in this menu.

Trendline

A trendline is a powerful storytelling tool that shows the general direction or pattern of your data over time, helping you spot trends instantly.

• What it does: It superimposes a line over your chart to show if your data is generally increasing, decreasing, or staying flat.
• How to use it: Click Add Chart Element → Trendline. For most business data, a Linear trendline is a good place to start. In our website traffic example, adding a trendline will show a clear upward slope, visually confirming that our traffic is growing over the long term. This is perfect for business reports.

Beyond the Basics: Quick Formatting Tips on a Mac

The "Add Chart Element" menu is for adding and removing pieces of your chart. For cosmetic changes like colors, sizes, and fonts, Excel for Mac offers a few other easy-to-use tools.

The Format Pane: Your Power Tool

For the deepest level of customization, the Format Pane is invaluable. To open it, just double-click on any element of your chart - a bar, an axis, the title, or even the background. A sidebar will appear on the right side of your screen with detailed options for that specific element, such as fill color, border styles, shadows, and text formatting. This is where you go for precise control.

Quick Styles and Colors

If you need a professional-looking chart quickly, use Excel's built-in designs. With your chart selected, go to the Chart Design tab. Here you will find:

• Chart Styles: This is a gallery of pre-made designs with different color schemes, fonts, and layouts. Scroll through and click one to instantly apply it.
• Change Colors: This lets you apply a different color palette to your chart while keeping the layout the same.

Switch Row/Column

Sometimes, your chart would be more insightful if the data on the X-axis and the legend were swapped. In the Chart Design tab, the Switch Row/Column button does this in one click. This is incredibly helpful when you have multiple series of data and want to analyze them from a different perspective.

Final Thoughts

While the missing '+' icon in Excel for Mac can throw you off at first, all the essential chart customization tools are right there in the ribbon. Once you know that the "Add Chart Element" menu in the "Chart Design" tab is your go-to hub, you can easily control every aspect of your charts and create clear, professional-grade visualizations.

Of course, building great charts and reports in spreadsheets is often just the beginning. The real challenge comes from manually pulling data from platforms like Shopify, Google Analytics, or your CRM every time you need an update. At Graphed, we created a way to connect all your data sources and build dashboards just by asking questions in plain English. We turn hours of manual report building into a 30-second conversation, giving you back time to focus on strategy instead of struggling with chart formatting.