Durjoy Paul
When you work with a large and complicated chart, gridlines can help make it better understood. Gridlines help to show the axis division in a chart. There are two types of gridlines in an Excel chart. One is major gridlines whereas the other is minor gridlines. This article will show how to add primary major horizontal gridlines in Excel. I hope you find this article interesting and gain lots of knowledge regarding major gridlines.
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What Is Major Gridline?
Major gridlines divide the axis into major units. The major gridlines can be vertical or horizontal which represent the axis value. A major horizontal gridline can divide the Y-axis into equal parts whereas the major vertical gridlines divide the X-axis into equal parts. When you deal with a large chart, you have to consider major gridlines to make the chart better. Axis can be of two types- category axis and value axis. In the category axis, you have to consider the major gridlines whereas, in the value axis, you may consider both major and minor axis.
2 Easy Ways to Add Primary Major Horizontal Gridlines in Excel
To add primary major horizontal gridlines in Excel, we have found 2 different ways through which you can do the work. We use the chart layout group and chart elements to add the primary major horizontal gridlines in Excel. To show both methods, you take a dataset that includes the monthly sales amounts. We need to plot them in an Excel chart and then add the primary major horizontal gridlines.
1. Adding Major Horizontal Gridlines from Chart Layouts Group
In this method, we will show how to add major horizontal from the Chart Layouts group. Here, we create a chart using the dataset and then add the major horizontal gridlines. To understand the methods properly, follow the steps.
Steps
- First, select the range of cells B4 to C16.
- Then, go to the Insert tab in the ribbon.
- Select Recommended Charts option from the Charts group.
- Then, the Insert Chart dialog box will appear.
- From there, select the Clustered Column chart option.
- Finally, click on OK.
- It will provide the following chart where there are no gridlines.
- Then, we want to change the chart style.
- To do this, select the Brush icon on the right side of the chart.
- It will give us the following chart. See the screenshot.
- Then, we want to add the primary major horizontal gridlines to the chart.
- First, select on the chart. ‘
- It will open up the Chart Design tab in the ribbon.
- Then, select Add Chart Element drop-down option from the Chart Layouts group.
- After that, from the Add Chart Element drop-down option, select the Gridlines option.
- Next, select the Primary Major Horizontal.
- As a result, it will add the primary major horizontal gridlines to the Excel chart. See the screenshot.
Read More: How to Add Gridlines for Specific Cells in Excel (3 Methods)
2. Using Chart Elements to Add Major Horizontal Gridlines
In this method, we will show how to add major horizontal gridlines using the chart elements option. We create a chart using the dataset. After that, we will add primary major horizontal gridlines in Excel. To understand the method properly, you need to follow the steps.
Steps
- First, select the range of cells B4 to C16.
- Then, go to the Insert tab in the ribbon.
- Select Recommended Charts option from the Charts group.
- Then, the Insert Chart dialog box will appear.
- From there, select the Clustered Column chart option.
- Finally, click on OK.
- It will provide the following chart where there are no gridlines.
- Then, we want to change the chart style.
- To do this, select the Brush icon on the right side of the chart.
- It will give us the following chart. See the screenshot.
- Then, we need to add primary major horizontal gridlines.
- To do this, first, click on the chart.
- It will open up three options on the right side of the chart – Chart Elements, Chart Styles and Chart Filters.
- We will use the Chart Elements option to add major horizontal gridlines.
- So, select the Plus (+) icon on the right side of the chart.
- Then, select the rightward-facing arrow beside Gridlines.
- After that, select Primary Major Horizontal.
- As a result, it will provide the primary major horizontal gridlines in Excel. See the screenshot.
Read More: How to Add Gridlines to a Graph in Excel (2 Ways)
How to Modify Primary Major Horizontal Gridlines in Excel
We can modify the primary major horizontal gridlines in Excel. Here, we can modify the type of line and the color of the primary major horizontal gridlines. To modify the primary major horizontal gridlines, you need to follow the steps.
Steps
- First, double-click on the major horizontal gridlines or right-click on any of the major horizontal gridlines, it will open the Context Menu.
- Then, select Format Gridlines.
- As a result, it will open up the Format Major Gridlines dialog box.
- First, go to the Fill & Line tab.
- Then, select the type of line from the Line We take the Solid Line option.
- After that, you can alter the Color of your major gridlines.
- As a result, we get the following result in the Excel chart. See the screenshot.
How to Remove Primary Major Horizontal Gridlines in Excel
After adding the primary major horizontal gridlines, you may think there is no need for the major gridlines. You can remove the major horizontal gridlines easily. To remove the primary major horizontal gridlines, follow the steps.
Steps
- First, select the major horizontal gridlines.
- Then, press Delete on your keyboard to remove the major horizontal gridlines.
- You can remove the major horizontal gridlines using the chart elements and chart layout group.
- To remove the major gridlines using the Chart Elements, first, select the Plus (+) icon on the right side of the chart.
- Then, uncheck the Gridlines option.
- Then, you can remove the major horizontal gridlines using the Chart Layouts group.
- First, select the chart and it will open up the Chart Design tab in the ribbon.
- Then, select Add Chart Element drop-down option from the Chart Layouts group
- After that, from the Gridlines option, select the Primary Major Horizontal option to remove it from the chart.
- You can utilize any of the processes to remove the primary major horizontal gridlines in Excel.
- Finally, you will get the following chart without any gridlines.
Read More: How to Add Primary Minor Vertical Gridlines in Excel (2 Ways)
Conclusion
We have shown two different methods to add primary major horizontal gridlines in Excel. Both of them are effective to use and at the same time, both of them are user-friendly. To add the major horizontal gridlines, we use the chart elements and chart layout group. I hope we covered all possible areas regarding the primary major horizontal gridlines in Excel. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask in the comment box, and don’t forget to visit our Exceldemy page.
