Reverse Legend Order of Stacked Bar Chart in Excel (With Quick Steps)

In this article, we will learn to reverse the legend order of a stacked bar chart in Excel. A stacked bar chart is a graph that uses bars to show different data. Generally, it is used to break down and compare different parts of a whole. Today, we will demonstrate step-by-step procedures to reverse the legend order of the stacked bar chart in Excel. So, without any delay, let’s start the discussion.

Excel Stacked Bar Chart Reverse Legend Order: Step-by-Step Procedures

To explain the steps, we will use a dataset that contains the sales amount of some Salesmen for January, February, and March. We will create a stacked bar chart using these values and then, try to reverse the legend order.

STEP 1: Create Stacked Bar in Excel

In the first place, create a stacked bar in Excel.
To do so, select all the cells of the dataset.

After that, go to the Insert tab and select the Insert Column or Bar Chart icon. A drop-down menu will appear.
Select 2-D Stacked Bar from there.

Instantly, a 2-D Stacked Bar will appear on the Excel sheet.

STEP 2: Open Context Menu and Select Data

Secondly, right–click on the chart to open the Context Menu.
In the Context Menu, click on the Select Data option.
It will open the Select Data Source window.

STEP 3: Reverse Position of Legend Entries

Thirdly, you need to reverse the position of the legend entries.
In our case, the order of the legends is January, February, and March.

In order to reverse the order, select January and click on the drop–down arrow twice in the Legend Entries section.

Again, select February and click on the drop–down arrow once.

After that, the order in the Legend Entries will be March, February, and January.
Press OK.

Final Output

Finally, after clicking OK, you will see the reverse legend order of the stacked bar chart.

Change Legend Order of Stacked Column Chart in Excel

In this section, we will learn to change the legend order of the stacked column chart in Excel. We will use the manual method here. To explain this process, we will use the previous dataset but we will consider the first two months only.

The stacked column chart of the above dataset looks like the graph below.

Let’s observe the steps below to learn more about the method.

STEPS:

Firstly, create duplicate columns for February and January with zeros in Columns C and D respectively.
Remember, the duplicate columns should be in reverse order.

Secondly, fill in the sales amount for February and January.

After that, select the range B4:D11.

In the following step, navigate to the Insert tab and select the Insert Column or Bar Chart icon. A drop-down menu will appear.
Select the Stacked Column icon from there.

Finally, you will see the change in the legend order of the stacked column chart in Excel.

Download Practice Workbook

You can download the practice book from here.

Reverse Legend Order of Stacked Bar Chart.xlsx

Conclusion

In this article, we have demonstrated step-by-step procedures to Reverse the Legend Order of a Stacked Bar Chart in Excel. I hope this article will help you to perform your tasks easily. Moreover, we have also added the practice book at the beginning of the article. Furthermore, you can download it to test your skills. Last of all, if you have any suggestions or queries, feel free to ask in the comment section below.