Right-click, then select Format where is the axis, series, legend, title, or area that was selected. The second way: On a chart, select an element. On the Ribbon, select the Chart Tools Format tab, then click Format Selection. The first way: On a chart, select an element. There are two other ways to open the task pane: You can also use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+1 while a chart element is selected. The fastest way to open the Formatting Task pane is to double-click a chart element. With this single task pane, you can modify not only charts, but also shapes and text in Excel. The new Formatting Task pane is the single source for formatting–all of the different styling options are consolidated in one place.

The Formatting Task pane also offers an element selector so you can jump quickly between different elements without having to select one to modify. The pane aligns neatly with the right or left side of the screen, so it’s less likely to obscure the chart, and changes happen in real time, so you can immediately see how your choices affect the chart. In the new Excel, the Format dialog box is replaced by the Formatting Task pane. The box sometimes obscured a portion of the chart, changes entered in the box were not visible until you closed it, and you had to select the exact element on the chart in order to see the options that were the best fit for the job. Until now, precise adjustments to chart elements were made in the Format dialog box. One part of the fluid new experience is the Formatting Task pane. The new Excel offers a rich set of charting capabilities that make creating and customizing charts simpler and more intuitive.

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