A reader named Roland asks, “How can I individually format the labels on my category axis?”

Excel axis tick labels cannot be individually formatted. But you can make a chart like thee above in Excel. You simply need to use a little trick involving a second hidden series and its data labels.

First, add a column to the data range that contains all zeros.

Select this entire range and create the column chart.

Format the category axis to hide its default category labels.

Convert the “Labels” series to a line type. To select this series, select the “Data” series and click the up arrow key. To change the type, right click on it and select Chart Type or Change Chart Type, or go to the Chart menu or Chart Tools Design tab and select Chart Type or Change Chart Type.

Format the “Labels” series so it has no line and no markers. Also apply data labels to the “Labels” series using the Category option.

Format the data labels so they are in the Below position.

Format the data labels individually. To select a single data label: click once to select the series of labels, then click again on the specific label.

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