Often you may want to add data labels to a chart in Excel that exist in a different column.
Fortunately this is easy to do and the following step-by-step example shows how to do so.
Step 1: Enter the Data
First, let’s enter the following dataset into Excel that contains information about the assists and points for various basketball players:
The data labels that we will use for each player are located in column F.
Step 2: Create the Chart
Next, highlight the cells in the range A2:B9. Then click the Insert tab along the top ribbon and then click the Scatter option within the Charts group:
The following scatter plot will automatically be created:
The x-axis displays the values for the assists while the y-axis displays the values for the points.
Notice that the circles in the plot do not contain any labels by default.
Step 3: Add Data Labels from a Different Column
To add the data labels from column F to the scatter plot, click anywhere on the chart and then click the green plus “+” sign in the top right corner.
Then click the arrow next to Data Labels and then click More Options in the dropdown menu:
In the panel that appears on the right side of the screen, check the box next to Value From Cells within the Label Options group:
In the new window that appears, choose F2:F9 as the cell range that contains our labels:
Then click OK and in the Format Data Labels panel on the right side of the screen uncheck the box next to Y Value.
The following labels will automatically be added to the scatter plot:
We have now successfully added data labels from a different column to the points in the scatter plot.
Additional Resources
The following tutorials explain how to create other common visualizations in Excel:
How to Plot Multiple Lines in Excel
How to Create a Bubble Chart with Labels in Excel
How to Create an Ogive Graph in Excel
