Excel data representation, Axis labelling non-numeric

Question

I wanted to display my data from my Excel spreadsheet graphically, in the form of a scatter chart. I know that Excel can do this, but there is one "special feature" about my coordinate system of my graphic, and that is that one of the axes should be labeled with "words" (instead of numbers) to match my table similar to the picture. But I am not sure if Excel can process this at all, I guess that Excel can only work with numbers on the axes. I would be very grateful for any help and tips and also alternatives!

Answer 1

By definition, the axes in an XY Scatter plot are numeric. But your desired chart can easily be created by adding a helper series to the plot. Assuming the current Y values for the other series are the numbers 1 to 6 for even positioning, you can use a range with Y values 1 to 6 and X values of zero and add that data range as a new series to the plot.

The plot points will sit right on the Y axis. Remove the Y axis labels in the Axis formatting options. You can then use data labels from the worksheet and position them to the left of the plot points of the helper series. Finally, format the markers of the helper series to have no fil and no line to make them invisible.