How to Change Gap Width in Excel Chart

A well-designed chart does more than just display numbers, it tells a story. Sometimes, the most important part of that story is the space between the data points. Adjusting the gap width in an Excel chart is a small tweak that can transform a cramped, confusing visual into a clear and polished one. This article will guide you through how to change the gap width for different Excel charts, giving you more control over your data's narrative.

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Why Does Changing the Gap Width Matter?

Before jumping into the "how," let's quickly cover the "why." Adjusting the spacing between the bars or columns in your chart isn't just about aesthetics, it directly impacts how your audience interprets the data.

• Improves Readability: Wider gaps can help separate distinct categories, making the chart feel less crowded and easier to read, especially when you have many data points.
• Creates Visual Impact: Thicker, more substantial bars with narrow gaps can give your data a sense of weight and importance. A chart with wide, airy gaps feels lighter.
• Shows Relationships: When working with grouped data, adjusting the overlap between series within a category can show how closely related those data points are. Overlapping them can even illustrate a target vs. actual scenario.
• Adds Professional Polish: Fine-tuning details like spacing shows a level of care that elevates your report from a quick data dump to a professional analysis.

How to Change the Gap Width in a Column or Bar Chart

This is the most common scenario for adjusting gap width. Whether you have vertical columns or horizontal bars, the process is the same and remarkably simple. Let's walk through it step-by-step.

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Step 1: Create Your Chart and Select a Data Series

First, create your column or bar chart. Once it's on your spreadsheet, single-click on any of the bars or columns. You’ll see that this action selects the entire data series, with small grab handles appearing at the corners of each bar in that series.

Example: If you have a chart showing monthly sales, clicking on one month’s bar will select all the sales bars.

Step 2: Open the 'Format Data Series' Pane

With the data series selected, you have two easy options to get to the formatting controls:

1. Right-click on any of the selected bars and choose "Format Data Series..." from the dropdown menu.
2. Alternatively, simply double-click any of the bars in the series.

Either of these actions will open a new "Format Data Series" pane on the right-hand side of your Excel window.

Step 3: Adjust the Gap Width

In the "Format Data Series" pane, make sure you are in the "Series Options" section. This is usually represented by a small bar chart icon. Within these options, you will see a slider and an input box labeled "Gap Width."

This is where you make the changes:

• Move the slider: Drag it to the left to decrease the gap width (and make the bars thicker) or to the right to increase it (and make the bars thinner).
• Enter a number: For more precise control, you can type a percentage directly into the box.

By default, Excel sets the gap width to 150%, meaning the gap is 1.5 times the width of a single bar. Adjusting this value directly changes that ratio:

• 0%: The bars in adjacent categories will touch each other, with no gap between them. This is often used in histograms.
• 100%: The width of the gap will be exactly equal to the width of one bar.
• 500%: The gap will be five times the width of one bar, making the bars appear very thin.

The changes you make are applied to the chart in real-time, so you can experiment until you find the perfect visual balance.

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Gap Width vs. Series Overlap: What's the Difference?

You may have noticed another slider in the "Series Options" pane called "Series Overlap." This option can be confusing, but it’s incredibly useful for charts with multiple data series, like a clustered column chart comparing sales across different regions each quarter.

Here’s the simple breakdown:

• Gap Width: Controls the space between the categories. In a monthly sales chart, it's the space between January and February.
• Series Overlap: Controls the space between different series within the same category. In a quarterly sales chart by region, it's the space between the "North" and "South" columns within the "Q1" category.

How to Adjust Series Overlap:

You can adjust this setting just like the gap width, but the numeric values work a bit differently:

• 0%: (Default for clustered charts) The bars for each series within a category will touch at their edges.
• Positive Number (e.g., 20%): The bars will overlap each other by that percentage. For example, a 100% overlap would place one series completely in front of the other.
• Negative Number (e.g., -50%): This will create a gap between the bars within a single category, pushing them apart.

Mastering both Gap Width and Series Overlap gives you total control over the layout of complex charts, helping you group or separate data visually to match the story you're telling.

Adjusting Gaps in Special Chart Types

While bars and columns are the most common, other charts have similar concepts for adjusting spacing.

Histograms

Histograms are designed to show the distribution of continuous data across different intervals, or "bins." Because the data is continuous, the standard practice is to have no gap between the bars, showing that there is no space between the intervals.

When you create a histogram in Excel, it often defaults to having gaps. Here’s how to fix it:

1. Create your histogram (Insert > Charts > Statistic Chart > Histogram).
2. Right-click on any of the histogram's columns and choose "Format Data Series..."
3. In the pane that opens, go to "Series Options."
4. Set the "Gap Width" to 0%.

This small change makes your histogram conform to standard data visualization practices.

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Doughnut & Pie Charts

Pie and doughnut charts don't have a "Gap Width" setting because their sections are already connected. However, they have an equivalent concept called "Explosion," which lets you pull slices away from the center to emphasize them.

• To explode a single slice: First, click once on the pie chart to select all slices. Then, click a second time on just the slice you want to highlight. In the "Format Data Point" pane, you’ll find a "Point Explosion" slider. Increase the percentage to move the slice outward.
• To explode the entire chart: Click once on the pie to select all slices. In the "Format Data Series" pane, find the "Pie Explosion" slider and increase the percentage. This will create equal gaps between all the slices.

Final Thoughts

Mastering chart presentation in Excel means paying attention to small details, and gap width is one of the most impactful. By understanding how to adjust the space between your bars, columns, and slices, you can make your data visualizations more readable, professional, and effective at telling a clear story.

While fine-tuning these settings in Excel is a valuable skill, building clear reports can often feel like a time-consuming loop of clicks and format panes. We built Graphed because we believe getting insights shouldn't require manual formatting. Instead of adjusting sliders, you can just ask in plain language - "Show me monthly sales as a column chart" - and get a live, interactive visualization instantly. Graphed connects to your tools like Google Analytics or your CRM, allowing you to create entire dashboards in seconds, so you can focus more on the story and less on the setup.