How to Change the Width of a Chart in Excel

Getting your Excel chart to look just right often comes down to a simple detail: its size. Whether you're fitting it into a specific slot in a dashboard or just trying to make it more readable, controlling a chart's width is super important. This guide will walk you through several easy methods for changing the width of a chart in Excel, from quick eyeball adjustments to pixel-perfect precision.

The Basics: Click and Drag to Change Width

The fastest and most common way to change the width of your chart is by simply clicking and dragging its border. It's intuitive and perfect for quick adjustments where exact dimensions aren’t a priority.

Here’s how to do it:

Select your chart: Click anywhere on your chart. You'll know it's selected when you see a border appear around it with small circles, called resize handles, at the corners and midpoints.
Grab a side handle: Move your cursor over one of the resize handles located on the middle of the left or right side of the chart border. Your cursor will change into a horizontal, double-sided arrow (↔).
Drag to resize: Click and hold the mouse button, then drag the border to the left or right to make the chart narrower or wider. Release the mouse button when the chart is the width you want.

It's that simple. Excel will automatically adjust the contents of the chart, like the legend, title, and plot area, to fit the new dimensions.

Pro Tip: Dragging a corner handle (instead of a side handle) will change both the width and height of the chart at the same time.

For Perfect Precision: Use the Format Tab

Sometimes "close enough" isn't good enough. When you need your chart to have a specific width - to match another chart or fit perfectly into a dashboard layout - using the Format tab is the way to go. This method allows you to enter an exact measurement in inches or centimeters.

Follow these steps:

Select the chart: Click on the chart you want to resize.
Navigate to the Format Tab: When you select a chart, two new contextual tabs appear in the Excel ribbon: "Chart Design" and "Format." Click on the Format tab.
Find the Size Group: On the far right of the Format tab, you'll see a group called "Size."
Enter the desired width: In the "Size" group, you will find two boxes: one for "Shape Height" and one for "Shape Width." Simply type your desired width into the Shape Width box and press Enter. The chart will instantly resize to your exact specification.

This method is fantastic for creating uniform, professional-looking reports where all the charts are perfectly aligned and have consistent dimensions.

Fine-Tuning Options in the Format Chart Area Pane

For even more control over the size and other properties of your chart, you can use the Format Chart Area pane. This side panel gives you access to a few extra options, like locking the chart's aspect ratio.

Here’s how to access and use it:

Open the pane: Right-click on the outer border of your chart (be careful not to click an element inside the chart, like a bar or a line). A context menu appears. Select Format Chart Area... at the bottom of the list.
Go to Size & Properties: The Format Chart Area pane will open on the right side of your screen. Click the icon that looks like a square with arrows, labeled Size & Properties.
Adjust the Size: Here, you'll see options for "Height" and "Width," just like in the Format tab. You can enter a precise numerical value for the width.

Understanding Aspect Ratio

In this pane, you’ll also find a very useful checkbox: Lock aspect ratio. This feature determines whether the chart's proportions are maintained when you resize it.

When checked: If you change the width, Excel will automatically adjust the height to keep the chart's proportions the same. This is useful for preventing your charts from looking stretched or squished.
When unchecked: You can change the width and height independently of each other. If you only want to change the chart’s width without affecting its height at all, make sure this box is unchecked before you enter a new value in the Width box.

How to Make Multiple Charts the Same Width in Seconds

Consistency is key for compelling reports. Having a row of charts with slightly different widths can make your worksheet look sloppy. Here's the most efficient way to make them all identical.

Set your "master" chart: First, select one chart and resize it to your ideal width using the Format tab method described above. Click on the chart, go to the Format tab, and note the exact number in the "Shape Width" box.
Select the next chart: Click on the next chart you want to resize to match.
Repeat the process: Go to the Format tab and type the exact same width value into the "Shape Width" box. Press Enter.
Continue for all charts: Repeat this simple step for every other chart you want to standardize.

By using an exact numerical value, you remove all the guesswork and ensure a polished, professional result every time.

Helpful Tips and Shortcuts for Resizing Charts

Beyond the basics, here are a few more tips that can save you time and help you create better layouts.

Snap to the Grid with the 'Alt' Key

When you're trying to align a chart perfectly with the cells in your worksheet, hold down the Alt key while you drag a resize handle or move the chart. This forces the chart's border to "snap" to the nearest cell gridlines. It's an almost-hidden feature that is incredibly useful for creating clean dashboard layouts without endless tinkering.

Maintain Proportions with the 'Shift' Key

If you're resizing a chart by dragging a corner handle, hold down the Shift key while you drag. This locks the chart’s aspect ratio, ensuring that it doesn't get distorted as you make it larger or smaller. It's the drag-and-drop equivalent of the "Lock aspect ratio" checkbox.

Control How Your Chart Interacts with Cells

Ever had a chart get warped when you adjusted a column width? You can control this behavior.

Go to the Format Chart Area pane (by right-clicking the chart border), select the Size & Properties icon, and look under the "Properties" section. You'll find three handy options:

Move and size with cells: This is the default. If you widen a column or hide a row that the chart is over, the chart will move and stretch with it.
Move but don't size with cells: The chart will move if you insert rows above it, for example, but its dimensions will remain fixed regardless of how you change the cells underneath it.
Don't move or size with cells: The chart becomes completely untethered from the worksheet grid. This is the best option for dashboards where you want the layout to remain static and unaffected by any changes to the underlying cells.

Final Thoughts

Mastering chart resizing in Excel is a small skill that has a big impact on the quality of your reports and dashboards. Now you know how to use simple drag-and-drop for quick sizing, the Format tab for absolute precision, and handy shortcuts like holding 'alt' to snap your charts to the grid to create a clean, professional finish.

While tweaking a chart’s width in Excel is straightforward, it's just one of dozens of manual steps involved in building reports. All that time spent pulling data, cleaning it, and perfecting visualizations can really add up. That's why we created Graphed. We connect directly to your data sources - like Google Analytics, Shopify, and HubSpot - and let you build real-time dashboards just by describing what you want in plain English. No more wrestling with cell alignment or chart formatting, just ask, and your report is ready in seconds.