How to Make Columns Thicker in Excel Graph

Making the bars in an Excel chart thicker is a simple tweak that can dramatically improve how your data is perceived. Bolder, thicker columns are easier to read and carry more visual weight, making your report look more professional and your message more impactful. This article will show you exactly how to adjust column and bar thickness by explaining the key setting, "Gap Width," and providing step-by-step instructions to get it right every time.

Why Bar Thickness Matters in Excel Charts

While Excel’s default settings provide a functional chart, they often aren’t optimized for clarity or impact. The default bars can appear thin and weak, with too much empty space dominating the visual. Adjusting the thickness is about more than just aesthetics, it directly influences how your audience understands the information.

Improves Readability: Thicker bars are easier to see and distinguish, especially when the chart is viewed from a distance, included in a presentation, or seen on a smaller screen.
Creates Emphasis: Well-proportioned bars give your data a sense of substance and importance. Skinny, spindly bars can unconsciously signal that the data isn't significant.
Reduces Clutter: By reducing the amount of empty white space between bars, you create a cleaner, more focused chart that directs attention to the data itself, not the gaps in between.
Enhances Professionalism: Taking a moment to fine-tune chart elements like bar width shows attention to detail and a commitment to clear communication, making your work look more polished and professional.

The Key Concept: Understanding "Gap Width"

The secret to changing the thickness of your columns in Excel lies in a setting called Gap Width. This might seem counterintuitive at first. You're not directly setting the "width" of the bar, but rather the size of the gap between the bars.

Think of it like this: the space for each category on your chart's axis is fixed. That space is shared by the bar and the gaps on either side of it. When you decrease the size of the gaps, the bar naturally expands to fill the available space. Conversely, if you increase the gap size, the bars must shrink to make room.

Decrease Gap Width = Thicker Bars
Increase Gap Width = Thinner Bars

The Gap Width is controlled by a percentage. Excel’s default is typically around 150%, meaning the gap between each bar is 1.5 times the width of a single bar. Adjusting this percentage gives you complete control.

500% (Maximum): Results in very thin bars with huge gaps.
100%: The width of the gap is equal to the width of the bar.
50%: A good choice for many charts, making the bars twice as wide as the gaps.
0% (Minimum): There is no gap between the bars. They will all touch, which is typically used for creating a histogram.

Step-by-Step: Making Your Excel Columns Thicker

Let's walk through the process with a standard column chart. These same steps apply to horizontal bar charts as well.

Step 1: Select the Data Series

First, open your Excel spreadsheet and the chart you want to edit. Click on any one of the columns (or bars) in your chart. When you do this, Excel will select the entire data series, and you'll see small circular handles appear at the corners of each bar in that series.

Make sure you click on the bars themselves, not the chart title, axis, or general chart area.

Step 2: Open the "Format Data Series" Pane

With the data series selected, you have two easy ways to open the formatting options:

Method 1 (Right-Click): Right-click on any of the selected bars. A context menu will appear. From this menu, select "Format Data Series..."
Method 2 (Keyboard Shortcut): After selecting the bars, simply press Ctrl + 1 (or Cmd + 1 on a Mac).

Either method will open the "Format Data Series" pane on the right side of your Excel window.

Step 3: Access the Series Options

In the "Format Data Series" pane, you'll see several icons at the top. The options you need are under the bar chart icon, which is usually labeled "Series Options." This section should be selected by default when you open the pane.

Step 4: Adjust the Gap Width

Under "Series Options," you will find a slider and a percentage box for "Gap Width." This is the setting you need to change. To make your columns thicker, simply reduce this percentage.

Click into the percentage box and type a smaller number (e.g., change 150% to 80%).
Alternatively, click and drag the slider to the left to decrease the percentage.

As you change the value, you'll see the bars in your chart update in real-time. Experiment with different values until you find a thickness that looks clear and professional. A value between 50% and 100% is often a good place to start.

Advanced Control with Clustered Charts: Series Overlap

When you're working with a clustered column chart (a chart with multiple data series side-by-side for each category), you have an additional formatting option called "Series Overlap." This slider appears just above the Gap Width setting.

Negative Overlap: If you drag the slider to the left (negative percentage), you'll introduce a small gap between the bars within the same category. This can help distinguish the different series more clearly.
Positive Overlap: If you drag the slider to the right (positive percentage), the bars within a category will start to overlap each other, with one series appearing in front of the other.

Playing with both Series Overlap and Gap Width together gives you precise control over the layout and readability of complex charts comparing multiple sets of data.

Common Problems and Troubleshooting

Sometimes you might run into a snag. Here are a couple of common issues and how to fix them quickly.

Why is the "Gap Width" option greyed out?

This almost always means you don't have the data series selected correctly. Excel grays out this option if you've selected the whole chart area, a chart title, or an axis. To fix it, simply click directly on one of the bars in the chart to select the series, and the "Gap Width" option will become active again.

Why are my bars so thin even with a low gap width?

If you have many categories on your horizontal axis, Excel has to shrink the bars to fit them all into the available space. Even at 0% Gap Width, the bars may still appear thin if you're trying to display dozens or hundreds of data points. The best solution here is often to filter your data to show a smaller, more relevant range or consider splitting the data across multiple charts.

Final Thoughts

Customizing the thickness of your columns in Excel is a quick but powerful technique to elevate your data visualizations. By simply reducing the "Gap Width" in the Format Data Series pane, you can transform a standard, generic chart into a clear, professional, and visually compelling report that effectively communicates your key insights.

While mastering Excel charts is a valuable skill, the process of finding insights often involves spending too much time on manual setup and formatting. We built Graphed to remove that friction. It lets you create real-time dashboards and reports just by asking questions in plain English. Instead of hunting through menus to adjust gap widths, you can simply describe what you need to see, and Graphed connects to your live data sources to build an interactive dashboard for you in seconds.