The month labels all appear in these charts. The figure below shows three charts, each 1.5 inches tall, at widths of 5, 4, and 3 inches. The default chart in US versions of Excel is 5 inches wide and 3 inches tall. I’ll illustrate by showing larger charts and a really simple data set. When you shrink the chart, and the labels get close together, Excel does little things to prevent axis labels from overlapping. Excel doesn’t drop off the last category axis label on a chart. She mentions that plotting 13 months of data will avoid this problem. If you make a 12-month chart, as you shrink the chart, for example to fit it into a dashboard, Excel drops off the last month’s axis label. And don't forget to subscribe to my free email newsletter below to stay updated with all these answers.My colleague Patrica McCarthy, the Excel Diva, wrote in 12 Months Data – 13 Months Data in a Chart last week about a problem with Excel charts. Please leave a comment below with any questions. You will also be able to upload your file or screenshot to help explain your question. You can get your Excel or VBA question answered too! Click the link below to submit your question. This article is based on a question from Tony. Therefore, the plot area needs to be smaller than the chart area to fit the axis labels, and titles outside the chart. In the case of Tony's chart in the video, he was having trouble seeing the axis titles and labels because the plot area was too large.

So if you select the outside border of the chart and resize it, the plot area will also resize proportionally. The plot area also resizes with the chart area. This makes it difficult to distinguish the difference between the two areas of the chart. Sometimes the plot area can fill up the entire chart area. The Chart Area and Plot Area Are the Same Size

If you can't read the titles or labels this tip will help cleanup your chart to make it more presentable.

This post and video answers a question on how to resize the plot area of a chart to prevent the axis titles and labels from overlapping.

Excel 2016 chart axis labels