XL2000: Series Data Orientation Not Saved in Custom Chart Type

When you save a custom chart type and apply it to a new chart, the data series and the x-axis labels revert to the defaults in Microsoft Excel.

Saving a custom chart type does not store whether the data series is oriented on the chart in rows or columns, or whether the x-axis labels are in the first row or first column. Therefore, if you apply the custom chart type to new data, the x-axis labels and orientation of the data series use the defaults in Excel.

To adjust the orientation of the series after creating a custom chart:

1. Select the custom chart.
2. Click the Chart Wizard button on the Standard toolbar.
3. In step 1 of the Chart Wizard, click Next.
4. Under Series in, click the appropriate option, and then click the Series tab.
5. Specify the series and x-axis label information that you want and then click Finish.

Excel only stores the layout, existence of chart components, and formatting information of user-defined chart types, for example:

• Legend
  
  
• Gridlines
  
  
• Data labels
  
  
• A secondary axis
  
  
• Colors
  
  
• Patterns
  
  
• Fills
  
  
• Placement choices for various chart items
  
  
• Fonts

Excel does not store the exact data used to create the chart. If it did, you could only use autoformat on data sets of the same size.