How to add minor gridlines in an Excel chart?
In Excel, gridlines play an essential role in improving the readability of charts by helping users track data points and trends more comfortably. By default, when you create a column, bar, or line chart, Excel automatically adds horizontal major gridlines to the chart area, which segment the axis into broad intervals. However, in scenarios where you need a more detailed view—such as measuring smaller changes or making your data comparison more granular—you might want to add "minor gridlines." These minor gridlines further divide the space between the major gridlines, narrowing the intervals and giving your chart a finer internal structure, as shown in the screenshot below. This article will guide you through different ways to add minor gridlines to a chart in Excel, and when and why you might want to use these options.
➤ Add minor gridlines in an Excel chart
➤ VBA: Add or customize minor gridlines programmatically
Add minor gridlines in an Excel chart
Suppose you have already created a line chart that displays only major horizontal gridlines, as shown in the screenshot below. If your dataset contains closely spaced values or if you want to enhance the visual granularity of your graph, adding minor gridlines to your chart is a handy approach. Minor gridlines provide more reference points, making it easier for you and viewers to estimate values between the main axis intervals.
1. First, select the chart by clicking anywhere within its area to activate Chart Tools. Then go to Chart Tools > Design in the Ribbon. Click Add Chart Element, point to Gridlines, and click Primary Major Horizontal to remove the existing major gridlines. This prevents your chart from appearing cluttered with both major and minor gridlines.
2. With the chart still selected, again go to Chart Tools > Design > Add Chart Element > Gridlines, then choose Primary Minor Horizontal. This adds the finer minor gridlines across the chart area.
Note: If you are using Excel 2010, the steps are slightly different. After selecting the chart, go to Chart Tools > Layout, then click Gridlines > Primary Horizontal Gridlines > Minor Gridlines.
After completing these steps, your chart will display minor horizontal gridlines, which help to interpret closely varying data or provide finer measurement intervals. To further customize these gridlines (e.g., color, transparency, line style), right-click the gridlines and choose Format Gridlines. In the format pane, you'll find various customization options to improve visual clarity.
- Minor gridlines can be added horizontally and vertically, depending on your chart type and axis setup.
- Remove major gridlines first if they make the chart too busy alongside minor ones.
- If you change chart type, axis scale, or number formatting later, you may need to reconfigure gridlines.
- Not all charts support minor gridlines (e.g., pie charts do not).
- Ensure a supported chart type is selected (e.g., line, column, or bar chart).
- If the option is grayed out, click the chart again to confirm it's selected.
- Restart Excel or recreate the chart if options remain unavailable.
Minor gridlines enhance chart readability—use them wisely for best clarity and viewer experience.
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VBA: Add or customize minor gridlines programmatically
In cases where you need to apply minor gridlines repeatedly or across multiple charts within a workbook, using VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) is a practical solution. This approach is especially helpful for automating chart formatting tasks in large reports or for ensuring consistent styling across charts created dynamically.
VBA allows you not only to add minor gridlines but also to further customize their appearance—such as color, thickness, or line style—and apply these settings to all charts within your workbook. Follow the steps below:
1. Open your workbook. Go to Developer > Visual Basic to launch the VBA editor. Then click Insert > Module and paste the following code into the new module. (If the Developer tab is not visible, enable it via File > Options > Customize Ribbon.)
Sub AddMinorGridlinesToAllCharts()
Dim ws As Worksheet
Dim chtObj As ChartObject
Dim xTitleId As String
xTitleId = "Kutools for Excel"
On Error Resume Next
For Each ws In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets
For Each chtObj In ws.ChartObjects
With chtObj.Chart
If .HasAxis(xlValue) Then
With .Axes(xlValue)
.HasMinorGridlines = True
If .HasMinorGridlines Then
With .MinorGridlines.Format.Line
.Weight = 1
.ForeColor.RGB = RGB(200, 200, 200)
.DashStyle = msoLineDash
End With
End If
End With
End If
End With
Next chtObj
Next ws
On Error GoTo 0
MsgBox "Done: Minor gridlines have been applied to all charts.", vbInformation, xTitleId
End Sub2. After entering the code, close the VBA editor. Press Alt + F8, choose AddMinorGridlinesToAllCharts from the macro list, and click Run. (Alternatively, you can press F5 in the VBA editor with the cursor placed inside the macro.)
This macro will loop through all worksheets in the current workbook and apply minor gridlines to each chart’s primary vertical (Y) axis.
- To apply minor gridlines to selected charts only, modify the loop logic to target specific chart objects.
- You can adjust line color, dash style, or thickness in the VBA code to match your design or brand guidelines.
- If you encounter a “Method not supported” error, the chart type may not support minor gridlines. Use only with line, column, or bar charts.
- Always save your workbook before running the macro, especially if it modifies multiple charts at once.
- To remove minor gridlines later, change
.HasMinorGridlines = TruetoFalsein the same code.
This VBA method is especially effective when you need to update many charts at once and want to ensure consistent visual formatting throughout your workbook.
Related articles:
Create a bell curve chart template in Excel
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