Naming Basics Best practice recommendations are to create a chart placing independent variables on the horizontal, x-axis and dependent variables on the vertical, y-axis.

Layout 11: Layout 11 shows the following chart elements: Legend (Right), Horizontal Axis, Vertical Axis, and Major Gridlines. Any Layout Style you have chosen is how the layout is going to be.

If you have uneven distribution of data in your Excel chart, here is a better way to change the automatic axis settings.

How to Change the Intervals on an X-Axis in Excel. The X-axis, which is the horizontal axis, on most Excel charts does not use numeric intervals like the vertical Y-axis does.