Excel: The Chart Layout Tab Is Missing in Excel 2013

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Problem: What happened to the Layout tab in Excel 2013? This is where I did most of my chart formatting in Excel 2010.

Strategy: Most of the choices from the Layout tab are in the Plus icon to the right of the Excel 2013 chart. Toggle an item on with the checkbox. Hover over an item to see a triangle leading to a flyout with more a few popular choices.

  1. In Excel 2013, format most chart elements from the "œ+" icon.

    It is somewhat odd that not everything from the Excel 2010 layout tab is in this menu. If you need to add Up/Down Bars or High-Low lines, you have to go to the Design tab and open the Add Chart Element dropdown.