Thread: Getting rid of annoying automatic chart tips

Spreadsheets show the names and values of data points in charts as soon as you place the cursor over them, but this feature often covers the parts you want to edit.

You can easily stop the program from behaving in such a manner. The process is slightly different for different Excel versions. In the older versions, open 'Tools I Options' and activate the 'Chart' tab in the folloWing dialog. You can deactivate the display of names and values of data points independent of each other in the 'Chart tips' area. For this, uncheck the 'Show names' and 'Show values' options.

In Excel 2007, click the Office button and select 'Excel options'. Select 'Advanced' on the left side of the dialog box. Now scroll to the right of the 'Display' field. Here, you will find the 'Show chart element names on hover' and 'Show data point values on hover' options. These options are the same as the 'Show names' and 'Show values' options in the previous versions.

Note:
The options described here function as general settings on all charts in all workbooks. Thus, Excel neither saves the setting for one workbook nor for one chart.