Excel Pivot Chart: Remove “Sum of” From Labels

To remove “Sum of” from a PivotChart legend label in Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, rename the chart’s value field: right-click a value in the linked PivotTable, choose Value Field Settings, enter a clearer Custom Name, and select OK. If “Sum of” is on a field button displayed over the chart instead, select the chart and choose PivotChart Analyze > Field Buttons > Hide All; that hides the buttons rather than changing the series name.

First identify which label you want to change

Excel uses several kinds of text around a PivotChart, and the right fix depends on where you see “Sum of.” A legend entry such as “Sum of Revenue” names a data series. A field button, often shown as “Sum of Revenue” in a box on the chart, is an interactive control for filtering or arranging PivotChart fields. A chart title, axis title, and category label are separate elements again.

Look at the chart before changing anything. If the text appears in the legend beside a colored marker, rename the value field. If it sits inside a rectangular dropdown button on the chart, hide or reposition field buttons. If it appears above the plot as the chart title, edit the title itself; changing the value field may not be the result you want. Identifying the label first prevents a common mistake: hiding useful chart controls when the goal was simply to make the legend read better.

Rename the value field to change the legend

A PivotChart takes its series labels from the values area of its associated PivotTable. Excel often prefixes an aggregated field with its calculation, such as “Sum of Revenue” or “Count of Orders.” Change the value field’s Custom Name to control the caption used for that field and its chart series.

Click a cell in the PivotTable connected to the chart.
Find a number in the value column whose caption you want to change. Right-click that value and choose Value Field Settings. You can also use the value field’s menu in the PivotTable Fields pane and open Value Field Settings.
In the dialog, enter a concise name in the Custom Name box, such as “Revenue” or “Revenue total.”
Select OK and check the PivotTable heading and PivotChart legend. The new caption should flow through to the chart.

Use a name that explains what the numbers represent. For example, if the chart shows total revenue by region, “Revenue” is usually clearer than “Sum of Revenue.” If you have both a sum and an average of the same source field in the same PivotTable, give them distinct captions, such as “Revenue total” and “Average revenue,” so readers can tell the series apart.

Why Excel adds “Sum of” in the first place

A PivotTable groups source records and summarizes their values. Excel needs to indicate what calculation it is performing, particularly because one source column can be summarized in different ways. A numeric field is commonly summarized by Sum, while text or some other fields may be summarized by Count. The default caption combines the calculation with the source field name to make that distinction visible.

The calculation and the caption are different things. Changing the Custom Name changes how the value field is described; it does not, by itself, change the underlying calculation. If the PivotTable is adding sales values, renaming “Sum of Sales” to “Sales” does not turn the sum into an average. To check or change the calculation, open Value Field Settings and use the Summarize Values By tab. Choose Sum, Count, Average, or another available summary only when that is the statistic the data calls for.

For example, suppose a source table has one row per order, with columns for Region and Revenue. A PivotTable that places Region in Rows and Revenue in Values may display “Sum of Revenue.” Renaming it to “Revenue” makes the heading and corresponding chart legend shorter while keeping the regional totals as sums. If the chart instead needs average order revenue, change the summary to Average and use a caption such as “Average order revenue.”

Hide PivotChart field buttons without changing the caption

Field buttons are on-chart controls that let someone filter or rearrange fields. They are not the same as legend entries, and hiding them does not rename the series. If the chart is going into a report and the controls are distracting, select the PivotChart and choose PivotChart Analyze > Field Buttons > Hide All. The chart continues to be a PivotChart and remains linked to its PivotTable; the buttons are simply no longer visible on the chart.

Field-button menus can also offer choices to hide particular types of buttons, such as value-field or axis-field buttons. Use a narrower option if you want to keep some controls available. Button names and ribbon layout can vary slightly with the Excel window size and update, but the Field Buttons command is on the contextual PivotChart Analyze tab in desktop Excel for Windows when the chart is selected.

Hiding buttons is useful for presentation, but consider who will use the workbook. A colleague may rely on those buttons to filter the chart without opening the PivotTable Fields pane. If interactivity matters, leave the needed buttons visible or document another way to filter the report. The chart’s legend and displayed values are not removed by hiding field buttons.

When the label will not accept the name you entered

Excel may reject a Custom Name that is identical to the source field’s header, because the PivotTable already uses that name for the underlying field. For instance, if the source column is named “Revenue,” entering exactly “Revenue” may produce a message that the PivotTable field name already exists. Give the value field a distinct caption instead, such as “Revenue total” or “Total revenue.” A trailing space is sometimes used to get around the duplicate-name restriction, but it is harder to notice and maintain than a meaningful distinct caption.

Also check that you changed the value field rather than a row or column field. The value field is the one summarized as numbers in the PivotTable. If there are several entries in the Values area, each has its own settings and its own chart series name. Rename the specific series you want; changing a different value field will not affect the label you are looking at.

If the chart does not reflect the change, confirm that it is the PivotChart linked to the PivotTable you edited. A workbook can contain multiple PivotTables and charts that look similar. Check the chart’s fields and the PivotTable’s layout, then refresh the PivotTable if its source data or field configuration has changed. Refreshing updates data; it is not normally needed just to change a caption, but it can help when the chart is displaying an old layout or stale source results.

PivotChart compared with a regular chart

A regular chart and a PivotChart may look alike, but their series are managed differently. In a regular chart, you can typically select the chart, open Chart Design > Select Data, choose a series, and edit its series name. A PivotChart’s series are generated from PivotTable fields, so Excel manages them through the PivotTable structure. Renaming the value field in Value Field Settings is the dependable approach for a PivotChart.

Trying to edit the series name independently through Select Data may be unavailable or restricted for a PivotChart. That is intentional: the chart must stay synchronized with its PivotTable as filters and field arrangements change. If you need a chart whose labels and data ranges can be controlled independently, create a regular chart from a separate summary range. That gives more direct chart editing, but the separate range must be kept up to date when the PivotTable changes.

Excel for Mac and Excel for the web

The main distinction between changing the value-field caption and hiding chart controls applies in desktop Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows. Excel for Mac has contextual PivotTable and PivotChart tabs too, although the tab names, placement, or available commands can differ by release and screen layout. For a caption change, look for Value Field Settings on the PivotTable side; for chart controls, select the chart and look for Field Buttons on its PivotChart tools tab.

Excel for the web has fewer PivotTable and chart-editing capabilities than desktop Excel, and not every command or layout is available there. If you cannot find Value Field Settings or the Field Buttons control in the browser, open the workbook in the Excel desktop app and make the change there. The edited workbook can then be saved and viewed in the browser. Avoid assuming that a control is absent from the workbook just because a particular web or Mac interface presents it differently.

Practical naming and presentation tips

A short legend is helpful, but it should still tell the reader what the series measures. “Sales” may be adequate when the chart clearly shows totals by month. In a chart with sales and average sales side by side, labels such as “Total sales” and “Average sales” are more informative. Include units where ambiguity is likely, for example “Units sold” or “Revenue ($),” and make sure the source data and number formatting support that description.

Use distinct names when the same source field appears more than once in Values.
Keep the original source header clear; it identifies the field in the data and PivotTable Fields pane.
Use a meaningful Custom Name instead of a hidden trailing space to evade a duplicate-name warning.
After changing a caption, check both the PivotTable heading and the chart legend, especially if the chart has several series.
Hide field buttons only when viewers do not need those on-chart filtering controls.

Remember that a caption is not a data-quality check. If “Average revenue” appears in the legend, verify that the Values field is actually summarized by Average. A good label describes the calculation as well as the subject, and the PivotTable’s Value Field Settings are where you confirm both.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I remove “Sum of” from a PivotChart legend only?
Not as a separate independent edit while keeping the PivotChart tied to its PivotTable. Rename the value field in Value Field Settings; the caption normally changes in both the PivotTable and the chart. For an independently controlled legend, use a regular chart based on a separate summary range.

Does changing the name change Sum to Average?
No. Custom Name changes the displayed caption, not the summary calculation. To change the calculation, open Value Field Settings and choose the appropriate option under Summarize Values By. Make the label accurately describe that calculation.

Why does Excel say the field name already exists?
The name you entered may exactly match the source column header, which Excel reserves for the underlying field. Choose a distinct caption, such as “Total revenue,” rather than duplicating the source name exactly.

How do I remove the dropdown buttons from a PivotChart?
Select the chart, then choose PivotChart Analyze > Field Buttons > Hide All. This removes the visible chart controls, not the legend label or the PivotChart’s connection to its PivotTable.

Can I change a PivotChart series name through Select Data?
PivotCharts manage series through their associated PivotTable fields, so independent series editing in Select Data may be restricted. Change the value field’s Custom Name instead. Select Data is generally more suitable for editing series in a regular chart.

Will refreshing the PivotTable undo the caption?
A refresh updates the PivotTable from its source data, and a custom value-field caption generally remains associated with the PivotTable field. If the source structure or field arrangement changes, check the caption and chart legend afterward; refresh is not a substitute for setting the Custom Name.

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