Skip to main content
Known Participant
June 29, 2009
Question

How do I resize a graph?

  • June 29, 2009
  • 8 replies
  • 117988 views

Hello,

how do I resize a graph? From what I can see, I can only set its size when I create it?

I guess I could Transform > Scale an existing graph - but I'd rather set a fixed width and height so I can keep the proportions right for when I import the graph into InDesign.

Thanks!

8 replies

hekselsior
Known Participant
October 13, 2024

Honestly, Adobe Illustrator just can't do graph well. So limited functions. I feel that the tool's feature is not updated for such long time.

 

Scale tool does resize the graph, but works only for X+Y scaling. What if I want to scale the X size without stretching the label texts inproportionally? It is frustrating to integrate the graph from AI to be put in a page layout that may get revised, especially when we need to adjust the graph width or height only.

 

Currently, Powerpoint handle this way way better and much more convenient editing. I prefer to do create the basic graph in powerpoint, and then export it as SVG which is a vector format. Then I can later polish it in Illustrator in the final step, if necessary.

Monika Gause
Community Expert
Community Expert
October 13, 2024

Press cmd+Shift+X to adjust the text proportions after scaling.

hekselsior
Known Participant
October 13, 2024

Thanks, that shortcut is pretty useful and should solve the text scaling headache. 

Just need a more robust graph editing like I have experience in PowerPoint, but yeah OOT here.

kyleh22
Participant
July 26, 2019

Group with another shape object (anything). Then use the Scale function from the dropdown menu.

Dragging from the transform corners won't work.

Known Participant
June 13, 2017

why would anyway want to resize a graph after it's created?

*SARCASM*

Apparently the graph feature hasn't been updated in 20 years.

makes you wonder what they're doing all day.

What I do:

Set artboard to the size I want to drop into indesign as.

Create a graph

Use scale tool to resize graph to size

Leave the Y axis editable. (when you scale the graph it will scale the text too, I keep a copy of the axis text on the side, so after I scale, just select all the scaled text and eye drop the sample text.)

Labels I do as editable text.

Inspiring
July 28, 2023

Make that 26 years. 

The graph tool still sucks.

Participant
September 21, 2023

Still waiting, slowed me down a ton today... Such a basic feature that I didn't realise wasn't there until I tried it today.

Adobe don't care about core product anymore, jump on the AI train, because that's the only place they want to go.

 

[abuse removed by moderator]

devonl11255099
Participant
March 23, 2017

SCALE TOOL

Tony_Sev
Participant
October 20, 2016

If the little spread sheet widget is running then it doesn't seem to work. Just closing that window will allow you to Ungroup the object and then you can resize it.

ankitas44494021
Participant
May 29, 2015

You can also follow this:

Select the graph with the selection tool (v) -> Right click -> Scale-> uniform selection, input as 200% to double its size or 120% to increase the size by 20%. Click OK.

Done!

Participant
December 5, 2015

This worked perfectly. Better than all the other options.

Thank you so much ankitas!

sarahs52200345
Participant
April 12, 2016

I found that ungrouping the graph and then resizing as you would with a normal shape also works, but this makes it so you're no longer able to edit the data.

Inspiring
June 29, 2009

Select the graph click on the graph tool in the tool bar there is an x axis settings for the drop down gives you some control.

So does the columns width settings.

Steve Fairbairn
Inspiring
June 29, 2009

The final size of your graph depends amongst other things on the size of the type and the number of digits in the XY values. So rescaling with either the Scale ot Transform tools is almost always necessary. I suggest snapping ruler guides to a rectangle which is in the correct size may be a good idea. Then you can always snap your graph to fit to the guides. Be aware that simple scaling will result in the type becoming distorted. You can select the type by double (or treble)-clicking on one of the digits with the Direct Selection (white arrow) tool. That way you select the whole group to adjust the size of the type.