1.12 FAQ-123 How do I display my axis label as percentage or fraction or latitude-longitude degree?

Last Update: 4/25/2023


Sometimes, when you plot a graph and you want to

  • show the decimal tick labels as percentage, such as 10%
  • show the numeric tick labels as fraction, such as 3/8
  • show the latitude and longitude tick labels as degree-minute-second, such as 37° 20' 33"

Then, you can use the axis tick label's Custom Display Format combo box to define your custom display formats with Origin format notations.

Custom Display Format for Tick Labels 01.png

To open this dialog and tab,

  1. Double-click on tick label to open Axis dialog.
  2. Go to the Tick Labels tab and then the Display tab under it.


Case 1 : Display Percentage labels

From Origin 2018b, worksheet supports displaying decimal numbers as percentages, e.g. 10%, 20%, etc. However, after plotting the graph, the axis tick labels will still show as decimal numbers, e.g. 0.1, 0.2. To show the tick label as percentages, with the Display tab above opened, you can

  1. Select Custom in the Display drop-down list.
  2. Select from drop-down or enter #% in the Custom Format text box.
  3. Click OK button.

In Origin 2018 and earlier versions which don't support percentage format, you can follow steps below to show the tick label as percentages:

  1. Double-click on tick label to open Axis dialog.
  2. On Go to the Tick Labels tab and then the Display tab under it.
  3. Enter 1/100 or 0.01 in the Divide by Factor text box.
  4. Enter % in the Suffix text box.
  5. Click OK button.
Case 2 : Display Fraction labels

Since Origin 2018b, Origin supports to show the numeric tick labels as fraction, with the Display tab above opened, you can

  1. Select Custom in the Display drop-down list.
  2. Select # ##/## or # #/8 from drop-down or enter your own custom format notation in the Custom Format text box.
  3. Click OK button.
Case 3 : Display latitude and longitude degree labels

Since Origin 2018b, Origin supports to show the latitude and longitude tick labels as degree-minute-second. With the Display tab above opened, you can

  1. Select Custom in the Display drop-down list.
  2. Select a native notation such as DMS from drop-down or enter your own custom format notation in the Custom Format text box.
  3. Click OK button.

Keywords:%, axis, plot, label, scale, suffix, prefix, fraction, latitude and longitude, degree, minute and second, DMS, DD-MM-SS

Minimum Origin Version Required: 2018b
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