One option is to use a log scale.

Another is to move the outlier to the secondary axis.

Yet another is to simulate a break in the axis. See
Broken axis
http://www.tushar-mehta.com/excel/ne...axis/tutorial/

or Jon Peltier's http://peltiertech.com/Excel/Charts/BrokenYAxis.html or
Andy Pope's http://andypope.info/charts/brokencolumn.htm

--
Tushar Mehta
http://www.tushar-mehta.com
Custom business solutions leveraging a multi-disciplinary approach
In Excel 2007 double-click to format may not work; right click and select
from the menu


"Chris" wrote:

I have created a bar graph with 5 bars. One of the data points has a
disproportionately high value, and it is hard to view the other data points
in the chart because their value is so low.

If I fix the axis to a lower value, the data point label for the large value
will only show up on the graph if I center it. If I try to move the label,
it disappears.

This is hard to explain, but in other graphs I have seen similar outliers
represented as a bar with a zigzag near the end and a data label.

Is there a way to format a chart so it can properly represent the outlier,
without having to make the axis long enough to include the whole bar?