How To Do A Pie Chart In Excel

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Should You Be Using Pie Of Pie Or Bar Of Pie Charts

How to Make a Pie Chart in Excel

While I am not a fan, I will not go as far as forbidding you to use these charts.

I have seen these charts being used in management meetings and one reason these are still being used is that it helps in letting you tell the story.

If youre presenting this chart live to an audience, you can command their attention and take them through the different slices. Since youre doing all the presentation, you also have the control to make sure things are understood the way its supposed to be, and there is no confusion.

For example, if you look at the chart below, someone may misunderstand that the green slice is bigger than the gray slice. In reality, the entire Pie chart on the right is equal to the gray slice only.

Adding data labels definitely helps, but the visual aspect always leaves some room for confusion.

So, if I am using this chart with a live presentation, I can still guide the attention and avoid confusion, but I wouldnt use these in a report or dashboard where I am not there to explain it.

In such a case, I would rather use a simple bar/column chart and eliminate any chance of confusion.

How Excel Pie Chart Labels Work

The Format Data Labels panel is where you can choose which labels will appear on your pie chart.

Select the bar graph icon called Label Options.

Expand the Label Options section and youll see a number of labels you can choose to display on your pie chart.

Heres how each label option works:

  • Value from Cells:In the example above, the pie chart displays one column of data. If you had another column of data, you could use this option to use those values when labeling each slice of the pie. In other words, you can choose to use the data from a different range of cells as your data labels. For example, you can add a third column to your data, Change from last week. If you choose value from cells and select cells C2:C6, then your pie chart would look like this:

How To Create Pie Of Pie Or Bar Of Pie Chart In Excel

The pie chart can reflect the number of relations between part and part, part and whole, it used to show the percentage. If there are several tiny slices even less than 10 percent of your pie chart, it is hard for you to see them. In this case, you can use the pie of pie or bar of pie chart to make your chart more coherent. However, how to create a pie of pie or bar of pie chart in Excel?

Create a pie of pie or bar of pie chart in Excel

A pie of pie or bar of pie chart, it can separate the tiny slices from the main pie chart and display them in an additional pie or stacked bar chart as shown in the following screenshot, so you can see the smaller slices more visible or easier.

The following steps can help you to create a pie of pie or bar of pie chart:

1. Create the data that you want to use as follows:

2. Then select the data range, in this example, highlight cell A2:B9. And then click Insert> Pie> Pie of Pie or Bar of Pie, see screenshot:

3. And you will get the following chart:

4. Then you can add the data labels for the data points of the chart, please select the pie chart and right click, then choose Add Data Labels from the context menu and the data labels are appeared in the chart. See screenshots: And now the labels are added for each data point. See screenshot:

5. Go on selecting the pie chart and right clicking, then choose Format Data Series from the context menu, see screenshot:

Demo: Create a pie of pie or bar of pie chart in Excel

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Rotate An Excel Pie Chart For Different Perspectives

When creating a pie chart in Excel, the plot order of the data categories is determined by the data order on your worksheet. However, you can rotate your pie graph within the 360 degrees of the circle for different perspectives. Generally, Excel pie charts look better with the smaller slices at the front.

To rotate a pie chart in Excel, do the following:

  • Right-click any slice of your pie graph and click Format Data Series.
  • On the Format Data Point pane, under Series Options, drag the Angle of first slice slider away from zero to rotate the pie clockwise. Or, type the number you want directly in the box.
  • 3-D Rotation options for 3-D pie graphs

    For 3-D pie charts in Excel, more rotation options are available. To access the 3-D rotation features, right click any slice and select 3-D Rotation… from the context menu.

    This will bring up the Format Chart Area pane, where you can configure the following 3-D Rotations options:

    • Horizontal rotation in the X Rotation
    • Vertical rotation in the Y Rotation
    • The degree of perspective in the Perspective

    Note.Z Rotation

    When you click the up and down arrows in the rotation boxes, your Excel pie chart will rotate immediately to reflect the changes. So you can keep clicking the arrows to shift the pie in small increments until it is in the right position.

    For more rotation features, please see the following tutorial: How to rotate charts in Excel.

    Pie Of Pie Chart In Excel Excelchat

    How to do Pie Chart in Excel

    Excel has a built-in chart type called pie of pie chart. It is actually a double pie chart, which displays the parts of a whole through a main pie, while also providing a way to represent the minor slices through another pie. This chart makes the pie chart less complicated and easier to read.

    Figure 1. Final result: Pie of pie chart

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    How To Create A Pie Chart In Excel

    While some of the features for customizing a pie chart differ slightly, the process for creating one is the same in Excel on Windows, Mac, and the web.

  • Select the data you want to use for the chart. You can do this easily by dragging your cursor through the cell range.
  • Go to the Insert tab and click the Pie Chart drop-down arrow. In Excel on the web, this is simply a button because there is currently only one pie chart design available.
  • On Windows or Mac, select the pie chart type youd like to use. You can pick from three 2-D charts or a 3-D pie chart.
  • Youll see that pie chart pop right into your spreadsheet, ready for you to customize!

    # Adding Labels On Slices

    To add labels to the slices of the pie chart do the following.

    • 1st select the pie chart and press on to the + shaped button which is actually the Chart Elements option
    • Then put a tick mark on the Data Labels You will see that the data labels are inserted into the slices of your pie chart.
    • If you want different labels on your chart you can press the right arrow button just beside data labels. You will find different labeling options.

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    Creating Pie Of Pie And Bar Of Pie Charts

    For example, if you have several companies that operate on the market, you canrepresent a part of every company on the market as a slice.

    This data contains five slices that fall below 10%.

    To make smaller slices more visible in a pie chart, Microsoft Excel provides thePie of Pie , and Bar of Pie chart sub-types.

    Each of these chart sub-types separates the smaller slices from the main pie chart anddisplays them in a supplementary pie or stacked bar chart. To create a Pie of Pieor Bar of Pie chart, follow these steps:

    1. Select the data range .

    2. On the Insert tab, in the Chartsgroup, choose the Pie and Doughnut button:

    Choose Pie of Pieor Bar of Pie

    3. Right-click in the chart area. In the popup menu,select Format Data Series…

    4. On the Format Data Series pane, inthe Series Options tab, select which data to display in the second pie :

    There are several ways to choose which categories to display in the secondarypie or bar chart:

    • Split series by Position
    • Split series by Value
    • Split series by Percentage Value
    • Split series by Custom

    You can then make any other adjustments to get the look you desire:

    • Pie Explosion detaches the slice from the primary chart and moves itcloser to the secondary chart
    • Gap Width controls the distance between charts
    • Second Plot Size specifies the relative size of the second chart.

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    How to Make a Pie Chart in Excel

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    Build A Chart In Excel

    First, I entered the results on a worksheet .

    • Then, I selected one of the cells in the list, and on the Ribbon, clicked the Insert tab.
    • Next, I clicked the Recommended Charts command, to see what it would suggest.

    Since there were only two items in my list, the recommended chart type was Pie. The second suggestion was a column chart, and third was a bar chart.

    • I left the selection on Pie Chart, and clicked OK.

    Creating A Pie Chart In Excel

    To create a Pie chart in Excel, you need to have your data structured as shown below.

    The description of the pie slices should be in the left column and the data for each slice should be in the right column.

    Once you have the data in place, below are the steps to create a Pie chart in Excel:

  • Select the entire dataset
  • In the Charts group, click on the Insert Pie or Doughnut Chart icon.
  • The above steps would instantly add a Pie chart on your worksheet .

    While you can figure out the approximate value of each slice in the chart by looking at its size, its always better to add the actual values to each slice of the chart.

    These are called the Data Labels

    To add the data labels on each slice, right-click on any of the slices and click on Add Data Labels.

    This will instantly add the values to each slice.

    You can also easily format these data labels to look better on the chart .

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    How To Rotate A Pie Chart In Excel

    Finally, to rotate your pie chart, double-click on the chart and then click on the three-bar icon under “Format Data Point”.

    Then, toggle the “Angle of first slice” until you’ve rotated the pie chart to the degree you want.

    And there you have it! You’re well on your way to creating clean, impressive pie charts for your marketing materials to highlight important data and move stakeholders to take action.

    Ultimately, you’ll want to experiment with all of excel’s unique formatting features until you figure out the pie chart that works best for your needs. Good luck!

    Why Use A Pie Chart

    Creating Pie of Pie and Bar of Pie charts

    If youre here, youre probably already convinced that a pie chart is the best way to present your data. If not, though, here are a few reasons you should consider it:

    1. It can show a lot of information at once.

    Many charts specialize in showing one thing, like the value of a category. Pie charts are great for showing both a value and a proportion for each category.

    That makes for a more efficient chart.

    2. It allows for immediate analysis.

    The way in which data is presented by a pie chart makes it very easy to make comparisons quickly. That allows viewers to analyze the data in a snap.

    And thats what youre using a chart for in the first place, isnt it?

    3. It requires little additional explanation.

    Some graphs and charts include complicated information and arent intuitively clear. A box plot, for example, might leave audiences scratching their heads.

    But nearly everyone knows how to read a pie chart. That makes it easier for you to present and for them to interpret.

    4. Variations give you more options.

    There are many different kinds of pie charts, and they each have distinct visual advantages. Well only be going over the basic chart here, but keep this in mind.

    If you want to present your pie chart in a different format, theres probably a way to do it!

    Convinced? Lets dive into making pie charts!

    Kasper Langmann

    And if you want to show change over time, a line chart is probably your best bet.

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    S To Create A Pie Chart

    To create a pie chart in Excel 2016, you will need to do the following steps:

  • Highlight the data that you would like to use for the pie chart. In this example, we have selected the range A1:B5.

  • Select the Insert tab in the toolbar at the top of the screen. Click on the Pie Chart button in the Charts group and then select a chart from the drop down menu. In this example, we have selected the first pie chart in the 2-D Pie section.

    TIP: As you hover over each choice in the drop down menu, it will show you a preview of your data in the highlighted chart format.

  • Now you will see the completed pie chart. In this tutorial, the pie chart has 4 slices . Each slice represents the sales as a percentage of the total sales.

    Congratulations, you have finished creating your first pie chart in Excel 2016!

  • Changing The Style And Color

    Excel already has some neat pre-made styles and color combinations that you can use to instantly format your Pie charts.

    When you select the chart, it will show you the two contextual tabs Design and Format.

    These tabs only appear when you select the chart

    Within the Design tab, you can change the Pie chart style by clicking on any of the pre-made styles. As soon as you select the style that you want, it will be applied to the chart.

    You can also hover your cursor over these styles and it will show you a live preview of how your Pie chart would look when that style is applied.

    You can also change the color combination of the chart by clicking on the Change Colors option and then selecting the one you want. Again, as you hover the cursor over these color combinations, it will show a live preview of the chart.

    Pro Tip

    Adding the data labels to a Pie chart is super easy.

    Right-click on any of the slices and then click on Add Data Labels.

    As soon as you do this. data labels would be added to each slice of the Pie chart.

    And once you have added the data labels, there is a lot of customization you can do with it.

    Quick Data Label Formatting from the Design Tab

    A quick level of customization of the data labels is available in the Design tab, which becomes available when you select the chart.

    Here are the steps to format the data label from the Design tab:

  • Select the chart. This will make the Design tab available in the ribbon.
  • Hover the cursor on the Data Labels option.
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