Pie Chart in Excel: Explained
In this article, you will learn about the Pie Chart and how to create it in Excel.
What is a Pie chart in Excel?
Pie charts are a valuable tool in Microsoft Excel for visualizing data and making it easy to understand. Pie charts are a popular way to display data clearly and concisely. They can be easily created in Microsoft Excel, making them a useful tool for anyone who needs to visualize numerical data. A well-designed pie chart can make all the difference, whether you're presenting financial information, sales figures, or survey results.
How to make a Pie chart in Excel
In this article, we will guide you through the steps to create a pie chart in Excel.
Step 1: Prepare your data
Before creating a pie chart, you need to have the data you want to represent. This data should be organized in a table format, with each column representing a category and each row representing a data point. Make sure that your data is accurate and complete.
The example dataset taken is for a company IT Department budget allocation figures. The objective is to determine the category which is taking most of the budget with the help of a Pie chart.
In terms of data preparation, you need to ensure a clean, formatted, and consistent dataset.
Step 2: Select your data
Once your data is prepared, you need to select the data range that you want to include in the pie chart. Click and drag over the cells that contain the data you want to include. If you have column headings, be sure to include them in the selection.
The selected dataset will be highlighted by a border across the text for visual confirmation.
Step 3: Insert the Pie chart
With your data selected, click the "Insert" tab in the ribbon at the top of the Excel window. From the chart group, select the "Pie" chart option. You will be presented with a list of pie chart options. Choose the one that best suits your needs.
For learning purposes, we have selected a 2-D Pie chart.
Since our dataset was neatly formatted and rows and columns marked with headers, the Pie chart auto-picked the “title” and “legend”.
Step 4: Add a chart title and legends
To make your pie chart more informative, you can add a “title” and a “legend”. The title should clearly state what the chart represents, while the legend should provide information about the categories defined by the different segments of the graph. To add a title and legend, click on the chart to select it, then use the “Add Chart Element” followed by the “Chart Title” option in the "Chart Design" tab to add them. You can choose the Title layout from the sub-menu.
Another way to quickly access “Chart Elements” is to click on the + icon when you select the chart.
You can rename the Chart Title by clicking on the Title and editing the text directly. The “Format Chart Title” menu appears on the right side of Excel where you can change the background color of the Chart Title and also set the Transparency options.
If you click on the Legends, then the “Format Legend” menu appears, which lets you define the position of legend appearance over the chart. You can also modify the text font, colors, and background color.
Step 5: Customize your Pie chart
Once you have inserted your pie chart, you can customize it to suit your needs better. You can change the colors of the chart, add labels, adjust the angle of the pie, set the pie explosion, change the color of individual pie slices, and adjust the size of the chart. To customize the chart, click on it to select it, then use the options in the "Chart Design" and "Format" tabs in the ribbon. Using the quick access “Chart Elements”, you can enable the “Data Labels” and choose the layout option.
You can set the color scheme using the quick access “Chart Styles” and even choose a desired chart style.
The “Format Chart Area” menu appears whenever the chart is selected. From the dropdown list, you can choose the Chart Area, Title, Legend, Plot Area, and Series for customization.
The “Format Data Labels” menu appears when you select the data label on a chart, where you can customize it to display either the values or percentages. Choosing ”Percentage” gives the chart a cleaner and crisp look for easy viewing.
The “Format Data Point” menu appears when you click on any of the pie slices. The menu lets you select the “Angle of First Slice” and also “Point of Explosion”.
The Point of Explosion setting lets you highlight any segments that have outperformed or need attention. In the example case, Disaster Recovery and Business continuity is taking the most significant portion of budget allocation.
Step 6: Save your chart
Once you are satisfied with your Pie chart and customization, it is important to save the Excel file. To do so, simply click the "File" tab and select "Save As". Give your file a meaningful name, choose a file location, and select the format you like.
When should I create a Pie chart in Excel?
A Pie chart is an ideal choice when you need to create a graph that presents financial figures in a simple format or shows the proportion of different categories in a dataset. Pie charts offer a concise visual representation of the data, requiring less explanation and providing a clear breakdown of values.
Important note about Pie chart in Excel
It's important to note that pie charts are designed to plot a single data series and are unsuitable for datasets with multiple variables, and the total value of the pie is always 100%. Hence, you should have a single set of data with all positive values, and it's advisable to limit the number of categories to seven or fewer in order to maintain readability on a chart.
What you may also know: 3D Pie chart and a Pie of Pie chart
You can even create 3-D Pie charts to display your dataset. A 3D Pie chart is a chart that displays data as slices of a circular pie but with an added third dimension that gives the chart depth. This depth makes it look like the graph is popping out of the page or screen and can make it more visually appealing. The slices in a 3D Pie chart represent the proportion of each category or data point relative to the whole, and the size of each piece is determined by its value.
Apart from 3-D Pie charts, you can create a Pie of Pie or Bar of Pie chart, which highlights smaller values by presenting them in a separate secondary pie or stacked bar chart. You can switch to one of these charts by selecting the chart, navigating to the Chart Tools Design tab, and clicking Change Chart Type. From there, you can choose the desired chart type from the Change Chart Type gallery.
There is another type of Pie chart called the doughnut chart. The Doughnut chart is a circular chart that looks like a pie chart with a hole in the middle. It helps you understand how different parts make up a whole, like a pie chart. The space in the middle of the chart can be used to show extra information or make something stand out. We use a doughnut chart when we have lots of categories to offer or need to focus on something important in the data.
