making a pie chart

How to make a Pie Chart

Daksha Bhat


So now you have decided that you want to present your data

in a pie chart.See my previous presentation if you are not sure if the pie chart is the right choice for your data


These instructions are for making a chart in Microsoft Excel. If you don’t have that you can try alternatives such as

Free OfficeOpen OfficeWPS Office Libre Office

There may be a slight difference in the way these applications work.

Arrange your data in a table

Item AmountRent 10000Groceries 4000Travel 3000Clothes 2000Entertainment 4000Savings 7000

From a total salary of 30,000These are the expenses

Arrange your data in a table

Item AmountRent 10000Groceries 4000Travel 3000Clothes 2000Entertainment 4000Savings 7000

From a total salary of 30,000These are the expenses Make sure the amounts are all

numbers. Don’t include spaces or other characters.

You can use a comma or decimal point & write 10,000 or 10,000.00

Maintain the same format

Select your data, then click on insert and choose the pie chart. Use the ordinary one for now. We will look at the options later.

Using the shortcut keys Alt, C, H will bring up the Insert chart dialog. You can choose the pie chart from here by clicking on it.

OR

Click OK on the insert chart dialog.

And your chart is ready!!!

BUT

Is this what you really want? Let’s see how to customize this and make it better.

If you want to work extensively on the chart it is better to

move it off the current work sheet

and insert it as a tab. Select the chart, right click, and then select Move Chart. This is a matter of choice, you can skip this and still

do the same formatting when the chart is on the sheet.

Choose New Sheet and write a

name instead of

Chart 1.Lets call it EXPENSES.

Click OK

This how your new

tab will look.

You can experiment

with the styles on top if you

want.

These are some of the style options that

you get. However you will find that

some adjustment is still needed.

Chart Title

Before proceeding make sure you know what the components of the chart are called.

Legend

Data Label

Leader Line Chart Area

Legend Entry

Legend key

Category name

Value

Chart Title

Before proceeding make sure you know what the components of the chart are called.

Legend

Data Label

Leader Line Chart Area

Legend Entry

Legend key

Category name

Value

Each of these elements can be

Formatted for colour and sizeMoved around

Or Deleted

to achieve the desired effect.

Right clicking on the element or selecting it from the

FORMAT menu will bring up your choices

First we will format the CHART TITLE

I have dragged the title to one side

Changed it from “Amount” to “Expenses”

Selected the text and then changed the font to Graphite

Std Wide 28Text Fill- Blue

Text Outline – Light greenText Shadow- Black lighter

25%

This kind of formatting can be done with any text in the

chart.

The category name should either be in the legend or in the data label. Keeping it in both places may not be such a good idea. See how ‘Savings’ is repeated here.

Choose according to your vision of what your final chart should look like.You can change the placement of the legend, and change the font too.

Legend

Data Label

The legend has been pulled to one side, the font changed, the text box filled with a

standard gradient, with a shadow added.

Only percentage share has been retained and

other data not shown

In this example,

The legend has been deleted, and category

name added to the data label.

Leader lines sometimes don’t appear even if

they are selected. They

only appear when the data label is pulled away from the

pie.

Double clicking on a slice of the

pie and then pulling it away can help you highlight a

particular value

Filling the slices with gradients is the easiest way

to add interest to your chart.

Select each slice and once you have selected the colour and

gradient you like, change the angle of the gradient

to suit the circle.

Filling the slices with pictures can add a great deal

of meaning.Select each slice

and Choose

appropriate images, select

each slice and in the fill option

select ‘picture,’ then select ‘file .’Navigate to the

folder where you stored the image

and select it.

Perfecting the Pie ChartSome more things you

need to know…

If you choose to use a 3D chart, be aware that it may

give a wrong visual impression of the actual

differences

If the values are small and labels are bunched

up they need to be pulled apart

Try and keep the format the

same for all labels, if the

category name and value are on the same line for other labels try and

get this to match by

selecting it and changing the size of the

text box.

You can edit all the fonts and text boxes in the chart. But don’t get carried away and overdo the decorating!Remember the purpose is to enhance the understanding and the message of the chart, not to show off all the formatting you know! If in doubt choose to be simple.

There are many more creative and elaborate ways of displaying your data in pie charts… in the next installment…

Thanks!!!Images used from free image sources:www.clipartist.info/www.clipartbest.com/www.clipartpanda.comwww.clipartlord.com/

Daksha Bhat

making a pie chart

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