Microsoft Excel 2007 to 2013

How to Create a Pie Chart in Excel

Pie charts are quite easy to create in Excel 2007 and Excel 2010. In case you're not sure what a Pie Chart is, here's the basic one you'll be creating. Later, you'll add some formatting to this:

 

 

To make a start, you need to highlight some data. If you've been following along with the previous tutorials, then you'll have some viewing figures data. You've created a 2D chart with the BBC data. This time we'll use the ITV data. If you don't have this data, create the following simple spreadsheet. The cells to use are D4 to E14:

• Click inside cell E4 and change "Millions" to ITV, if you already have the data from a previous lesson
• Highlight the cells D4 to E14
• Click the Insert menu at the top of Excel
• Locate the Chart panel, and the Pie item:

In Excel 2013, the Pie chart is harder to spot. But it's highlighted in green in the image below:

Click the down arrow and select the first Pie chart:

• A new Pie chart is inserted
• Move your new pie chart by dragging it to a new location
• Notice how all the segments of the pie chart are the same colour in Excel 2007:

To get different colours, make sure that your chart is selected and locate the Chart Style panel:

Click the down arrow to the right of the Chart Style panel to reveal the available styles :

We've gone for the second one, Style two. If you haven't got this style, select a similar one, such as style 4 in Excel 2013. The chart will then look like this (your labels may well be at the bottom, though, depending on which version of Excel you have):

 

But it looks pretty good for just a few mouse clicks! We can still do a bit more to it, though. In the next part, you'll see how to add the viewing figures to the pie chart segments.

 

Add Data Labels to a Pie Chart in Excel 2007 to 2013 -->

<--Back to the Excel Contents Page

View all our Home Study Computer Courses