Pie Chart Maker

How the Pie Chart Maker works

Pie chart maker: what it does and why

Data. The first column is the slice name and the first number column after it is the value. The values do not need to add up to 100: the page divides each by the total to get the percentage, so raw counts, revenue figures or survey responses all work as they are. Rows with a zero, blank or negative value are skipped because a pie cannot show them. A header row is required; the sample shows the shape.

Labels. Percent prints the share inside each slice, Value prints the raw number, and Name and percent prints both, which lets the chart stand without a legend. Slices too thin to hold text are left unlabelled rather than overlapping; their share is still in the legend. The label colour switches to dark automatically on the Pastel palette so it stays readable.

Legend. Right lists every slice beside the pie with its value and share to one decimal, and is the most useful layout because it gives the exact numbers the slices only approximate. Top puts a compact key of names above the chart, which suits a small chart in a document. None leaves the labels to do the job.

Order. As entered keeps your row order, starting at twelve o'clock and running clockwise. Largest first sorts the slices by size so the biggest starts at the top and the smallest end together, which is the conventional layout and makes the ranking obvious. The legend follows the same order as the slices.

Keep it small. A pie works with up to about six slices. Beyond that the small slices become indistinguishable and the reader cannot compare them. Group the tail into an Other row, or use a bar chart, which compares many categories far better. Pies are for one whole split a few ways.

Export. Download SVG gives a vector file for documents and slides, Download PNG renders it at 1×, 2× or 3× the preview width, and Copy SVG puts the markup on the clipboard. Nothing is uploaded.

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