how to create a pie chart in excel 2010 with percentages

How to Create a Pie Chart in Excel 2010 with Percentages

Creating a pie chart in Excel 2010 is a relatively straightforward process. In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a pie chart and use it to visualize data that represents percentages.

To start, open your Excel spreadsheet and select the cells that contain the data you want to display in the pie chart. For example, let's say you have a set of values that represent different categories, such as sales figures for each quarter of the year. You can create a pie chart by selecting these cells and then clicking on the 'Insert' tab in the ribbon.

From the 'Illustrations' group, click on the 'Pie Chart' button and select 'Doughnut Chart.' This will open the 'Format Data Series' dialog box, where you can customize the appearance of your chart.

First, change the doughnut hole size to 50%. You can do this by clicking on the 'Donut Hole Size' dropdown menu and selecting '50%.'

Next, right-click the chart and choose 'Format Data Series.' In the 'Format Data Series' dialog box, you will see options for modifying the appearance of your chart. For this activity, it's best to create the chart in the same worksheet as the data, so that you can easily make all the necessary modifications.

Note that while you can use the F11 shortcut to create a chart in later versions of Excel, in Excel 2010, you will find the 'Other Charts' dropdown button on the 'Insert' tab. Clicking on this button will give you access to different types of charts, including pie charts.

To create a speedometer-style gauge chart using a pie chart and a doughnut chart, follow these steps:

1. Select the 7 cells that contain your data, including the total.

2. Insert a doughnut chart by clicking on the 'Insert' tab in the ribbon and selecting 'Doughnut Chart.'

3. Modify the chart to look like a half-circle dial. You can do this by changing the angle of the first slice to 270 degrees.

4. Use a formula that subtracts the sum of these values from 360 to determine the position of the needle (your actual data value).

5. Position the needle according to your actual data value.

In the sample file, we've set up 6 intervals that add up to 180. The number and value of intervals depend on how detailed you want to be. If a circle is 360 degrees, then a half-circle is 180.

By following these steps, you can create a gauge chart in Excel 2010 that looks like a speedometer. You might think you need some fancy add-ins to create charts that look like this, but with just a few simple modifications, you can create a professional-looking chart using only the tools provided by Excel.

'Download CreatingGaugeChart.xlsx'(https://www.excel-easy.com/examples/creating-gauge-chart.xlsx) to follow along with this tutorial.

How to create a pie chart in excel 2010 with percentages