Doughnut Chart

Thanks to Derek Robinson, Founder and Chief Storyteller at Renegade, for his contributions to this resource.

By filling out the form at the right you will receive the PowerPoint presentation used in the course and the raw data file you can use to follow along and complete the actions taught.

Lesson 4: Doughnut Charts

Original Chart:

Step 1: Insert a doughnut chart

Under the “Insert” menu, select “Chart” and then “Column” to select a doughnut chart to insert into the slide.

Step 2: Pull in the data you want to use

Bring in the data you want to use, and select just the data that should be displayed in the chart. You can change any data labels as desired (for example, using the percentage symbol; i.e. 35% rather than .35). Normalize the font to make sure it is consistent across the data labels, and get rid of anything you don’t want (for example, the chart title or legend) by simply clicking on the text box and hitting delete on your keyboard.

Step 3: Adjust the size of the doughnut

Under the “Series Options” function, you can adjust the doughnut hole size, as well as the angle and explosion. In this step, you can also use the corner points to resize the doughnut to your desired size, as well as drag it to the position on the page you want it.

Step 4: Edit the color palette

If you wish to change the color palette, you can create some simple boxes and change the fill color of those boxes. If there’s an existing color you want to use without knowing the hex code you can pull that color in from any image by importing the image into PPT, click on “Shape Fill,” and use the eyedropper tool. Place the eyedropper on the color you want to use and it will populate the palette with that color.

Step 5: Add data labels

Right-click to add and format data labels, including color and font.

Step 6: Align and distribute the content

Copy and paste the doughnut to create the second one on the slide. Using the “Align” tool, you can now align and distribute all the content for even, consistent spacing.

Step 7: Create the legend

Create a legend by inserting filled text boxes (choose colors from your palette) and text boxes with the content for the legend.

Step 8: Alternate option to legend

If you prefer, you can do away with the legend at the bottom and instead simply place the corresponding text directly next to its relevant location on the doughnut.