How to Create a Pie Chart in Microsoft Word 2007

The software that ships with the various version of Microsoft Office 2007 is specifically programmed to work seamlessly together. For example, Excel 2007 files can be imported into Access 2007 and PowerPoint 2007 slides can be imported into Word 2007 text documents.

A common practice among business professionals and students is to import charts from Excel 2007 into Word 2007 reports, assignments, and proposals. This is a simple enough procedure. However, many users of Office 2007 are unaware that they can create, edit, and display pie charts in Word 2007 without first using Excel 2007. This is especially useful when you want to include a quick and simple pie chart in a Word 2007 document. Read on to learn how to create and display pie charts on the fly in Word 2007.

To begin creating your pie chart in Word 2007, click on the INSERT tab on the Word 2007 Ribbon. Then click on the CHART button (see Figure 1) to open up the INSERT CHART window (see Figure 2). Choose PIE CHART from the list of available charts. Notice that you can make a variety of pie charts including two-dimensional, three-dimensional, pie-of-pie, exploded, and other styles. When you have chosen the style of pie chart you want, click the OK button.

From here, Word 2007 opens up a split view of your Word 2007 document and a new Excel 2007 worksheet. Use the Excel 2007 worksheet on the right to add your data that you want to display as a pie chart. Notice how the pie chart in the Word 2007 document on the left updates in real time as you change values in the Excel 2007 worksheet on the right.

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Unlike creating a pie chart in Excel 2007 and then importing it into a Word 2007 document, using the steps to create the pie chart directly in Word 2007 allows you to see changes to the chart in real time. This feature of Word 2007 saves time and effort when all you need is a quick and simple pie chart.

However, all of the features available in Excel 2007 are right there at your fingertips so you can also create complex pie charts and change the look and feel of the chart in real time. This feature gives you the opportunity to play with your pie chart until it is just right.

Just as easily as you created your pie chart, you can change it any time you wish if information changes or of you decide later to change the look of your chart. To edit your chart, right-click anywhere on your pie chart and click on EDIT DATA. From there, Excel 2007 opens up again in split-screen mode and you can change the data as you need.

By right clicking on your pie chart, you can also click on CHANGE CHART TYPE to open up the INSERT CHART window. Here you can change your pie chart to any of Excel 2007’s other chart types such as bar, line, scatter, and many more.

You can also right click on your pie chart and click on INSERT CAPTION to create a caption or click on FORMAT LEGEND to move or change the legend in your chart. If you chose to insert a 3D pie chart, you can right click on your chart and click on 3-D ROTATION to rotate your chart so certain information is displayed on the top, sides, or bottom of the chart.

Rather than creating a pie chart in Excel 2007 and importing it over to Word 2007, you can create pie charts on the fly in Word 2007 and edit them to look exactly as you want. The best feature of using this method is the ability to see the changes you make to your data in real time instead of having to create the pie chart first and then insert it into a Word 2007 document. This is especially useful for pie charts that contain only a few data points or that display simple information.