One way to insert a pie chart into PowerPoint is to create the chart in Excel and copy it, keeping a link to the original, if you want.
Copy an Excel chart
If your prefer, you can create the chart in Excel, and copy it into PowerPoint. Here’s how:
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In Excel, click the chart that you want to copy to another Office program, and press Ctrl+C.
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Open PowerPoint, click where you want to paste the chart, and press Ctrl+V.
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Click Paste Options next to the chart, and choose how you want to paste the chart. For more information about the different options you can choose from, see Copy an Excel chart to another Office program.
Want more?
If you prefer creating charts in Excel, create your pie chart there and copy it into PowerPoint.
When you keep a link to the chart, your updates to it are reflected in the PowerPoint version.
To copy and link the chart, right-click it, and click Copy to copy it to the Clipboard.
In PowerPoint, display the destination slide and right-click it.
You get several Paste Options.
The first two will embed the chart, either using the destination theme or keeping the source formatting.
The second two options link the chart, either using the destination theme or keeping the source formatting.
I’ll choose the third option, Use Destination Theme & Link Data, which pastes and links the chart.
Now, let’s adapt the chart to the presentation.
To make it larger, I’ll leave it selected and click the CHART TOOLS FORMAT tab.
In the Size group, I’ll click the Size and Position arrow, and I’ll check Lock aspect ratio.
Then, for Scale Height, I’ll increase the percentage to 200, and press Enter.
We can click X to close the Format Chart Area pane.
To position the chart, I’ll point to an edge and drag the four-pointed arrow cursor, eyeballing the placement for now.
Next, let’s click the CHART TOOLS DESIGN tab, and in Chart Styles, point to other possible styles for the chart.
I see a preview when I point. How about this one, Style 11. I’ll click it.
The light background sets off the chart and I like the legend placed at the bottom.
Back in the original Excel chart, let’s say I update the chart.
Sandoval has made some new orders. I’ll click the cell, type the new amount of $1220, and press Enter.
Sandoval’s portion in the chart expands to 13% and the other percentages adjust accordingly.
If I have the linked copy of the chart open in PowerPoint, it updates automatically.
If the linked chart isn’t open when the chart is updated in Excel, I open PowerPoint, select the chart, click the CHART TOOLS DESIGN tab, and click Refresh Data, which updates the chart.
For more information, see the course summary, and experiment some more with PowerPoint.
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