Ever wanted to make a cool, snazzy interactive chart in Excel? Something like this:
In this tutorial, learn all about making your very first interactive chart.
Click here to download the workbook with chart template and all the formulas. Refer to it while reading the article.
Interactive chart in Excel – Tutorial
There are several ways to make an interactive chart in Excel. You can use data validation, form controls, slicers, timelines, VBA or hyperlinks. In this tutorial, learn how to make an interactive chart with data validation and slicers. For other techniques, refer to resources section of this post.
Interactive chart with Data Validation
Let’s say you are the product manager at Billette consumer care. You are looking at historical order quantity data for various products. Your data looks like below:
Making one chart with all of this is going to be very busy and hard to read. You want to make a dynamic or interactive chart so your boss can choose which product she wants to analyze and understand the order trend.
Step 1: Make a list of all choices
Select all the product names and go to Namebox (top left corner) and type a name like products.- Alternatively, you can also list the product names in a separate range and give that a name.
Let’s say we have the products in the products name.
Step 2: Set up selection mechanism
- Decide which cell will have the user selection. Let’s say this is Q5. Select the cell and go to Data > Data Validation.
- Change validation criteria to Allow > List.
- Type products in the Source. Click ok.
Now, we have way to select product in the cell Q5.
Related: Excel basics – How to setup in-cell drop downs in Excel.
Step 3: Find out which product is selected
If we want the name of the product selected, we can simply use =Q5. For the rest of calculations, we need the number of the product (ie what is the position of the selected product in products). For this, we can use MATCH formula, like below.
Type this MATCH formula in an empty cell like I3.
=MATCH(Q5, products, 0)
This will return a number, matching the product user has picked.
Step 4: Calculating order quantity to show in the chart
Now, assume we have the number of product selected in cell I3. Given this, we can calculate picked product’s quantity using a simple INDEX formula:
=INDEX(data1[@[Soap]:[Deodorant]],$I$3)
If your data is in a normal range, rather than a table, use a formula like this:
=INDEX(C6:H6,$I$3)
Fill down the formula.
Now that we have calculated product quantity values for selected product, if you change I3, you will see values for the relevant product.
Step 5: Create the chart
Now that all the background work is done, let’s insert a chart.
Simply select picked product column and insert a column or line chart. We get this:
First, let’s add axis labels. Right click on the chart and go to select data. Edit horizontal / category labels and select the month column.
Now, remove chart title and chart border (set it to no line). We end up with something like this:
Step 6: Bring everything together
Are you ready for the chart? We are almost done. We just need to bring everything together and our first interactive chart will be kicking and beating.
- Position the chart under cell Q5 (the data validation selection cell)
- Go to Insert > Shapes > Rounded Rectangle and draw a nice big rectangle around the chart and Q5.
- Remove fill color from the shape and adjust the line.
- Now, when you pick a new product from Q5, your chart will update.
Interactive chart with Pivot Table and Slicer
If you are too shy to INDEX + MATCH on weekdays, you can try the Pivot Table approach. This works very well and let’s you make equally amazing interactive charts. See below quick demo.
Keep in mind that your data needs to get fit. Rearrange so it looks like this. If you need help, read: Unpivot data quickly with Power Query.
Step 1: Insert a pivot from your data
Select your data (month, product and quantity columns) and insert a pivot table.
- Add Month to row labels area. In newer versions of Excel, this will create date hierarchy – Year, Quarter and Month. If so, drop Quarter.
- Add Quantity to values area.
- Right click on Product and add it as a slicer.
Related: Introduction to Excel Pivot Tables
Step 2: Insert a pivot chart
Select any cell inside the pivot and go to Analyze ribbon > Pivot chart. Select either a line or column chart.
We get this:
In newer versions of Excel, you can insert a pivot chart directly from data. But I find the pivot table first approach better as you can adjust items you want before charting.
Step 3: Format the pivot chart
- Select the pivot chart and go to Analyze ribbon and turn off Field Buttons.
- Replace chart title with “Total Order Quantity in last 13 months” or something like that.
- Set chart border to No line.
- Position the slicer adjacent to the chart.
- Draw a rounded rectangle around the thing
- Our interactive chart is ready for play.
Optional makeup hints:
If you want more bang for your chart,
- Add a sub-title describing the trend. Refer to download example file for inspiration. Read: Give descriptive titles to your charts
- Set limits on the vertical axis. By default Excel will change Y axis limits whenever your pick a product. This can create some distortion of the numbers and confuse your users if they want to compare products. You can format the axis and set limits. Select the axis, press CTRL+1 and set minimum to 0 and maximum to highest possible value (rounded of course). For our example, this could be 2000. This way, only bar heights change, not the axis.
- Adjust gap width. Excel would pick some ridiculous value like 219%. Adjust this to 100% or something like that for less white space on the chart. To do this, click on the columns, press CTRL+1 and from Series options adjust the gap width.
Create your first interactive chart in Excel – Video tutorial
Check out below video tutorial to understand all these steps in detail. Make sure you practice by downloading the example workbook. Watch it below or on our YouTube channel.
Download Excel Interactive Chart workbook
Please click here to download interactive chart workbook. Play with charts and examine formulas to learn more.
Want more interactive charts?
Check out below examples to see what else is possible.
- Target vs. Actual – Biker on a hill chart
- Then vs. Now chart in Excel
- How tax burden has changed over time – Interactive chart in Excel
What is your favorite way to make interactive / dynamic charts in Excel?
I used to make charts with formulas all the time. But now a days, I prefer making them with pivot table + slicer route if possible. This reduces the amount of formula work needed and still gives awesome results.
What about you? What is your favorite technique for creating interactive charts? Please share in the comments section.
37 Responses to “Pie of a Pie of a Pie chart [Good or Bad?]”
If I could have the same quality of graphics and illustration in Office Apps, I would certainly use it.
If I could have the same quality of graphics in Office Apps (Excel, PPT) I would certainly use it.
Chandoo,
First, let me say I love your blog. I like this post, and I think that technically (in terms of readability of data) your argument is correct. The bar of bars, and the table, are much better for readability and accuracy, and as you say would be much easier to produce.
But these points ignore the context of the chart. If the chart was part of a scientific paper, your solution would be a valid one. The context in this case is an illustrated atlas of wildlife. A companion graphic to go with written text. The importance of aesthetic goes up over readability and accuracy. Much of the data and points (I assume) will be covered in the text.
There's always a pure technical tufte-esque argument. But I sometimes think it ignores the value of aesthetics. (Which I admit are quite subjective)
Great post though. Thanks.
The Treemap makes the scope of the data much clearer! The 3D pie chart depiction is deceptive.
This reminds me of the videos ive seen on the internet where it compares the relative sizes of the earth with the larger planets, then the sun, then other stars in the galaxy. Eventually there is an image showing the largest star in the sky with a little pixel representing the sun.
My point is if you varied the size of the charts it would help convey the message. The first chart (salt vs fresh) would be the biggest and the rest would be arranged in descending order. I feel this would be more accurate.
It may be helpful to consider the advice of Steven Few and Edward Tufte regarding pie charts in general. To summarize, they are seldom the most useful way to present data. Here's Few's thoughtful piece on the subject.
http://www.perceptualedge.com/articles/08-21-07.pdf
Try putting the percentages on the bar charts instead of actual amounts. Lakewater would be .013 % instead of 52.
That is very good pie chart example.
Please send example file if it is possible.
It will work , even though colors may be confusing , it can be labeled well . Also it can be called as the drilled chart , as it drills in information further , like the first chart may show business in a region , second may drill into a particular region , thrid may further drill into wat products are there in that region . It works well for me , i would more vote for the 2 nd option .
Overall all this site is awesome ,
p.s : just like me
The risk with pie of a pie of a pie chart is that Jon may have a seizure by looking at it. Also, it isn't easy to read. 😉
I dunno. The only thing worse than a pie chart is a cascading series of pie charts. I don't even think they really lend themselves to this sort of thing. It just becomes a big hide-the-ball game with your viewer.
Those goofy connectors between the pies are pure chart junk. I can't really tell if the second chart has 2 series or 3 - because the connector is a different color than the 2 labeled slices. Despite that, even whereas the drill down kind of works, still the individual components suffer from the same old weaknesses that 3d pie charts have.
Use a large bar chart as your "cover story", and fill in the sub points with smaller bar charts - or even go grab the Fabrice SFE project for extra butter. Use page orientation, color, and some text styles to guide your audience through the drill downs.
FWIW, if you check out the guy's site, you can find several other truly mortifying charts:
http://www.andrewdavies.com.au/index.html
The methane emissions one is particularly heinous. Although, I'm kind of debating what I think about the 'Glacier Changes" chart. I'd kind of like to see the data on that to see how it would look in a more traditional horizon chart.
Thank you, that was scary. I don't understand the "Glacier changes" Chart at all...
Its a very nice way to represent the data, especially when we have sets and sub-sets within the data.
I like these!
Except for the fact that they aren't dynamic and hence must be setup manually each time
It would also be nice if they could be interrogated as in select a different segment and the new data falls out automagically, but then none of the standard Excel charts do that either.
I'd like it better if the bars were stacked. How about this idea (I hope I can convey it in words):
First bar is vertical and stacked.
Second bar is horizontal, stacked horizontally and the same proportion had it been on the first bar.
Third bar is vertical, stacked vertically and the same proportion had it been on the second bar.
Then it would really look like you are zooming on the chart, like the Powers of Ten video, or maybe like the golden ration spiral.
These looks shunting but setting up for each step makes kicks them out. However if these can be arranged automatically by native excel or by VBA, these will be the part of my "Archery"
I agree with Chandoo's Suggestion about the Bar Graph which represents data in a very appropriate manner. Even I prefer doing the same. I seldom use Pie Chart unless required.
That's a real nice example of a missleading infographic. But to be honest, I think chandoos suggestion is not much better!
Why are pie charts bad? I think because they don't show the real size-relations. The biggest pie in that example ist 300k big. The 2nd one has only the size of 10k, about 3% of the first one. Niether the pies nor the bars show the real sizes. I jnow, it's hard to show the sizes because the values of the second and the third pie are so small. But that's what visualization are about - showing relations to allow the reader to see the real sizes!
So how to show the real figures?
First possibility is o use a 1:1 scaling. Well then, you need a very big screen to show also after a 90° rotation, wihich I would prefer because it's a structural comparison and not a timeline. Maybe that solution is not the perfect way.
The other chance you have is to zoom in but to really show that you zoom in! http://www.pro-chart.de/images/Water_Fall.png maybe gives you a first impression what i mean. (i was a quick try, done in 10 minutes)
The next way is, maybe to fold the bars like in the financial report 2011 of the Post of Switzerland page 22. That chart is based on an excel chart. Maybe can explain you how to do it 😉
Financial Statement: http://www.post.ch/en/post-startseite/post-berichterstattung/post-berichterstattung-service/post-berichterstattung-downloads/post-gb-2011-finanzbericht.pdf
page 22: http://www.pro-chart.de/images/FS_Schweizer_Post.png
A way that is not so very common is to divide the bars in a lot of single datapoints. So maybe the 390k bar then consists of about 5,000 single datapoint. That's not possible - it is! Have a look:
http://www.pro-chart.de/images/Dotted_WF.png
It's pure excel!
Now one single point ist 0,2% of the whole (in the example above). Add more datapoints and you can visulize the very big and the very small numbers!
Wish you a lot of fun - visualizing with excel can be very powerful!
Joerg
...if you would like to know how these charts work, just send an email to J.Decker@pro-chart.de
Hey Joerg,
I don't dig so much the dotted waterfall thing. But this is kind of awesome:
http://www.pro-chart.de/images/FS_Schweizer_Post.png
Can you help me on the bar of bar graph? Would it be possible to create that from pivot table? Can you show me how to create the bar of bar graph?
do nothing but say "Awesome!"
You are a Rock star.....This seemed an answer as if someone was reading my mind and just had the solution to my questions on what I exactly was looking for .....What a Fab !!
can u explian me step by step
Can anyone please explain how to make this chart please.
Do you mean the pie of a pie chart or the folded bar chart?
Joery PIE OF PIE Chart please
Can someone please explain how to make PIE OF PIE Chart.
@Mandeep
The last line of the post is:
PS: If you want to know to create this pie of pie of pie chart in excel, see here.
Due to forum migration, link is now:
http://chandoo.org/forum/threads/multiple-pie-chart.7343/
Hi... i love these charts.... can any one show me how to draw these charts in excel 2010
@Vamshi
The very last line of the post refers you to:
PS: If you want to know to create this pie of pie of pie chart in excel, see here. http://chandoo.org/forums/topic/multiple-pie-cahrt
Where is the attachment....it used to be there...i have seen this before but now i am not able to find...
See this:
http://img.chandoo.org/playground/WaterDistribution-chandoo.xlsx
And this:
http://chandoo.org/forum/threads/how-do-you-create-this-chart.9743/
Normally I don't learn post on blogs, however I would like to
say that this write-up very compelled me to try and do so!
Your writing style has been amazed me. Thank you,
quite great article.
This is very impressive, I would like to learn how to build this for myself. I have tried for some time now, is there a step by step process on how to create these waterfall pie of pie charts?
I am novice to excel and use it very seldom. But your blog contains to the point information one needs to get going.
I was searching for a trick to do a Pie chart drill down - for example the first pie chart shows how the prices are distributed between perishable and non-perishable items.
Now if we want to know how the perishable items are distributed - one can click the segment and it will draw another pie chart with distribution of all different perishable items (milk,meat,fruit,veg etc)
So do you have any such trick?
Regards,
electrojit
I like the look of your pie of pie of pie chart, although I understand that the relative size of each pie does not represent the actual percentages.