Move Small Pie Slices To Second Chart


July 10, 2023 - by Bill Jelen

Move Small Pie Slices To Second Chart

Problem: All of the tiny pie slices really make the chart hard to comprehend.

A pie chart has four major wedges, then 7 tiny wedges. The small wedges are hard to read.
Figure 1177. Everything under 10% is noise.
The pie chart with four large wedges and then an Other wedge that explodes to a bar chart showing the 9 smaller values.
Figure 1178. The secondary chart shows detail of all the small slices.

Strategy: Excel offers two chart types that will take the small wedges to a secondary chart. To make these look right, you should always plan on tweaking the settings.

continue reading »

More Reading


Prevent the Drop to Zero

Prevent the Drop to Zero »

July 7, 2023 - by Bill Jelen


I’ve built formulas to create a chartable range. I want to show how the fund balances have been increasing for three years. All of a sudden, the points for future months look like someone spent all the money, dropping to zero.

Explode One Slice of the Pie

Explode One Slice of the Pie »

July 6, 2023 - by Bill Jelen


What is the point of an exploded pie? It doesn’t look any better than a pie.

Avoid 3-D Chart Types

Avoid 3-D Chart Types »

July 5, 2023 - by Bill Jelen


I like the look of 3-D chart types, but they don’t seem to be accurate.

read more articles »

Featured Products


Your Excel Survival Kit - Second Edition

March 2021

This book helps you realize that Excel is on your side. It can be your friend, not your enemy. If and when you upgrade your Excel skills you will experience many positives: you will learn to love Excel, you will learn how to use Excel to become an invaluable asset in your workplace.


Microsoft Excel Inside Out (Office 2021 and Microsoft 365)

December 2021

Dive Into Microsoft Excel for Office 2021 and Microsoft 365 and really put your spreadsheet expertise to work. This supremely well-organized reference packs hundreds of timesaving solutions, tips, and workaroundsall you need to make the most of Excels most powerful tools for analyzing data and making better decisions.


Microsoft Excel VBA and Macros (Office 2021 and Microsoft 365)

April 2022

Use this guide to automate virtually any routine Excel task: save yourself hours, days, maybe even weeks. Make Excel do things you thought were impossible, discover macro techniques you won't find anywhere else, and create automated reports that are amazingly powerful.


Guerrilla Data Analysis Using Microsoft Excel - 3rd Edition

May 2022

Two of the leading Excel channels on YouTube join forces to combat bad data. This book includes step-by-step examples and case studies that teach users the many power tricks for analyzing data in Excel. These are tips honed by Bill Jelen, "MrExcel," and Oz do Soleil during their careers run as financial analysts.


see more products »