Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Colorizing Charts.

Colorizing Charts

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 20, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021


If you have a pie chart with a large number of sections, getting unique colors for each section might be a problem. Or, perhaps your printer doesn't print colors exactly as they are on your screen so some colors which appear quite distinct on the screen will print out nearly the same on paper.

Don't despair—you can change the color of any individual section of a pie chart, or any other type of chart for that matter. For pie charts, follow these steps if you are using Excel 2007 or Excel 2010:

  1. Click on the "pie" so that it is surrounded by handles (little circles).
  2. Click again on the section you want to change. The handles will now surround only that section.
  3. Right-click on the section. Excel displays a Context menu.
  4. Choose the Format Data Point option from the Context menu. Excel displays the Format Data Point dialog box.
  5. Click Fill at the left side of the dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  6. Figure 1. The Fill options of the Format Data Point dialog box.

  7. Click the Solid Fill radio button. (Feel free to experiment with the other radio buttons, if you prefer.)
  8. Use the Color drop-down list to select the color you want to use for the chart section.
  9. Click on OK (Excel 2007) or Close (Excel 2010). Excel updates your chart.

The process is much easier if you are using Excel 2013 or a later version:

  1. Click on the "pie" so that it is surrounded by handles (little circles).
  2. Click again on the section you want to change. The handles will now surround only that section.
  3. Right-click on the section. Excel displays a Context menu.
  4. Click the Fill tool that appears at the top of the Context menu. Excel displays a palette of colors.
  5. Choose the color you want to use for the chart section.

Regardless of the version of Excel you are using, these steps can be easily adapted to any type of chart. The only difference is that you select the chart object (bar, point, what have you) in the first two steps instead of the pie section.

When I make a chart, I also like to apply this same process to chart titles. I like them to be the same color as the information in the chart to which they apply. This makes identification even clearer.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6295) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Colorizing Charts.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Suppressing ASK Fields When Printing

Do you like using ASK Fields in your documents to get information from the user but don't want Word to update the fields ...

Discover More

Resetting Toolbars to Their Default

Once you've edited your toolbars, you may want to change them back to their default appearance and behavior. This tip ...

Discover More

Fixing a Numeric Keypad Key

We all expect the keyboard keys to operate as normal, and when they don't, it can be bothersome. Geraldine had such a ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Reliable Display of X-Y Values in a Chart

Excel can display both values and names for data points in a chart, when you hover the mouse over the data point. This ...

Discover More

Changing Chart Location

Charts can either be embedded in a worksheet or take up an entire sheet by themselves. Changing from one type of chart to ...

Discover More

Selecting Fonts for a Chart

When formatting a chart, you might want to change the characteristics of the font used in various chart elements. This ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is three less than 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.