A pie chart shows how a total divides into parts. Each slice is sized by its value, coloured from your active theme, and named in a key, so a reader sees the breakdown at a glance. You build the chart from a short list of label and value rows, with no spreadsheet required.
Adding one
In Illustrate, open the Data category on the palette strip. In Diagram mode, type "pie" into the search panel instead.
Pick Pie, then tap the canvas to drop it, or drag to draw it at a size. It lands with sample slices so it looks finished straight away.
Editing the data
Right-click the chart, open Tools, then Data. It edits inline, one row per slice, and each row has:
- A recolourable swatch to set that slice's colour.
- A label for the slice name.
- A value that sizes the slice.
Remove a slice with its ×, or add one with + Add Slice; the chart updates as soon as you leave a field. New slices default to variants of the active theme, so the chart reads as part of your diagram out of the box, but you can override any slice's colour with its swatch.
Legend, palette and animation
- Chart, also in Tools, has a Legend placement picker: Off, Top, Left, Right, or Below (the default). Picking a side shows the key there, and Off hides it. While the key is on, the Text Size slider (6 to 48 pixels) sets how big its labels are. The key names each slice; hovering a slice always shows a readout with its label and value, whether or not the key is on.
- Show Values, under the legend, prints each slice's number inside it, as a percentage when the values add up to 100.
- Style holds the chart's Presets: eight palettes (Vivid, Ocean, Forest, Sunset, Berry, Earth, Grey and Contrast) that recolour every slice you haven't coloured by hand, including slices you add later. A chart has no Colours or Border controls: its colour lives in its slices.
- Animation carries chart-specific animations: Grow, Pop, Spin and Pulse. Grow and Pop play once as an entrance, while Spin and Pulse loop. Once you pick one, a speed row (Slowest, Slow, Normal, Fast) and a Repeat toggle appear.
Because slice colours default to your theme, changing the tab's theme restyles the chart to match without any per-slice work.
Was this article helpful?