Excel 2003 Pie Chart Tutorial

By Ted French, About.com Guide

Adding Color to the Pie Chart

Note: For help with these instructions, see the image example above.

Change the background color of the chart

1. Right click once with the mouse pointer anywhere on the white background of the graph to open the drop down menu.
2. Click with the mouse pointer on the first option in the menu: Format Chart Area to open the Format Chart Area dialog box.
3. Click on the Patterns tab to select it.
4. In the Area section, click on a colored square to select it.
5. For this tutorial, select the purple color at the bottom right of the dialog box.
6. Click OK.

Change the background color/remove the border from the legend

1. Right click once with the mouse pointer anywhere on the background of the graph's legend to open the drop down menu.
2. Click with the mouse pointer on the first option in the menu: Format Legend to open the Format Legend dialog box.
3. Click on the Patterns tab to select it.
4. In the Border section on the left of the dialog box, click on the None option to remove the border.
5. In the Area section, click on a colored square to select it.
6. For this tutorial, select the purple color at the bottom right of the dialog box.
7. Click OK.