A Tableau Pie Chart is a graphical representation of data in the form of a round circle divided into different categories or pies. Each pie represents the category and its size is directly proportional to the numerical data. Pie charts are easy to represent the high-level data in a more meaningful way.
Pie Chart in Tableau is useful to display the Sales by region, Countrywide customers, Sales by Country, etc. These are also helpful in the dashboard design. We can use the pie chart to display Country wise sales, and then use the Action filters to drill further down.
In this article, we show how to Create a Pie Chart in Tableau with an example. For this, we are going to use the Data Source we created in our previous example article.
How to Make a Pie Chart in Tableau ?
To create Tableau pie charts, first, Drag the Sales Measures to the Columns shelf. Since it is a Measure value, the Sales Amount will aggregate to a Sum(default). Next, Drag and Drop the English Country Region Name from Dimension Region to Rows Card. Once you drag them, the following bar chart screenshot will be displayed.
Please visit Labels in Reports article to understand the DataSource and DataSet of this bar chart report from SQL Server.
Now we have to change the default Bar chart to Tableau Pie Chart using the Show Me option. Please expand the Show Me window and select the pie chart button from it as shown below.
Once you select it from Show Me window, the plot will display with default different colors
Please use the Size option in Size Card to expand or Shirk the Pie chart
If you observe the above screenshot, it is providing the perfect results. However, we are unable to identify the difference between the Sum of Sales measures in France and Germany within the circle. To resolve these situations, We have to display the Data Labels.
Add Tableau Pie Chart Data Labels
To add Tableau Pie chart labels, Please drag and Drop the Label marks values from Dimension or Measure Pane to Label card in Marks Card.
In this example, We want to display the Sales Amount as Data labels so, Drag and Drop the Sales Amount from Measures region to Labels option
Tableau allows us to add Multiple Measure values as Data Labels. It can be handy when you want to compare the Total Sales against the Profits by Region. To do this, use the above technique to place the Yearly Income
Format Tableau Pie Chart : How to format colors, labels and size
One of the most common questions raised by any developer is formatting Tableau Pie Charts. Because the Default colors or Default pallet may or may not be attractive to the end-user. To do this, Please select the Edit Colors.. option from the context menu as shown below
Once you choose the option, a new window called Edit Colors will be opened to select the Color Palette for English Country region name. For the demonstration of pie chart option purpose, we are choosing the Color Blind 10
Click the Apply button and then click OK to finish formatting this chart
Approach 2
This method of creating a Tableau pie chart is very easy and straightforward. First, Please select the Pie mark option from the drop-down list present in Marks Card
Next, Drag and Drop the Sales from Measure Region to Field region.
Next, Drag and Drop the English Country Region Name from Dimension Region to Color option in Marks Card.
Once you drag them, the following screenshot will be displayed. Hope you understood, How easy, it is to design or building a Pie Chart in Tableau
Remember, Pie mark allows us to add both Dimensions and Measure as the Data Labels. To demonstrate this, We just placed the total Sales Amount Measure and English Country Name on the labels Option present in Marks card
It is always advisable to use the Tableau Pie charts on High-level information. For instance, If you use the same for State-wise sales rather than Country-wise, you will end up with the following screenshot. If you see the entire view carefully], we can’t even identify a few regions because the result is a rather small pie.
