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Customize the position of data labels to ensure that your charts are easy to understand. Make sure that your data labels are clearly visible. Data labels are positioned differently for different types of charts. This article demonstrates how to set label positions in pie and doughnut charts.

Position labels

In pie and doughnut charts, you can drag and drop individual labels to set the position as needed for clarity. When a chart is first created, all labels are automatically positioned outside of the pie with a connector to each slice individually. Label positions move with the rotation of the chart using the Pie Rotation control in the Chart Properties panel.

The position of a label in relationship to a slice can also be controlled in the Chart Properties panel.

To change the position of labels for all slices or an individual slice:

1

Click on a label in a chart to select all labels. Click again on a specific label if you'd like to select a single label. Labels can also be selected using the drop-down under Series.

2

Go to the Placement drop-down. Options include Auto, Outside End, Inside End and Center. The placement will be adjusted immediately in the chart.

Format labels

To format labels for pie and doughnut charts:

1

Select your chart or a single slice. Turn the slider on to Show Label.

2

Use the sliders to choose whether to include Name, Value, and Percent. When Show Label and Percent are selected, you will also have the option to select Round labels to 100%. 

3

Use the Precision setting allows you to determine how many digits display for numeric values. You will not have the ability to set Precision for an individual slice if Rounding labels to 100% is toggled on for All slices. 

4

Use the Separator drop-down to distinguish between items in a label with commas, spaces, new lines or custom separators.

5

If you have labels that are too wide to display fully, use the Label Width and Padding settings to control these aspects of the label display.

6

You can also change the display of the labels using the Offset Radius and Offset Angle settings to control the look and placement of the slice labels.

Format connector lines

As you adjust the Pie Size, the length of the connectors change automatically. You can adjust the information shown in the data labels by using the sliders for Name, Value and Percent. Other settings allow you to adjust the label width, padding and offset display.

To format labels for pie and doughnut charts:

1

Use the Connector Line color picker to set the color of the connector line.

2

Use Connector Type to choose from Angled, Curved, Straight or None.

3

Set the line color in the color picker or choose Use Slice Color to match the slice and line colors.

What's next

• View chart data
• Edit chart data