How-to Create a Pie or Donut Chart in Explore

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes 

Prerequisites: Creating a basic chart or table in One Model- read this article first 

What you'll learn

By the end of this article, you'll know how to:

• Create a Pie Chart and select the right metric for it
• Add dimensions to define your pie slices
• Convert a Pie Chart into a Donut Chart
• Switch between value and percentage data labels

Overview

Pie Charts are best suited for showing how a single metric is distributed across categories at a point in time. Unlike Basic Charts, a Pie Chart supports only one metric as the focus is on proportional composition rather than trend or comparison.

Creating a Pie Chart

Step 1 - Switch the visualization type

Pie Charts are a separate visualization type from Basic Charts. To get started:

1. Open the visualization editor.
2. In the Selection section, change the visualization type from Basic Chart to Pie Chart.

Step 2 - Choose your metric

1. Select the metric you want to visualize - for example, Headcount (EOP).
2. Only one metric can be active at a time. If you select a second metric, it will replace the first.

Note: If you need to compare multiple metrics, use a Basic Chart instead. Pie Charts are designed for single-metric composition views.

Step 3 - Set your time filter

By default, One Model uses Time Period as the default time dimension, so the Pie Chart will display all available years unless you filter it.

To focus on a specific period:

1. Apply a filter to limit the view to the time period you need - for example, a single year.
2. This ensures your pie slices reflect a meaningful snapshot rather than an aggregate across multiple years.

Step 4 - Add dimensions to define your slices

Dimensions determine how the pie is divided. Each unique combination of dimension values becomes its own slice.

1. Add a dimension - for example, Age Group to break Headcount (EOP) into age-based slices.
2. Add further dimensions if needed. Each additional dimension multiplies the number of slices by the number of nodes in that dimension.

Example: Adding a Diversity dimension with two nodes (Diverse, Non-Diverse) alongside an Age Group dimension creates slices for every combination - such as Diverse 20–<30, Non-Diverse 20–<30, Diverse 30–<40, and so on.

Keep in mind when adding multiple dimensions that  too many slices can make a Pie Chart harder to read. Consider filtering your data or consolidating dimensions if the chart becomes crowded.

Converting to a Donut Chart

A Donut Chart is a stylistic variation of the Pie Chart that can be easier to read when you also want to display a central total or label.

To convert:

1. Click the metric name to open its settings panel.
2. Under Series Type, select Donut.

The chart updates immediately to a donut layout.

Displaying values vs. percentages

By default, Pie and Donut Charts display the raw metric value for each slice. You can switch to percentages, or show both at the same time.

To change the data label format:

1. Click the metric name to open its settings panel.
2. Under Data Labels, select your preferred display option.

For more control over how your data labels are formatted, see the Data Labels formatting guide.

Quick reference - Pie Chart rules and options

Next steps

Now that you can build Pie and Donut Charts, you might want to explore:

• Formatting data labels - controlling how values and percentages appear on your chart
• Chart types in One Model - exploring the five series types available in Basic Charts
• Filtering your data - narrowing your visualization to the most relevant time period or segment