Changing the Default Chart Type

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 20, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Word includes a program called Microsoft Graph that allows you to quickly and easily create graphs from simple data. If you find yourself working primarily with a specific type of data, and presenting that data in the same way most of the time, you may want to change the default chart type used by Microsoft Graph. When you first install Microsoft Graph, the default type of chart is a column chart. If you want your default to be a pie chart, for instance, you can follow these steps:

Choose Chart Type from the Chart menu. Microsoft Graph displays the Chart Type dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Chart Type dialog box

Click on Pie in the list of Chart Types, at the left of the dialog box.
In the right side of the dialog box, select one of the six pie chart subtypes.
Click on the Set As Default Chart button at the bottom of the dialog box. Microsoft Graph displays a dialog box asking you to confirm your action.
Click on Yes. Your default chart type is now set.
Click on Cancel to close the Chart Type dialog box.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (682) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Forcing Input to Uppercase

If you type information into a workbook, you may want to make sure that what you type is always stored in uppercase. ...

Discover More

What is the Perfume Hoax?

Perfume can be alluring, but it can also be used for nefarious purposes—or so the perfume hoax proposes. Understand ...

Discover More

Creating and Naming a Worksheet Using a Macro

You can use macros to make your common Excel tasks easier and faster. For instance, if you routinely need to create new ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Controlling the Display of Chart Axes in Microsoft Graph

When you create a chart in Microsoft Graph, you might now want to see one or both of the axes included by default. Here's ...

Discover More

Picking a Number Format For an Axis

Microsoft Graph is a handy way to add charts to your document if you don't have access to Excel. Here's how to adjust the ...

Discover More

Changing the Orientation of Your Chart

Microsoft Graph is a great way to add simple charts to your documents. Once you've got a graph added, you might want to ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is six more than 0?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.