Works: Pie Charts Do Not Add Up to 100 Percent (78288)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Works 2.0
  • Microsoft Works 2.0a
  • Microsoft Works 3.0
  • Microsoft Works 4.5
  • Microsoft Works 4.5a
  • Microsoft Works for Windows 95, version 4.0
  • Microsoft Works for Windows 95, version 4.0 4.0a
This article was previously published under Q78288

SYMPTOMS

If you are in a spreadsheet working with a pie chart, you may find that percentages of rounded numbers in the chart add up to more than 100 percent.

For example, the spreadsheet numbers 3, 6, 10, and 12 generate the percentages 9.7, 19.4, 32.3, and 38.7, respectively, in a pie chart. These percentages add up to 100.1 percent.

CAUSE

This can happen whenever numbers are rounded and then summed. If you have the numbers 7.3, 7.4, and 7.3, the sum is 22. If you round them to integers and sum them, the result is 21. In the pie chart, the percentages you are adding are not exact percentages, but percentages rounded to one digit after the decimal point. The sum of these rounded percentages may be different (99.9 or 100.1 in the cases described) than the sum of the exact percentage, which would be 100.

MORE INFORMATION

WORKAROUND

  1. You need to manually determine and enter the percentages to be displayed in the chart to make the numbers equal 100 percent. For example, in the "Symptoms" section example, the percentage for the second entry (6) could be typed as 19.3 percent or 19.35 percent instead of 19.4 percent.
  2. Type the desired percentages in a blank column in the spreadsheet.
  3. From the Format menu, click Numbers to select the formatting and number of decimal places for the percentages.
  4. From the View menu, click Chart and select your chart.
  5. From the Edit menu, click Data Labels:
    • In the 1st Label box, select Cell Contents.
    • In the Cell Range box, type the cell range that contains the percentages entered in step 2.
    • In the 2nd Label box, click None.
The pie chart now shows the percentages entered in step 2 as if it had calculated them.

For more information about this topic in Works, see your Works printed documentation or online Help.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/15/2004
Keywords:kbprb KB78288
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.