Word 2007: "Pattern" chart-fill option?

February 22, 2008 8:43 AM

I have a Word 2007 document with a pie chart, and this document will be printed in black & white. I want to fill the pie chart pieces with patterns so they'll be easily differentiated in black & white, but I don't see the "pattern" option. In previous versions of Office it was there, but I can't find it in 2007. (By "pattern," I'm talking about dots, or criss-crossed lines, or a "brick wall" pattern, or diagonal lines, etc.)

I tried saving the document as a .doc & then opening it in "compatibility mode," hoping the 2003 version's fill options would be available. That didn't work, so I created a fresh chart in Excel 2007, saved it as a 97-2003 version, closed/reopened it, but that didn't show the option either...

Aside from editing it in another app (e.g. OpenOffice, Word 2003), or uploading to an online app (Google Documents, Zoho), or using a different fill style, etc., does anyone have a suggestion? Is the "pattern" option available in Office 2007--am I just not seeing it?

Thanks!

posted by NYScott to technology (7 comments total)

If you did INSERT>Smart Art > Pie Chart

right click the pie wedge > Format Shape > Fill > Picture or Texture Fill
posted by jadepearl at 9:02 AM on February 22, 2008

You can apply textures and gradients. Guessing you already tried those though?
posted by SuperSquirrel at 9:06 AM on February 22, 2008

When you add the chart, instead of 'Standard Types', choose 'Custom Types' - there is a B&W Pie option listed.

Also, right-click on the edge of the pie then choose 'Format Data Point' to configure how it is displayed.
posted by azlondon at 9:08 AM on February 22, 2008

Sorry, that should be click once on the pie to select the series (the whole pie) then again to select the data point.
posted by azlondon at 9:10 AM on February 22, 2008

Googling images for texture fill pattern chart found this article. Looks like pattern fills are now a big pain. But you could search for graphic images, then use them as textures. Still more work than necessary.
posted by theora55 at 9:11 AM on February 22, 2008

Thanks, all, for the answers.

theora55 - thank you very much!! Reading the article you linked to, I found exactly what I needed. It's not that I couldn't find the option; Microsoft dropped the "pattern" option in the 2007 version. However, within the article was a link to an Excel add-in that, when installed, adds a new "Patterns" option to the Chart Options/Format tab, and it works flawlessly!

Thanks again, theora55!
posted by NYScott at 11:00 AM on February 22, 2008

I know you already got your answer, but... consider using shades of gray instead of patterns. Patterns are visually distracting and can lead to distortions in the data you're trying to present.
posted by acridrabbit at 8:21 PM on February 22, 2008