Visual PowerPoint Gauge Chart Tutorial

Enhance your PowerPoint presentations with visually appealing and easy-to-understand meter charts. Discover a valuable resource for creating professional-looking speedometer and dashboard charts that will elevate your business presentations to the next level.

The gauge chart you'll learn today looks like this:

PowerPoint Gauge

PowerPoint Gauge

The Gauge Chart is a simple yet effective tool for representing qualitative performance. While it is not a data-driven chart, we will introduce you to a useful resource later in this article, that will enable you to create data-driven gauge charts in PowerPoint.

Let's start by learning how to create the diagram version of the chart.

Step 1: Creating the Base Framework


To begin creating our gauge chart, we first need to establish the base framework. Our goal is to create a semicircular dial, which we can achieve by using the ‘Pie’ tool under ‘Basic shapes’ in the Auto shapes menu.

Base Framework of the Gauge

Base Frameworks of the Gauge

While drawing the pie, make sure to hold down the ‘Shift’ tab to create a perfect semicircle. Adjust the yellow handles to ensure the semicircle is flawless and serves as a solid foundation for the speedometer.

Base Semi-Circle for Meter

Base Semi-Circle for Meter

Step 2: Drawing the Segments


Now that we have our base framework, we can move on to drawing the segments that represent different quality parameters. To do this, copy the earlier pie and remove the shape fill. This time, adjust the yellow handles to create smaller segments of the pie. 

Draw Components of Pie

Draw Components of Pie

Repeat this process three more times to complete the semicircle. 

Complete Base Gauge

Complete Base Gauge

Once you have all the segments, remove the semicircle framework at the background and fill the segments with colors of your choice. Keep the outline color white to create a clean and professional look.

Completed Gauge Framework

Completed Gauge Framework

Step 3: Drawing the Needle

To create the needle, use the triangle tool in the Auto shapes menu. Drag the shape to resemble a needle and rotate it to the desired angle. 

Triangle Shape for Needle

Triangle Shape for Needle

Place the needle on the dial you created in Step 2 and remove the outline. Fill the needle with black color and place a circle on top of it to hide the bottom edge of the needle.

Completing the Meter Gauge

Completing the Meter Gauge

To complete your gauge chart, add relevant text to mark the qualitative parameters. This will help your audience understand the data being presented. 

PowerPoint Gauge

PowerPoint Gauge

Remember to manually rotate the needle to indicate different performance levels.

By following these steps, you can create a professional and visually appealing gauge chart that effectively communicates your data.

Related: Simple Pyramid Shape tutorial

Data Driven PowerPoint Gauge Chart:

For a more sophisticated and polished solution, we highly recommend exploring the chart options available in our Visual PowerPoint Graphs Pack. One example is the speedometer dial template, which is readily available for use.

Data Driven Speedometer from Graphs Pack

Data Driven Speedometer from Graphs Pack

To customize the chart, simply right-click on it and select ‘Edit data’. This will open up a worksheet where you can modify the values in the yellow cells. 

Edit the Data driven Speedometer

Edit the Data driven Speedometer

The chart will automatically update accordingly, saving you the hassle of creating a chart from scratch and spending hours perfecting it. 

With just a few clicks, you can create a stunningly professional Gauge chart in PowerPoint that is perfect for your business presentations.

Here is another example from the same pack:

Speedometer for scenario Analysis

Speedometer for scenario Analysis

In addition to the speedometer dial, our Visual PowerPoint Graphs Pack offers a variety of other interesting variations of PowerPoint Gauge Charts like this...

Take a look and discover the perfect chart for your needs.

Click to Browse Visual PowerPoint Graphs Pack

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