How do you ungroup or expand a pie chart in Adobe Illustrator CS6?

[DeniseCarmenPinto]

How do you ungroup or expand a pie chart in Adobe Illustrator CS6? This functionality seems to have been removed. Say I'd like to remove the legend: before, I could ungroup the chart, release its link to the data, and then delete the legend with my white mouse. Object > Expand no longer works either. This is supremely frustrating.

[_scott_]

Expand seems to work the same as it should here.

[Jacob Bugge]

Denise,

It may be time to see whether your preferences have gone astray.

If you like your settings, you can do it reversibly if you Move the folder (the most suitable tool to ungroup/expand a pie chart would seem to be the Knife Tool, sorry, it was stronger than I).

[farthingsx2]

I am having the same problem. Select a graph and ALL the items under the OBJECT menu are greyed out. I don't see anywhere in my preference options that would seem to relate to this? Denise - wondering if you came up with a solution? THANKS - Jane

[farthingsx2]

Never mind - Good old quit and relaunch took care of the problem! Haha - You'd think I would learn to do that VERY FIRST THING!?

[DeniseCarmenPinto]

In the end, I closed the dialogue box that shows the data, and was able to choose Object > Ungroup. Then it prompted me saying: "The selection contains a graph. After a graph is ungrouped you will no longer be able to access its graph style, its data or change its graph designs." - Which is what I was looking for. So in short, when the data is open, everything under Object will be greyed out. Additionally, Object > Expand no longer works in CS6.

As a note, before I figured all this out, I resorted to a quick clipping mask to get rid of the legend, since selecting with the direct selection tool (A) and deleting was met with a 'you can't do that' prompt. That worked nicely, and kept the data.

[farthingsx2]

Hi Denise - Yep - right after I relaunched Illustrator I also realized the whole problem was that the data dialog box had been open and that is what kept the ungroup (and other options) from being availalbe. I often like to ungroup a chart so I can easily make a variety of visual changes. But before ungrouping, I ALWAYS duplicate the chart so that the data can continue to be accessed and changed as needed. So yeah and THANKS.

[F_Rivera]

This worked for me too, thanks!

[downstream_tm]

I tried using the menu command Object -- Expand... but it did not make a grouped object with paths and lines.

So I tried using Object -- Flatten Transparency... and it did work. The default settings generated a grouped oject with all the fills and lines sepparate.

Please give this a try and let me know how it works out for you.

--Cheers

[mateuszm90868670]

i solved this problem by export my pie chart as SVG and import again to the project.

[Steve Fairbairn · Accepted solution]

As you seem to have discovered, you must close the Graph Data dialogue before you can ungroup.

The Graph Data dialogue is an oddball in that it looks like a panel and can hang open.

But its functionality corresponds to other dialogue boxes in that you must close it before you can continue working.

It has been like that for as long as we can remember but still seems to catch out new users.

[herryC · Accepted solution]

I have the same problem too just now, and found the solution was quite simple. It's not Expand menu that works, but simply Ungroup (Ctrl+Shift+G). There will be a warning that once you ungroup them, you are unable to edit the data. So make sure duplicate the original chart first before ungroup them.

54 After

[Tony_Sev]

If the little spread sheet thing is open running then it doesn't seem to work. Just closing that window will allow you to Ungroup the object.

[khart115]

Click on the graph > object > Ungroup > message pops up but click "OK" > then click on the graph again > once the graph is selected right click > select ungroup.

[ujangpacul · Accepted solution]

• add a style anything you want

• Effect-Stylize-Drop Shadow-OK
• Hide Drop Shadow on Appearance

• Object-Expand Appearance

• Done!

Easy?

[Roger Blackmore]

Thanks this worked

Although it seems a bit of a hacky work around. I mean it seems wrong to have to do it this way.

[amparose]

I don't know whether to laugh hysterically, flip the table, or cry, that this is still the only way to expand a f***ing pie chart in 2021.

[Monika Gause]

I don't know whether to laugh hysterically, flip the table, or cry, that this is still the only way to expand a f***ing pie chart in 2021.

By @amparose

If it's just adrop shadow, then just "Expand Appearance" will work fine.

The thing is that this is about appearance hierarchies. Wehn you expand the drop shadow to the ciagram, then it gets applied to the container (the chart, which contains the parts). You expand the chart, then it's gone. And so are all its appearnaces. The same happens when a group has its own drop shadow.

It's all logical. And it's a good thing, that Illustrator allows the hierachical stacking of effects, because that is a very powerful toolset.

[amparose]

Yes, better than nothing. For me, the drop shadow stays so I have to the ungroup the pie chart and delete the dropshadow object.

"Logical" would be selecting a pie chart and being able to just Expand it without the hacky steps around this solution.

[Monika Gause]

Yes, better than nothing. For me, the drop shadow stays so I have to the ungroup the pie chart and delete the dropshadow object.

By @amparose

You're kidding, right?

The whole reason this thread exists is that the drop shadow vanishes when you ungroup the chart. If this is what you want, then just ungroup the chart: the chart will be expanded and the drop shadow gone.

[amparose]

Ah I wasn't hiding it in Appearance Panel before expanding appearance as I was annoyed at not being able to just expand the chart driectly. That is less clicks than deleting the dropshadow afterwards.

[Otmar Silvera]

MASTEEEER!!

[eliyah]

Right, it stopped working recently.

choose each shape of the pie with the Direct selection tool (A), cut and paste (in place, in front, in back - whatever you need).

One of the pie pieces might still stay as a graph (you wont be able to manipulate it with the other pieces, like rotating together etc.).
What I did was chosing one point (out of 3) in this shape, copying and pasting it (which results in basically the same shape just with one not joined link) and then joining the shape (comand+J). then its all "free'. MAAAAN.

That's the only normal way i found.

[default6c8wfu6fbvfo]

Object > Flatten transparancy

[Konrad5E7D]

Copy chart to ID and then copy back to AI