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How to Customize Microsoft Forms Charts and Display Percentages

Elise Williams Oct 19, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to change chart types, edit formatting, and display percentages for Microsoft Forms survey results.

How to Customize Microsoft Forms Charts and Display Percentages

Product: Microsoft Forms
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Preparing survey results for management presentations or exporting customized visualizations to PowerPoint.
Observed behavior: Microsoft Forms provides basic built-in charts with limited options for customization and cannot natively display custom percentages or change chart types.

Before you start

Ensure you have access to the Microsoft Forms survey results and that a spreadsheet application like Microsoft Excel or WPS Spreadsheet is installed on your device to process the exported data.

Solution 1Recommended

Export Forms Data to Excel for Advanced Chart Customization

Since Microsoft Forms lacks built-in chart editing, exporting the raw response data to a spreadsheet is the best way to create custom charts, change types, and calculate percentages.

Microsoft Forms is designed for quick data collection but offers limited analytical tools. To fully customize how your survey data is presented, including showing precise percentages or switching from a bar chart to a pie chart, you must utilize Excel's robust charting engine.

Open survey responses

Navigate to your survey in Microsoft Forms and click on the 'Responses' tab located at the top of the screen.

Export data to Excel

Click the 'Open in Excel' button to download your raw survey responses as an .xlsx workbook.

Select your data

Open the downloaded workbook in your spreadsheet application and highlight the specific data columns you wish to visualize.

Insert a custom chart

Go to the 'Insert' tab on the ribbon and choose your preferred chart type, such as a 2D Pie Chart or Clustered Column.

Display percentages

Right-click the generated chart series, select 'Add Data Labels', then right-click the labels to choose 'Format Data Labels'. Check the 'Percentage' box to display custom percentages.

Export Forms Data to Excel for Advanced Chart Customization

Seamless Presentation: Once your charts are customized in your spreadsheet, you can easily copy and paste them directly into your PowerPoint or WPS Presentation slides.

Solution 2

Automate Reporting with Power Automate and Power BI

For ongoing surveys, automate the data flow into dynamic, fully customizable dashboards instead of manually exporting files.

Create and Customize Survey Charts with WPS Spreadsheet

Export your Microsoft Forms data to Excel format and open it seamlessly in WPS Spreadsheet. You can easily insert various chart types, calculate percentages automatically, and format them for your next presentation without any hassle.

1. Export Responses: Download your Microsoft Forms responses as an Excel (.xlsx) file.
2. Open with WPS: Launch WPS Spreadsheet and open the downloaded survey data file.
3. Insert Chart: Highlight the survey data, go to the 'Insert' tab, and select a Chart type that fits your needs.
4. Format Labels: Customize the chart style and enable data labels to display accurate percentages for your presentation.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) formatsRich built-in chart types including pie, bar, and custom combination chartsEasy-to-use data labeling and percentage calculation toolsLightweight, fast, and completely free to use

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change the chart types directly inside Microsoft Forms?

No, Microsoft Forms does not currently support changing built-in chart types or customizing the default results view. You must export the data to a spreadsheet application to create custom charts.

How do I show percentages instead of raw numbers on my charts?

After exporting your Forms data to a spreadsheet tool, insert a Pie or Bar chart. Right-click the chart series, select 'Add Data Labels,' and format the labels within the side panel to show percentage values rather than exact values.

How can I update my charts when new survey responses arrive?

If you export a static Excel file, you must re-export it to get the newest data. For automatic updates, use Power Automate to sync Forms responses directly to a live spreadsheet or a Power BI dashboard.

Will my customized charts look the same if I copy them to presentation slides?

Yes, if you copy a customized chart from your spreadsheet and paste it into presentation software, it retains its formatting, colors, and percentage labels. You can also link the data so it updates in the slide if the spreadsheet changes.

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