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About this lesson
Use Sparklines - small, condensed charts that fit into a single cell - to provide a visual representation of data trends or variations.
Exercise files
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6.04 sparklines - Exercise.docx76.2 KB 6.04 sparklines - Exercise solution.docx
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Quick reference
Sparklines
Add sparklines to show trends in data.
When to use
We use sparklines whenever we want a way to represent a series of values as an in-cell line or column chart. This helps us establish trends in data.
Instructions
Sparklines in Excel are small, condensed charts that fit into a single cell, designed to provide a visual representation of data trends or variations. They offer a quick way to show trends and variations in a compact format within a worksheet cell, making them ideal for embedding in tables, dashboards, or reports.
We have three sparkline types: Line, Column, and Win/Loss.
Insert Sparklines
In this example, we want to insert an in-cell chart to represent the revenue values for each company. This will help us visualize how revenue has changed by month.
Line Sparklines
- In column D, select all blank cells under the Sparklines header.
- From the Insert tab, in the Sparklines group, click Line.
- In the Create Sparklines dialog box, click in Data Range.
- Select the cell range C4:N13.
- Click OK.
Format Sparklines
- Select the sparklines.
- Click on the Sparkline tab.
From here we can change the style and color, add markers, and highlight the high points and low points.
Column Sparklines
We can use column sparklines instead of lines. Column sparklines represent the values as columns.
- Select the sparklines.
- From the Sparkline tab, in the Type group, click Column.
We can apply the same formatting properties from the Sparklines tab.
Win/Loss Sparklines
Win/Loss Sparkline displays negative values like column sparklines. The difference is that all the columns are the same height and are not affected by the values in the cell. The purpose of these sparklines is simply to show which values are positive and which are negative.
- Select the sparklines.
- From the Sparkline tab, in the Type group, click Win/Loss.
We can apply the same formatting properties from the Sparklines tab.
Hints & tips
- If your data contains negative values, choose the Column or Win/Loss Sparkline.
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