Use Excel Sparklines to Display Trends Visually
by Avantix Learning Team | Updated January 7, 2020
Applies to: Microsoft® Excel® 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (Windows)
This article is the first in a series of simple ways to show trends in your Excel data. In Excel 2010 and later versions, you can use Sparklines to display trends in your data visually on the worksheet. Sparklines are miniature charts that you can display in cells, usually immediately to the right of the data you wish to summarize.
Recommended articles: Simple Strategies to Show Trends in Excel (Part 2) and (Part 3)
Inserting Sparklines in
To insert a Sparkline:
- Set up a worksheet with a least 3 columns of data. The data should be adjacent to each other (no blank columns or rows) and be the same size (in terms of the height of the range).
- Select the cells where you wish to display Sparklines. The cells should be in one column and are usually immediately to the right of the data you wish to summarize. Be sure to select the same size (height) as the source data.
- Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon.
- In the Sparkline group, click the Line button. A dialog box appears.
- Click in the Data Range box and select or enter the range of data you wish to summarize. The range you originally selected should appear in the Location Range.
- Click OK or press Enter.
Let's try an example. In the following worksheet, data has been entered in cells B2 to D5.
I would like to create Sparklines in cells F2 to F5 (note that the height of the ranges are consistent).
To create Sparklines:
- Select cells F2 to F5.
- Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon.
- In the Sparkline group, click the Line button. A dialog box appears.
- Click in the Data Range box and select or enter the range of data you wish to summarize (B2:D5). The range you originally selected should appear in the Location Range.
- Click OK or press Enter.
Formatting Sparklines
To format Sparklines:
- Click in any cell with a Sparkline (the entire range should appear with a blue border).
- Click the Sparkline Tools Design tab.
- Select the formatting element you want to change. You can highlight data points such as high, low or negative, choose a color scheme, select line and marker colors or change the type of Sparkline.
Clearing Sparklines
To clear Sparklines:
- Click in any cell with a Sparkline (the entire range should appear with a blue border).
- Click the Sparkline Tools Design tab.
- Click the Clear drop-down menu.
- Choose Clear Selected Sparklines or Clear Selected Sparkline group.
Sparklines are easy to create and can provide a great visual representation of trends in your data.
Subscribe to get more articles like this one
Did you find this article helpful? If you would like to receive new articles, join our email list.
To request this page in an alternate format, contact us.
Related articles
How to Use Flash Fill in Excel to Clean or Extract Data (Beginner's Guide)
How to Quickly Fill in Missing Values from the Cell Above in Excel
10 Great Excel Navigation Shortcuts
Related courses
Microsoft Excel: Intermediate / Advanced
Microsoft Excel: Data Analysis using Functions, Dashboards and What-If Analysis Tools
Microsoft Excel: Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) | Introduction
Our instructor-led courses are delivered in virtual classroom format or at our downtown Toronto location at 18 King Street East, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (some in-person classroom courses may also be delivered at an alternate downtown Toronto location). Contact us at info@avantixlearning.ca if you'd like to arrange custom instructor-led virtual classroom or onsite training on a date that's convenient for you.
Copyright 2023 Avantix® Learning
You may also like
Excel XLOOKUP Function (Overview, Syntax + Formula Examples)
The XLOOKUP function is a replacement for Excel's traditional VLOOKUP function (as well as HLOOKUP and INDEX / MATCH functions). It has a new set of arguments and is available in Excel 2021 and 365. It allows you to look up a value from an array in a range or table and return one or more results. One of the primary benefits of XLOOKUP is that it can look up from columns to the left in a data set and return a range.
How to Use Go to Special in Excel to Find, Select, Replace and Format Data
You can use Go To Special in Excel to quickly find and select cells of a specific type within your worksheet. It only selects cells in the current worksheet, not the entire workbook. Go To Special also searches within the selected range if a range has been selected. You can find many useful things using the Go To Special dialog box including formulas, constants, blanks, visible cells and conditional formatting. After you select multiple cells with Go To Special, you can enter data in the selected cells by pressing Ctrl + Enter or by applying formatting.
How to Lock Cells in Excel (3 Ways)
It's easy to lock and protect cells in Microsoft Excel to prevent users from changing data or formulas. This involves a two-step process …
Microsoft, the Microsoft logo, Microsoft Office and related Microsoft applications and logos are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in Canada, US and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of the registered owners.
Avantix Learning |18 King Street East, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5C 1C4 | Contact us at info@avantixlearning.ca
