Chapter 7

Sparklines and Advanced Topics in Excel Charts

Charts were discussed in chapter 6. This chapter first describes the new feature Sparklines in Excel 2010 and Mac Excel 2011, then it will deal with special chart topics, and lastly it will present charts using mathematical formulas in Excel.

SPARKLINES

Sparklines were introduced in Excel 2010/11. They are micro charts in cells. There are three kinds of Sparklines: Lines, Columns, and Win/Loss. You will find them under the Insert Ribbon for 2010 or the Charts Ribbon in Mac Excel 2011. Figure 7.1 shows a line of data and three different Sparkline types produced from the data. The left side of the figure displays the icons used to create them.

FIGURE 7.1 Sparkline Types in Excel 2010 and MAC Excel 2011

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Figure 7.2 shows where to find the Insert Sparklines Icons.

FIGURE 7.2 Insert Sparkline Icon Locations

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The following example demonstrates how to use Sparklines. Consider the following data for six months. The data is profit or loss for the period of January through June. See Figure 7.3.

FIGURE 7.3 Data for Six Months

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To create the Line Sparkline first select the cell J2 where you want your Line Sparkline to be. Click on the ...

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