Charts and Dashboards: Sparkling Sparklines Part 2
19 November 2021
Welcome back to our Charts and Dashboards blog series. This week, I continue my revisit of Sparklines.
The basics of Sparklines were covered in Charts and Dashboards Blog: Sparklines. I am revisiting the topic, let’s continue from where I left off last time:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/081/image1.png/e774d10cbbb9450fc45efbe51abdf434.jpg)
As before, I have some simple sales figures, and I have used an example of each type of Sparkline:
- F4 is a Line
- F5 is a Column
- F6 is a Win/Loss.
Last time, I looked at the dynamic nature of Sparklines and how they may be inserted and edited.
Once a Sparkline has been inserted, the Sparkline tab may also be used to change the type of Sparkline. I can change the type of Sparkline for Derek from Column to Line, for example:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/081/image2.png/f32e5a15e2cf9c3e4d2d058458ce054d.jpg)
The same dataset is used:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/081/image3.png/f1140ff857fc3b6f5f97a6a24f4a6fc7.jpg)
I add some more columns to the data and edit the Sparklines to include the new columns.
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/081/image4.png/72aa864d2854c6fefb1083fba0ab5792.jpg)
When I change Newbie’s Sparkline type to Line, something interesting is added:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/081/image5.png/36776d1da4d05b45bb5a5d09375f407c.jpg)
The negative points on the Win/Loss type are now red dots on the Line. The reason for this may be found in another section on the Sparkline tab.
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/081/image6.png/23912d3b1671861e02bebcd5183f1607.jpg)
There is a section called Show and one called Style. These are linked, and I can see that since ‘Negative Points’ is ticked, I see dots on the Line in Style. I can change the values in Show to see the ‘High Point’ and ‘Low Point’ instead. I do this for all the Lines at once by selecting all the Sparklines:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/081/image7.png/6f49c288a0d88a66b427eaf4ece923d6.jpg)
I can also change the Style for all the Lines:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/081/image8.png/b9ee28d90e6b5bc92ea4aeafdad51628.jpg)
Making the Line lighter makes the points stand out more.
The Sparkline for Newbie looks quite similar to those for the other salespeople. I can make them easier to compare by showing the Horizontal Axis. This is available from the Axis dropdown.
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/081/image9.png/0485ccbc83bdeec1d741bad442a1ea5f.jpg)
This makes it more obvious that Newbie is not achieving the same results as the others:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/081/image10.png/daf8c4f0259ce428269c0d3d4badd32b.jpg)
I can also have issues comparing data if each of the Sparklines have their own Axis maximum and minimum values. Consider the following data:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/081/image11.png/22c6daeb82d7d69ac88f878227e04b28.jpg)
The charts for Mary and Derek look very similar, but that’s not fair on Mary. Going back to the Axis dropdown, I can customise the Vertical Axis to change the minimum value:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/081/image12.png/a1537847463e660a31158c8032525438.jpg)
I want to set the minimum value to zero [0]:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/081/image13.png/917da985be13220165c8d2823e95344f.jpg)
I am only doing this for Derek and Mary. I also set the maximum value to 10:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/081/image14.png/8c3be7af9f73d031acae69ed85a2e148.jpg)
When I click OK, the columns on Mary’s Sparkline look noticeable taller:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/081/image15.png/e63c0a4c21afc9afb438aacc09a59317.jpg)
The monotonic effect is because I still have the ‘High Point’ and ‘Low Point’ highlighted and the style I picked for the Line Sparklines. I can turn the Show options off and pick another Style from the Sparklines tab, and change the ‘Sparkline Color’ to red:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/081/image16.png/d082e3477129350b8a2a589156028e63.jpg)
Now Mary’s achievements stand out from the rest:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/081/image17.png/a468c9c28195e8f18fdedfa59a0cf042.jpg)
That’s it for this week. Come back next week for more Charts and Dashboards tips.