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Microsoft

®

Excel

®

2010 Training

Sparklines: Use tiny charts to show data trends

Course contents

• Overview:

Bring data to light

• Lesson:

Includes four instructional movies

• Suggested practice tasks • Test • Quick Reference Card

Sparklines: Use tiny charts to show data trends

Overview: Bring data to light

As you look at rows and rows of data, sometimes it’s hard to immediately make sense of it. Here you’ll learn how to add tiny charts called sparklines next to data. Sparklines can give readers a picture of what the data means, making it easy to spot patterns and trends.

Sparklines: Use tiny charts to show data trends

Course goals

• Add sparklines to spreadsheet cells.

• Determine which kind of sparkline to use.

• Change sparkline styles.

• Clear sparklines from spreadsheet cells.

Sparklines: Use tiny charts to show data trends

Introduction to sparklines

Point to the bottom of the video to see the video controls. Drag or point along the progress bar to move forward or go back.

Sparklines: Use tiny charts to show data trends

Line sparklines

Point to the bottom of the video to see the video controls. Drag or point along the progress bar to move forward or go back.

Sparklines: Use tiny charts to show data trends

Column sparklines

Point to the bottom of the video to see the video controls. Drag or point along the progress bar to move forward or go back.

Sparklines: Use tiny charts to show data trends

Win/loss sparklines

Point to the bottom of the video to see the video controls. Drag or point along the progress bar to move forward or go back.

Sparklines: Use tiny charts to show data trends

Suggestions for practice

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Create and customize line sparklines.

Create and customize column sparklines.

Clear sparklines and create new ones.

Emphasize negative values with a horizontal axis.

Display an irregular time period. Online practice (requires Excel 2010) Sparklines: Use tiny charts to show data trends

Test question 1

Sparklines change to reflect revised data. (Pick one answer.)

1.

2.

True.

False. Sparklines: Use tiny charts to show data trends

Test question 1

Sparklines change to reflect revised data.

Answer:

1.

True.

For example, if 249.33 is included in your sparkline, and you revise it to 349.33, the sparkline will change to reflect the updated value.

Sparklines: Use tiny charts to show data trends

Test question 2

To delete sparklines, select the cells you want to clear the formatting from, and then press the Delete key on your keyboard. (Pick one answer.)

1.

2.

True.

False. Sparklines: Use tiny charts to show data trends

Test question 2

To delete sparklines, select the cells you want to clear the formatting from, and then press the Delete key on your keyboard.

Answer:

2.

False.

Pressing Delete won’t delete sparklines. On the Design tab, in the Group group, click Clear, and then select the appropriate option.

Sparklines: Use tiny charts to show data trends

Test question 3

You can change a line sparkline to a column sparkline, and vice versa. (Pick one answer.)

1.

2.

True.

False. Sparklines: Use tiny charts to show data trends

Test question 3

You can change a line sparkline to a column sparkline, and vice versa.

Answer:

1.

True.

On the Design tab, in the Type group, just click Line or Column to change the type of the sparkline.

Sparklines: Use tiny charts to show data trends

Test question 4

When you add another column after you create sparklines, the sparklines change with the new data. (Pick one answer.)

1.

2.

You can always do that. This is true if your data is in an Excel table. Sparklines: Use tiny charts to show data trends

Test question 4

When you add another column after you create sparklines, the sparklines change with the new data.

Answer:

2.

This is true if your data is in an Excel table.

Sparklines will update to include the new data only if your data is in an Excel table. Then when you add another column, the sparklines will grow to include the new data.

Sparklines: Use tiny charts to show data trends

Quick Reference Card

For a summary of the tasks covered in this course, view the Quick Reference Card .

Sparklines: Use tiny charts to show data trends