Using sparklines allows you to display data trends without going to the trouble of creating a full-blown chart or graph. It’s simple, on-demand information capable of showing trend data (whether something is trending up or down).
In just a few clicks, you now have a visual representation displaying which way data is trending -- whether it be tracking profits, inventory, or costs.
1. Open an Excel workbook, or create a new one. For the sake of this tutorial we’ll look at a fictional company’s quarterly sales.
2. Under the Insert tab, click the Line icon.
3. Left click and drag the data range you’d like to display with a sparkline. For this example, I’d click in column C, rob 4 and drag it to column E of the same row.
4. Press OK to insert the sparkline.
5. In the Ribbon, you’ll see the Design tab is now active. From there, simply choose the style of line you’d like to use, or you can stick with the default.
