Office 2007 & Excel

[Fra Mauro]

Microsoft likes to make a big deal about SparkLines, in Excel 2010. I've tried out the feature, but don't really have a use for them. Does anyone else, out there, use them for anything?

I've been using SparkLines in both Excel 2003 and Excel 2010. They are convenient when I have 4 streams of data that all have similar values across a line chart. The SparkLine will show me each stream's values in a line chart not mixed with the others, so I can see the up and down values over time.

The problem that I have with Excel 2010's SparkLines is that it will not give me an average value. The add-in that I use will allow me to show the average value over time as a line down the center of each SparkLine, so I can see where the data points are at, below, or above the average.

Obviously I'm only using the line chart style SparkLine and not the other types.

 

[Wowbagger]

Facinating. So, it seems SparkLines were a 3rd party add-in, before Microsoft rolled their own implementation, eh?

 

[Fra Mauro]

Facinating. So, it seems SparkLines were a 3rd party add-in, before Microsoft rolled their own implementation, eh?

Yes. A fella by the name of Edward Tufte invented them. He is an author who also gives seminars on the visual display of information. I don't think I can send links yet (although I've been lurking here for 6 years) but his web site is edwardtufte.com

I got the add-in for Excel 2003 and Excel 2010 at sparklines-excel.blogspot.com.

 

[varwoche]

Yes. A fella by the name of Edward Tufte invented them. He is an author who also gives seminars on the visual display of information.

I've been trying to understand how someone can take credit for "inventing" something that is merely a small version of a mundane chart.

 

[Worm]

Tufte invented the term and the usage, not the actual thing I suppose.

Sparklines are good in certain situations because they are rich in data but sparse in graphical overhead, but they are only part of the picture.

In general, they come in handy when you need to look at long term trends.