--- description: In this Sparklines tutorial, you will learn What is Sparklines in Excel?, Types, How to insert Sparkline in Excel, and How to Customize Sparklines? title: "Sparklines in Excel: What is, Types, Location Range (Examples)" image: https://www.guru99.com/images/sparklines-in-excel.png --- [Skip to content](#main) **⚡ Smart Summary** Sparklines in Excel are tiny charts that fit inside a single cell to show the trend of a data series. This page explains the line, column, and win/loss types, inserts a sparkline with a data and location range, formats its style and colour, highlights points, and deletes it. - 📉 **Core Definition:** A sparkline is a small graph that represents a data series inside one cell, rather than as a separate chart object. - 🔀 **Three Types:** Line shows fluctuation, Column shows each value as a bar, and Win/Loss shows ups and downs of positive and negative values. - 📍 **Two Ranges:** The Data Range is the cells to chart, and the Location Range is the cell where the sparkline appears. - 🎨 **Formatting:** The Design tab changes the style, colour, and line weight of a sparkline. - 🔺 **Highlights:** High, low, first, last, negative points, and markers can each be switched on to read the trend. - 🗑️ **Deleting:** The Delete key does not remove a sparkline, so the Clear option on the Design tab is used instead. Read More ![Sparklines in Excel](https://www.guru99.com/images/sparklines-in-excel.png) ## What is Sparklines in Excel? **Sparkline** in Excel is a small graph which is used to represent a series of data. Apart from a well-fledged chart, it fits into a single cell. Three different data visualizations available in Excel Sparkline are: 1. Line 2. Column 3. Win/Loss It is an instant chart that prepares for a range of values. Sparklines in Excel is used to showcase the data trend for a while. ## Why use Sparklines? Sparkline graph helps you to avoid the chore of creating a big chart which can be confusing during analysis. It is a common visualization technique used in dashboards when you want to picture a portion of data from a large dataset. Sparklines in Excel is not an object like [Excel graphs](https://www.guru99.com/creating-advanced-charts-in-excel.html); it resides in a cell as ordinary data. When you increase the size of the [Excel](https://www.guru99.com/excel-tutorials.html), Sparkline automatically fit into the cells according to its size. ## Types of Sparklines in Excel From the Insert menu, select the type of Sparkline you want. It offers three types of Sparklines in Excel. [![Types of Sparklines]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein1.jpg) 1. **Line Sparkline**: Line Sparkline in Excel will be in the form of lines, and high values will indicate fluctuations in height difference. 2. **Column Sparkline**: Column Sparkline in Excel will be in the form of column chart or bar chart. Each bar shows each value. 3. **Win/Loss Sparkline**: It is mainly used to show negative values like ups and downs on the floated costs. [![Types of Sparklines]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein2.jpg) Depending on the type, it gives different visualization to the selected data. Where the line is a tiny chart similar to the line chart, the column is a miniature of bar chart and win/loss resembles waterfall charts. ## How to insert Sparklines in Excel? You need to select a particular column data, to insert Sparklines in Excel. Consider the following demo data: Status of some pending stock for different years is below. To make a quick analysis, let’s make a Sparkline for each year. | Year | Jan | Feb | March | April | May | June | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2011 | 20 | 108 | 45 | 10 | 105 | 48 | | 2012 | 48 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 74 | | 2013 | 12 | 102 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 100 | | 2014 | 1 | 20 | 3 | 40 | 5 | 60 | [Download Excel used on this tutorial](https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1qZbnUgRxV66aR1WtMVu8XYSouEB-YRzq) **Don't Miss:** - [How to Create Pivot Table in Excel: Beginners Tutorial](https://www.guru99.com/pivot-tables-in-excel-beginner-s-guide.html) - [Advanced Excel Charts & Graphs \[With Template\]](https://www.guru99.com/creating-advanced-charts-in-excel.html "Advanced Excel Charts & Graphs [With Template]") - [Excel VLOOKUP Tutorial for Beginners](https://www.guru99.com/excel-vlookup-tutorial.html) - [10 BEST Excel Books (2026 Update)](https://www.guru99.com/best-excel-books.html) **Step 1**) Select types of Sparkline Select the next column to ‘June’ and insert Sparkline from insert menu. Select anyone from the three types of Sparkline. [![Insert Sparklines in Excel]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein3.jpg) **Step 2)** Choose a range of cells A selection window will appear to select the range of cells for which the Sparkline should insert. By clicking the arrow near data range box, a range of cells can be choosen. [![Insert Sparklines in Excel]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein4.jpg) **Step 3)** Selected Data Range will be shown Select the first row of the data for the year 2011 in ‘Data Range’ text box. The range will shown as B2: G2. [![Insert Sparklines in Excel]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein5.jpg) **Step 4)** Choose Location Range Another range selection indicates where you want to insert the Sparkline. Give the address of the cell you need the Sparkline. [![Insert Sparklines in Excel]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein6.jpg) **Step 5)** Press ‘OK’ Button Once you set the ‘Data Range’ and ‘Location Range’ press ‘OK’ button. [![Insert Sparklines in Excel]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein7.jpg) **Step 6)** Sparkline is created in the selected cell Now the Sparkline is created for the selected data, and it gets inserted in the selected cell H3. [![Insert Sparklines in Excel]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein8.jpg) ## Sparkline Example: Create a Report with a Table You have a sales report for four years: 2015, 2016, 2017 respectively. Details included in this table are country, product, and gross sales. Let’s find the trend of sales for this product for different years. **Step 1**) Create a column analysis next to gross sales for 2018. And in the next step, you are going to insert the Sparkline. | S# | Country | Product | Gross Sales 2015 | Gross Sales 2016 | Gross Sales 2017 | Gross Sales 2018 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Canada | Carretera | $ 32,370.00 | $ 30,216.00 | $ 352,625.00 | $ 34,440.00 | | 2 | Germany | Carretera | $ 26,420.00 | $ 352,100.00 | $ 43,125.00 | $ 7,210.00 | | 3 | France | Carretera | $ 32,670.00 | $ 4,404.00 | $ 600,300.00 | $ 4,473.00 | | 4 | Singapore | Carretera | $ 13,320.00 | $ 6,181.00 | $ 34,056.00 | $ 9,282.00 | | 5 | United States of America | Carretera | $ 37,050.00 | $ 8,235.00 | $ 32,670.00 | $ 22,296.00 | | 6 | Mexico | Carretera | $ 529,550.00 | $ 236,400.00 | $ 13,320.00 | $ 423,500.00 | | 7 | China | Carretera | $ 13,815.00 | $ 37,080.00 | $ 534,450.00 | $ 17,703.00 | | 8 | Spain | Carretera | $ 30,216.00 | $ 8,001.00 | $ 645,300.00 | $ 17,340.00 | | 9 | Japan | Carretera | $ 37,980.00 | $ 603,750.00 | $ 36,340.00 | $ 41,250.00 | | 10 | Korea (Republic of) | Carretera | $ 18,540.00 | $ 10,944.00 | $ 962,500.00 | $ 32,052.00 | | 11 | Italy | Carretera | $ 37,050.00 | $ 32,280.00 | $ 23,436.00 | $ 9,192.00 | | 12 | Costa Rica | Carretera | $ 333,187.50 | $ 36,340.00 | $ 527,437.50 | $ 148,200.00 | | 13 | Taiwan | Carretera | $ 287,400.00 | $ 529,550.00 | $ 37,980.00 | $ 488,950.00 | | 14 | Argentina | Carretera | $ 15,022.00 | $ 10,451.00 | $ 11,802.00 | $ 754,250.00 | | 15 | Denmark | Carretera | $ 43,125.00 | $ 225,500.00 | $ 25,692.00 | $ 33,210.00 | | 16 | Belgium | Carretera | $ 9,225.00 | $ 25,932.00 | $ 8,001.00 | $ 690,300.00 | **Step 2)** Select the cell in which you want to insert the Sparkline. Go to Insert menu from the menu bar. Select any one of the Sparkline from the list of Sparkline. [![Sparkline Example:Create a Report with a Table]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein9.jpg) **Step 3)** Select any one of the sparkline types that you want to insert. It will ask for the range of cells. Select the line type from the available sparkline type. [![Sparkline Example:Create a Report with a Table]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein10.jpg) Data Range indicates, which data the Sparkline need to insert. Location range is the cell address where you want to add the Sparkline. **Step 4)** Here, the data range is from the cell data contains ‘Gross sales 2015 to 2018’ and location range is from H3. Press the ‘OK’ button after this. [![Sparkline Example:Create a Report with a Table]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein11.jpg) **Step 5)** The Sparkline will be inserted into the H3 cell. You can apply the Sparkline to entire data by dragging the same to downwards. [![Sparkline Example:Create a Report with a Table]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein12.jpg) Now the Sparkline is created. ## How to format a Sparklines in Excel To format Sparkline, first Click on the created Sparkline. A new tab named design will appear on the menu bar which includes the Sparkline tools and will help you to change its color and style. See the available options one by one. [![Format a Sparklines in Excel]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein13.png) The different properties of Sparkline can customize according to your need. Style, color, thickness, type, the axis is some among them. ### How to change the style of the Sparklines? **Step 1)** Select a style from the ‘Style’ option within the design menu. The styles included in a dropdown. [![Change the Style of the Sparklines]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein14.jpg) **Step 2)** Click on the down arrow near to the style option to select your favorite style from an extensive design catalog. [![Change the Style of the Sparklines]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein15.jpg) ### How to change the color of the Sparklines? The color and thickness of the Sparkline can be changed using the Sparkline Color option. It offers a variety of colors. **Step 1)** Select the Sparkline and select the Sparkline Color option from the design menu. [![Change the Color of the Sparklines]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein16.jpg) **Step 2)** Click on the color you want to change. The Sparkline will update with the selected color. [![Change the Color of the Sparklines]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein17.jpg) ### Change the width of lines. The width of the lines can be adjusted with the option available in the ‘Sparkline Color’ window. **Step 1)** Select the Sparkline then go to design menu in the menu bar. **Step 2)** Click on the Sparkline Color’ option. **Step 3)** Select the Weight option to make changes in thickness to the inserted Sparkline. [![Change the Width of Lines]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein18.jpg) **Step 4)** Move to Weight option. This will give a list of predefined thickness. Customization in Weight is also available. [![Change the Width of Lines]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein19.jpg) ### Highlighting the data points You can highlight the highest, lowest points, and the entire data points on a Sparkline. By this you to get a better view of the data trend. **Step 1)** Select the created Sparkline in any cell then move to the design menu. You can see different checkboxes to highlight the data points. [![Highlighting the Data Points]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein20.jpg) **Step 2)** Give checkmark according to the data points you want to highlight. And the options available are: - High/Low Point: Highlights the high spot the high and low points on the Sparkline. - First/Last Point: This will help to highlight the first and last data points on the Sparkline. - Negative Points: Use this to highlight negative values. - Markers: This option applies only to line Sparkline. It will highlight all data points with a marker. Different color and style are available with more marker colors and lines. [![Highlighting the Data Points]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein21.jpg) ### Deleting the Sparklines You can’t remove the Sparkline by hitting the ‘delete’ key on a keyboard. To delete the Sparkline, you should go to the ‘Clear’ option. **Step 1)** Select the cell, which included the Sparkline. **Step 2)** Go to Sparkline tools design menu. [![Deleting the Sparklines]()](https://www.guru99.com/images/1/072519_0555_Sparklinein22.jpg) **Step 3)** Click on the clear option this will delete the selected Sparkline from the cell. ## Advantages of Sparklines in Excel Here are important reasons for using Sparkline: - Visualization of data like temperature or stock market price. - Transforming data into a compact form. - Data reports generating for a short time. - Analyze data trends for a particular time. - Easy to understand the fluctuations in the data. - A better understanding of high and low data points. - Negative values can float effectively by sparkline. - Sparkline automatically adjusts its size once the cell width is changed. ## FAQs ⚡ What is the difference between a sparkline and a chart? A chart is a separate object placed on the sheet. A sparkline lives inside one cell as part of the data, has no axes, and is meant to show a quick trend next to the numbers it summarizes. 🗑️ Why does the Delete key not remove a sparkline? A sparkline is a background feature of the cell, not its content, so pressing Delete only clears the cell value. To remove the sparkline, select the cell and choose Clear on the Sparkline Design tab. 🔀 When should I use Win/Loss instead of Line or Column? Use Win/Loss when the values are positive and negative and only the direction matters, such as profit or loss per month. It shows each value as an equal mark up or down, ignoring the size. 🤖 Can AI add sparklines to a whole table for me? Yes. AI features such as Copilot in Excel add a sparkline column beside a table and pick the type from a plain request like “show the yearly trend per country”. The user then adjusts the style and highlights. 🧠 Can AI read the trend a sparkline shows? Yes. AI assistants read the underlying series and describe the trend in words, such as a steady rise or a sharp dip in one year. The user checks the description against the sparkline and the figures. #### Summarize this post with: ChatGPTPerplexityGrokGoogle AI **Stay Updated on AI** **Get Weekly AI Skills, Trends, Actionable Advice.** ##### Sign up for the newsletter Subscribe for Free You have successfully subscribed. 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