Spark-line is a very handy data visualization technique! It’s great when you are space constrained to show trends among multiple data points.
Here’s an example:
But there’s an issue with above chart! Axis values for these group of spark-lines do not seem match – it could throw someone off if they didn’t pay close attention. So a good practice – when you know users are going to compare segments based on the spark-lines – is to assign them same axis values so it’s easier to compare. Here’s the modified version:
And…here are the steps:
1. Make sure that spark-lines are grouped.
Select the spark-lines > go to toolbar > Sparkline Tools > Design > Group
2. On the “group” section, you’ll also find the “Axis” option – select that and make sure that “same for all axis” is selected for Vertical axis minimum and maximum values:
That’s about it. Just a quick formatting option that makes your spark-lines much more effective!
Author: Paras Doshi
Thanks, do not know this.
Thomas
I’m glad this is helpful! Here’s a good article just in case you’re looking to read little bit more: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Use-sparklines-to-show-data-trends-1474e169-008c-4783-926b-5c60e620f5ca – also, Stephen few has a good best practice guide as well: http://www.perceptualedge.com/articles/visual_business_intelligence/best_practices_for_scaling_sparklines.pdf