Excel 2010: The Missing Manual

Chapter 20. Visualizing Your Data

Ordinary numbers are fun, but on their own they lack a little pizzazz. That’s why when numbers need to advertise just how important they are, they usually turn to some sort of data visualization—a graphical technique that turns part of their information into a picture.

You’ve already learned about Excel charts, which are the most obvious type of data visualization. The graphics you put together yourself can also serve the same purpose, although they’re not nearly as flexible. (The problem is that, when your data changes, your custom graphics might not apply any longer. To keep them up to date, you’ll be forced to perform constant edits and fine-tuning.)

In this chapter, you’ll learn about several additional types of data visualization:

• Data bars, color scales, and icon sets. These three features extend Excel’s conditional formatting feature, which you learned about in Chapter 6. All of them modify cells based on their values—for example, by drawing a shaded bar, changing the background color, or adding a tiny picture.

• Sparklines. These tiny chart-like graphics show basic information (trends, patterns, and changes) without a lot of fuss. Even better, they integrate seamlessly into your worksheet, unlike massive floating charts.

Used with a little bit of thought and experience, both of these features can extract meaning out of the densest jumble of worksheet data and turn otherwise drab spreadsheets into clear and powerful message-makers.

Data Bars

Data ...