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Cascade Sparklines

Cascade sparklines are used to visualize incremental changes that affect a total value—such as profit, tax, or sales. They are commonly used in finance, sales, legal, and construction sectors.

When to use cascade sparklines​

  • Tracking incremental changes: Visualize how values increase or decrease step by step, such as changes in profit, cost, or tax.
  • Understanding cumulative impact: Show how individual changes contribute to a total, making it easier to interpret overall performance.
  • Showing financial data: Represent how revenue, expenses, and adjustments affect a final amount, such as net income.

Create a cascade sparkline​

  1. On the Insert tab, select Sparklines.
  2. Under Bar Sparkline, choose Insert Cascade Sparkline. The Create Sparklines dialog opens.
  3. In Data Range, select a continuous range of cells (in the same row or column).
  4. In Location Range, select the cell where the sparkline will appear.
  5. Click Ok. The sparkline is inserted into the selected cell.

Edit a cascade sparkline​

  1. Select the cascade sparkline in your workbook.
  2. On the Sparkline tab, select Settings. The CascadeSparkline Setting dialog opens.
  3. Adjust the parameters, then click Ok.
  4. Copy and paste the sparkline cell to duplicate the configuration in another location, as needed.

Cascade sparkline parameters​

The cascade sparkline formula supports the following formats:
=CASCADESPARKLINE(pointsRange, pointIndex, labelsRange, minimum, maximum, colorPositive, colorNegative, vertical)
=CASCADESPARKLINE(pointsRange, pointIndex, labelsRange, minimum, maximum, colorPositive, colorNegative, vertical, itemTypeRange, colorTotal)

ParameterDescription
PointsDefines the range of cells that contain values, such as B2:B8.
Point IndexSets the index of the current segment (starting at 1). Accepts a number or a cell reference.
Minimum(Optional) Specifies the minimum value of the display area, such as -2000. The default is the minimum of the sum of the points.
Maximum(Optional) Specifies the maximum value of the display area, such as 6000. The default is the maximum of the sum of the points.
Positive ColorSets the color of the first or last positive sparkline box (when the value is positive). Default is #8CBF64 (RGB: 140, 191, 100).
Negative ColorSets the color of the sparkline box when the value is negative. Default is #CB0000 (RGB: 214, 96, 77).
Labels(Optional) Identifies the range of cells that contain the labels, such as A2:A8. The default is no labels.
Item Types(Optional) Lists the item types in the data range. Values should be = or a reference, such as A1:A7. + means positive change, - means negative change, and = indicates a total.
Color TotalApplies the color to the last sparkline box if no Item Type is provided. If an Item Type is used, applies the color to the final sparkline box.
Vertical(Optional) Determines whether the boxes are displayed vertically.