Excel: What is the Win Loss Sparkline For?

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Problem: What is the win/loss sparkline used for?

Strategy: The win/loss sparkline shows streaks of wins or losses. You might use it to plot sports teams, stock prices, or bid desk results. In a win/loss sparkline, any positive value (such as 1) is plotted as an upward facing marker. Any negative value (such as -1) is plotted as a downward facing marker. Any zero values get no marker.

If you have some stock closing prices, use =SIGN(Today-Yesterday). If the price went up, the sign is positive and you get a +1. If the price went down, you get a -1.

  1. Generate +1, 0, -1 with SIGN().

    For long Win/Loss Sparklines, increase the column width and row height to show more detail.

  2. Did those green markers happened after the Kinect debuted?

    Living in northeast Ohio, I am used to baseball season ending in June as the Cleveland Indians are eliminated from the playoffs. This year, they got off to a stellar start, but were just swept by the Yankees this weekend. The right quarter of this chart is the ballclub that I know and love.

  3. Win/Loss sparklines to a great job showing wins and losses.