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How to: Add Sparklines and Data Bars (Report Builder 3.0 and SSRS)

Sparklines and data bars are small, spare charts that convey a lot of information with little extraneous detail. For more information about them, see Sparklines and Data Bars (Report Builder 3.0 and SSRS).

Sparklines and data bars are most commonly placed in cells in a table or matrix. Sparklines usually display only one series each. Data bars can contain one or more data points. Both sparklines and data bars derive their impact from repeating the series information for each row in the table or matrix.

Note

You can create and modify report definitions (.rdl) in Report Builder 3.0 and in Report Designer in Business Intelligence Development Studio. Each authoring environment provides different ways to create, open, and save reports and related items. For more information, see Designing Reports in Report Designer and Report Builder 3.0 (SSRS) on the Web at microsoft.com.

To add a sparkline or data bar to a table or matrix

  1. If you have not done so already, create a table or matrix with the data you want to display. For more information, see Adding a Table (Report Builder 3.0 and SSRS) or Adding a Matrix (Report Builder 3.0 and SSRS).

  2. Insert a column in your table or matrix. For more information, see How to: Insert or Delete a Column (Report Builder 3.0 and SSRS).

  3. On the Insert tab, click Sparkline or Data Bar, and then click in a cell in the new column.

    Note

    You cannot place sparklines in a detail group in a table. They must go in a cell associated with a group.

  4. In the Change Sparkline/Data Bar Type dialog box, click the kind of sparkline or data bar you want, and then click OK.

  5. Click the sparkline or data bar.

    The Chart Data pane opens.

  6. In the Values area, click the Add Fields plus sign (+), and then click the field whose values you want charted.

  7. In the Category Groups area, click the Add Fields plus sign (+), and then click the field whose values you want to group by.

    Typically for sparklines and data bars, you will not add a field to the Series Group area because you only want one series for each row.