Column and winloss options for Sparklines in Google Sheets

Sparklines, as seen in this overview post on sparklines, are quick, simple charts that can be inserted directly into the cell of a spreadsheet created with Google Sheets.  One of their strengths is their simplicity.  However, there are several options that can be used to expand their functionality.  Below, we focus on the options available for use with the columns and winloss types of sparkline.

Column and winloss sparkline options

color determines the color of the chart’s columns

lowcolor determines the color for the lowest value in the chart

highcolor determines the color for the highest value in the chart

firstcolor determines the color for the first column in the chart

lastcolor determines the color for the last column in the chart

negcolor sets the color for the columns with negative values

empty how to treat empty cells

• zero give the cell a value of zero for the sparkline
• ignore ignore the cell, rendering the chart as if it does not exist
• Note in the image that the “ignore” option behaves the same as not designating this option at all.

nan how to treat cells with non-numeric data

• convert let Sheets try to convert the character(s) in the cell to a number. Good luck on this one.
• ignore ignore the cell, rendering the chart as if that value does not exist
• Note in the image that the “ignore” option behaves the same as not designating this option at all.

Video explanation



axis determines if the chart will have an axis

• true let Sheets try to convert the character(s) in the cell to a number. Good luck on this one.
• false ignore the cell, rendering the chart as if that value does not exist
• Note that the “false” option behaves the same as not designating this option at all

axiscolor determines if the color of the axis, if you use the axis option to create one

ymin determines the minimum data value for scaling the height of columns (not applicable for win/loss)

ymax determines the maximum data value for scaling the height of columns (not applicable for win/loss)

rtl changes the direction of the chart from left-to-right to right-to-left

• true The direction of the chart is flipped
• false The direction of the chart stays the same
• Note that the “false” option behaves the same as not designating this option at all. 

Follow image below for the live Google doc with sparklines