Why do you need variable column widths for a dash board – will it not be the same lay out all the time – I must be missing something, highly likely!
ta
Ross
Yes, top and left properties are available for charts/images/cells. My issue was coming up with some logic to tie the chart/image to somehwere given that the cell widths might change.
Re the data, it is old sample data. I’m actually working with real data, but I can’t blog that.
Hui, fair point. 
this allows you enough room to use a bigger font so it is still legible as you scale it down ]]>
Also look for a thing called nano charts, there spike lines, but are charts rather than formulas, which i think Fab has used.
You can line stuff up, I think the cell has a .top, .left props? no? if I’m wrong, check Andrews blog, he has loads of stuff that works on the grid like that I bet you’ll find something there.
I’m working on something not unlike this, I’m putting the charts on the dash board then updating the chart soruces with code, will post when done.
p.s why is you data from 03-04!?!?
Ross
]]>Sure, but you have to exercise control over Excel’s charting defaults. Charley Kyd’s Excel User site has a lot of information about making useful dashboard reports, which are based on arrays of small charts.
]]>Actually, I wasn’t really after sparklines at all. I was just thinking I might be able to make a more maintainable micro chart that way by controlling a shape through a UDF. I think it’s a non-starter though, partly for the reasons you mentioned, and partly because I couldn’t create a new picture on the fly, which I would need to do.
Re the multiple sheet thing, I got that impression from the camera tool, as I had issues there with multi-sheet. Of course the camera tool is not a chart, and I figured that you probably could use charts in multiple places.
The big question… can I make small charts without ending up in that horrible mess? I’ll have to go back and play some more with them…
]]>There are a couple misconceptions that may have led you astray:
1. Sparklines don’t have all the stuff that shrunk your plot down to nothing. No legend, axis labels or lines, etc. Charley Kyd’s dashboard charts are not sparklines, but are carefully crafted small charts that include some of the features that caused your problems. In any case, you could simply drag the chart elements into position.
2. A chart can exist on any sheet, not just the one it was created on, or the one which contains its data.
If you are making true sparklines, you can stick with regular charts. You may have to make the chart container larger than the cell range it is to cover (at least in 2003) so the plot area covers the intended range. A little VBA makes this alignment easier.
For a nice sparkline program, you should check out Sparklines for Excel. Fabrice Rimlinger has taken the DDoE efforts of Rob and others, and developed an open source sparkline add-in which is rather impressive.
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