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Month Sparklines

A month sparkline displays a compact calendar-style view using a 6×7 grid. Each square represents a day of the month, arranged by week (left to right) and weekday (top to bottom). This layout makes it easy to spot daily patterns over the course of a month.

Month sparklines are often used to show trends in daily activity—such as revenue, attendance, or usage—without taking up much space.

When to use month sparklines

  • Tracking daily performance: Show how values change across the days of a specific month.
  • Identifying recurring patterns: Visualize behaviors that repeat within a month, such as weekday spikes or weekend drops.
  • Summarizing dense data: Present a full month of information in a compact format that's easy to scan and interpret.

Create a month sparkline

  1. On the Insert tab, select Sparklines.
  2. Under Calendar Sparkline, select Insert Month Sparkline. The MonthSparkline Dialog dialog opens.
  3. Set the parameters.
  4. Click Ok. The sparkline is inserted into the selected cell.

Edit a month sparkline

  1. Select the month sparkline in your workbook.
  2. On the Sparkline tab, select Settings. The MonthSparkline Dialog 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.

Month sparkline parameters

The month sparkline formula supports the following formats:
=MONTHSPARKLINE(year, month, dataRange, emptyColor, startColor, middleColor, endColor)
=MONTHSPARKLINE(year, month, dataRange, colorRange)

ParameterDescription
Data RangeSpecifies a range where the first column contains dates and the second column contains values, such as A1:B400.
Location RangeSets the cell where the sparkline will appear.
YearDefines the year (four-digit format), such as 2024.
MonthDefines the month (1 = January, 12 = December).
Empty ColorSets the color used for days with no data or a value of zero.
Start ColorSets the color for the minimum value in the month.
Middle ColorSets the color for the midpoint between the minimum and maximum values.
End ColorSets the color for the maximum value in the month.
Range ColorAccepts a cell range that defines color values directly.