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In some data-analysis scenarios, you might be interested more in the relative values within a range than the absolute values. For example, if you have a table of products that includes a column showing unit sales, you might want to compare the relative sales of all products.

Comparing relative values is often easiest if you visualize the values, and one of the easiest ways to visualize data in Excel is to use data bars, a data visualization feature that applies colored horizontal bars to each cell in a range of values; these bars appear “behind” (that is, in the background of) the values in the range. The length of the data bar in each cell depends on the value in that cell: the larger the value, the longer the data bar.

Follow these steps to apply data bars to a range:

1 Select the range you want to work with.

2 Choose Home ⇒ Conditional Formatting.

3 Choose Data Bars and then select the fill type of data bars you want to create.You can apply two type of data bars:Gradient fill: The data bars begin with a solid color and then gradually fade to a lighter color.Solid fill: The data bars are a solid color.Excel applies the data bars to each cell in the range. Figure 1-4 shows an example in the Units column.

FIGURE 1-4: The higher the value, the longer the data bar.

If your range includes right-aligned values, gradient-fill data bars are a better choice than solid-fill data bars. Why? Because even the longest gradient-fill bars fade to white toward the right edge of the cell, so your range values will mostly appear on a white background, making them easier to read.