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Implementation of Sparkline Type Reports within Reporting Services

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As with any dashboard implementation, an intuitive user interface design is desired, thus leveraging the latest concepts in dashboard user interfaces. One of those concepts is to display Sparkline type charts. A “Sparkline” is a word coined by Edward Tufte to describe “small, high-resolution graphics embedded in a context of words, numbers, and images.” Sparklines are “word-sized graphics” which can be used to add context to data in a sentence. More than that, though, Sparklines are word like graphics that can be used almost as words.

To implement Sparklines within Reporting Services is rather easy…in fact, the charting object within Reporting Services can be shrunk within a table object, thus producing the Sparkline image.

Do note though that placing many inline Reporting Services charts within a table will put more processing burden on the Reporting Services server, since each chart needs to be determined and rendered.

Other than leveraging the chart object within Reporting Services, there are a few third party solutions that “plug into” the Microsoft BI Platform to allow Sparkline and other visualization techniques. One such offering is from BonaVista Systems – through a product called MicroCharts. For more information visit this link: https://www.bonavistasystems.com/Products_SparkLinerforMicrosoftBI.html.

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