How To Create In Cell Bar Chart With REPT Function [Charting Tip]

In-cell charts are awesome.

And today, I’ll show you how to create an in-cell bar chart with REPT function.

But, do they really worth your time?

Yes.

Here is the single important reason:

how to create an bar chart with rept function

They are easy to create and simple to use.

Ahead, in this post, I’ll show a step by step process to create a decent bar chart with REPT function.

But Do You Know About REPT Function?

Here is a simple definition: You can use REPT to repeat a specific text for a specific number of times. The main use of this function is for creating in-cell charts.

Syntax

REPT(text, number_times)

Steps to Create a Bar Chart With REPT Function

Here you have a mark sheet of students and you need to add a bar in the performance cell next to the marks column.

how to create an bar chart with rept function marks table

Here are the steps.

Insert two option buttons in your worksheet.
- Go to developer tab ➤ controls ➤ insert ➤ option buttons.

how to create an bar chart with rept function insert option buttons

Name both of the buttons “Only Percentage” & “Bars”. And, link then to a cell. (I have linked then to cell A1)

how to create an bar chart with rept function link option buttons

Now, come back to your data table and insert the following formula into the cell.

=IF(A$1=1,REPT(“|”,B3)&” “&TEXT(B3/100,”0%”),B3/100)

Make sure to change font style to “PlayBill”.
Now, drag the formula to the entire table and your bar chart is ready.

how to create an bar chart with rept function ready table

We have used a formula in conditional formatting to highlight bar for the student whose marks are below 40.

How this formula works

In this formula, you have used IF function for a conditional formula.

When you select options button “Bars” you’ll get 1 in cell A1 and then REPT function shows you a bar and percentage in the cell.

And, when you select “Only Percentage” it will show just percentage.

Sample File

Download this sample file from here to learn more.

Conclusion

By using this technique you can fire up your boring data.

If you compare both of the tables (with or without bars), you’ll notice that by using bars you can present your data in an understandable way.

Now tell me one thing.

Do you like this tip?

Share your view with me in the comment section, I’d love to hear from you. And, please don’t forget to share this tip with friends.

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Raman Girdhar says:

This is wonderful Puneet. Thanks a lot.
One input – you have mentioned “Make sure to change font style to PlayBill”. This is fine with bars but it shrinks the percentages mentioned along with bars, making it difficult to read. Font “Britannic Bold” used in the Excel file is a better option removing this drawback. 🙂

Puneet Gogia says:
at
Yes, you are absolutely right.

Aly June says:

Thank you so much!

Puneet Gogia says:
at
You’re welcome. 🙂

Dhananjay Jadhav says:

I gone through the structure of the formula. I was unaware with rept function and also innovative & efficient use of radio button. This is extreamly helpful to interpret the huge data quickly and without burning much of your laptop RAM.
Thanks Puneet Gupta for this excellent trick.

Puneet Gogia says:
at
I’m so glad you liked it. 🙂