Charts & Visual Data Modeling
Floating Bar & Up-Down Column Span Chart Formula: Hidden Base & Positive/Negative Delta
Create Floating Bar (salary bands, temperature ranges) and Up-Down Floating Column charts using stacked series: Hidden Base = MIN(Start, End), Up Gain = MAX(0, End - Start), and Down Loss = MAX(0, Start - End).
One stacked-series decomposition builds both Floating Range Bars and Color-Coded Up/Down Columns!
Spreadsheet chart engines draw standard bars from zero, so plotting a salary range [$95k, $135k] or monthly KPI bridge [Start = 155, End = 132] requires a Stacked Bar or Stacked Column chart with an invisible (No Fill / No Border) Hidden Base Series equal to MIN(Start, End)!
Splitting the visible span |End - Start| into two mutually exclusive series — Up_Gain = MAX(0, End - Start) (styled emerald green) and Down_Loss = MAX(0, Start - End) (styled coral red) — automatically color-codes directional changes without manual point-by-point formatting, while preserving the exact arithmetic invariant Hidden_Base + Up_Gain + Down_Loss = MAX(Start, End)!
| Period / Band | Start Value | End Value | Hidden Base MIN(Start, End) | Up Gain MAX(0, End - Start) | Down Loss MAX(0, Start - End) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan (Expansion) | 120 | 155 | 120 | 35 | 0 |
| Feb (Pullback) | 155 | 132 | 132 | 0 | 23 |
| Mar (Flat) | 132 | 132 | 132 | 0 | 0 |
Invisible Stacked Base Series MIN(Start, End)
Computes the non-negative baseline height supporting the floating bar or column segment.
=IF(OR(B3 < 0, C3 < 0), "Use Zero-Cross Split for Negative Axis Spans", MIN(B3, C3))Directional Up-Gain and Down-Loss Floating Span Series
Returns MAX(0, End - Start) for green upward segments or MAX(0, Start - End) for red downward segments.
=IF(OR(B3 < 0, C3 < 0), "Use Zero-Cross Split for Negative Axis Spans", MAX(0, B3 - C3))Try the example
Use the original values or change them to test your understanding.