Change text orientation in a cell without VBA

[SerenityNetworks]

Is it possible to change text orientation in a cell without using VBA? For example I have an arrow character (↑) in A1. If B1 = NNE then I'd like the orientation of A1 to be -22 degrees. I can't see that the TEXT function or Conditional Formatting can help me (correct me if I'm wrong), so is there any method for manipulating the text orientation of a cell in some other manner besides using VBA?

Thanks in advance,
Andrew

 

[footoo]

If you can make do with -45 degrees instead of -22, format A1 as Wingdings 3 and enter :
=IF(B1="NNE",CHAR(35),CHAR(38))

 

[thisoldman]

Perhaps this will be helpful. There are eight arrow symbols in Unicode, set at 45° intervals.

UNICHAR	Decimal
↑	8593
↗	8599
→	8594
↘	8600
↓	8595
↙	8601
←	8592
↖	8598

<tbody>
</tbody>

The formula =UNICHAR(8599) produces "↗". Different font faces have different arrows—Calibri seems to be a better choice than many.

People have difficulty judging angles: we overestimate acute angles, underestimate obtuse angles, and we are not at all good at estimating the tilt of an isolated line. Do you need to be so exact, distinguishing between NNE and NE?

 

[SerenityNetworks]

Thanks. I should have mentioned that I already have covered the eight principle points of the compass using the Calibri arrows. Since I'm graphing by hour, with close spacing, the difference between NNE, NE, and ENE will be noticeable. My goal is to be able to display the 16 principle points of the compass. I need to be able to do it without VBA. I've not found any fonts that provide 16 arrows. I should mention that I don't have to use arrows. An image, such as a dot with a trailing line would actually be better, but I'm okay with using arrows. At least arrows got my project started.

I've seen other threads describing different methods of displaying the compass points in a cell and in a graph. Most are pretty involved and many won't work for my particular use. That's why I wondered if I could just modify the text orientation with a formula. It would be so very easy. If I could use VBA it would also be easy, but that's not an option.

Thanks again,
Andrew

 

[thisoldman]

I don't believe there's an easy and cost-free way without VBA or without the tedious chore of setting up linked images. I tried sparklines, but I can't get them to work.

The font Omnidirectional Arrows JNL appears to have the symbols, but it's $29 US.