How to add trendline in Excel chart

Luckily, Microsoft Excel has made inserting a trend line very easy, especially in newer versions. Nevertheless, there are a few little secrets that make a big difference, and I will share them with you in a moment. Go to the Fill & Line section of the format trendline pane to change the line color of the trendline. If you wish to automate the process of adding trendlines using a programmatic approach, you can use Excel VBA.

You can even use the trendline to get the expression of the data points, so you can do forecasts. On a graph, it can be hard to find the actual direction of a data series if there is no line on the graph to show the pattern of the data series. It’ll guide you through the trendline-adding process visually. To make the best use of a trendline and extract actionable data insights, you must use the right type of trendline for the given dataset. I hope that you’re trying this method on a chart where you’ve already added a trendline. Suppose, you can add a Linear trendline using the Chart Elements tool on the graph.

If you work with data, chances are you have had to analyze trends to make informed decisions. Microsoft Excel is a powerful tool for data analysis and visualization, and it offers various options to help you understand trends in your data. This section describes the equations that Excel uses for different trendline types. You do not have to build these formulas manually, simply tell Excel to display the trendline equation in a chart. The trendline formulas should only be used with XY scatter charts because only this chart plots both x and y axes as numeric values. For more information, please trend lines in excel see Why Excel trendline equation may be wrong.

Adding a Trendline in Line or Column Chart

Also, if you need a custom VBA script to insert trendlines that are specific to your scenario, let me know. To activate the formatting interface for any Excel trendline, double-click on it. You’ll see the Format Trendline sidebar on the right-hand side.

You can find the equations for all Excel trendlines types in this tutorial. The only real challenge is to choose the trendline type that best corresponds to the type of data you are analyzing. In this tutorial, you will find the detailed description of all the trendline options available in Excel and when to use them.

Furthermore, I’ll show complex scenarios to add Excel trendlines. Finally, I’ll also present to you programmatic approaches to create trendlines in Excel. If you want to apply a trendline to only one of the data series, right-click on the desired item.

Moving average trendline

Trendline reliability is depending on the R-squared value of the data set. For example, an increasing slope of a trendline indicates a positive correlation between the two variables. If the slope decreases, it indicates there is a negative correlation between the two variables. To start the lesson, we will first convert our dataset to a chart. If you want to learn how to create a line graph in Excel, follow along with...

1. Go to the Fill & Line section of the format trendline pane to change the line color of the trendline.
2. For this, simply click the Increase Decimal button on the Home tab in the Number group.
3. Click any of the trendline styles to show the Add Trendline dialog again.
4. You can customize the look of the trendline in many ways to make the trendline easily readable, informative, and professional.

From the Format Trendline pane, click the Trendline Options category, and then type a value in the "Forward" box under "Forecast." In the following example, I changed the color to orange, so it's different from the column color. I also increased the width to 2 pts and changed the dash type. To see the full complement of options, click "More Options."

By following the steps outlined in this article and applying the tips we’ve provided, you can get more insight from your data and make more informed decisions. To change the color of the trendline, select the Fill & Line option in the Format Trendline pane. The "Format Trendline" pane will appear to the right of the Excel window. The first tab in the Format Trendline pane is the "Fill & Line" tab (paint bucket icon). To format your trendline, select the chart, click the "Plus" icon, hover your cursor over "Trendline" and click the right arrow, and then click "More Options." Adding a trendline to your chart helps your audience better understand the data by way of visualization.

Once you've added the trendline to your chart, you can format it to stay in line with the overall design of the spreadsheet. This will put the trendline formula and the R2 value at the top of your graph, and you are free to drag them wherever you see fit. To make your graph even more understandable and easily interpreted, you may want to change the default appearance of a trendline. Or simply double-click the trendline to open the Format Trendline pane. Microsoft Excel allows adding more than one trendline to a chart. You cannot add a trendline to 3-D or stacked charts, pie, radar and similar visuals.

Insert a Trendline in an Excel Chart

If there’s only one data series in your chart, Excel shall instantly add the trendline to the graph. The Format Trendline pane opens and presents all trendline types and further options. You can add a trendline to a chart in Excel to show the general pattern of data over time. For this, simply click the Increase Decimal button on the Home tab in the Number group. For consistency, we will be using the same data set with slightly varying values for all the examples. However, please keep in mind that it's only for demonstration purposes.

This gives us an idea of what future values might be based on the current data trend. If you click the "Chart Elements" button to add a trendline without selecting a data series first, Excel asks you to which data series you want to add the trendline. In this example, a Moving Average trendline has been added to the charts Tea data series. A power trendline cannot be added to an Excel chart that contains zero or negative values. No, trend lines cannot be added directly to pivot tables in Excel.

The equation displayed on an Excel chart is correct only for XY scatter plots. For more information, please see Why Excel trendline equation is wrong. Microsoft Excel brings you various types of charts to visualize data effectively. However, to make such visualizations easily readable, you might often need to add a trendline.

Double-click on the trendline that you wish to extend upwards or downwards. Repeat the step again for the third trendline, like the Two Period Moving Average. Click any of the trendline styles to show the Add Trendline dialog again. Go to your Excel chart on the worksheet and click anywhere on it to activate the Chart Design tab on the Excel ribbon.

For this, Excel calculates the moving average of the number of periods that you specify (2 by default) and puts those average values as points in the line. To get started, open Excel and select the chart you would like to add a trendline to. Trendline equation is a formula that mathematically describes the line that best fits the data points.