How to Do Trend Analysis in Excel

This wikiHow teaches you how to create a projection of a graph's data in Microsoft Excel. You can do this on both Windows and Mac computers.

Method 1
Method 1 of 2:

On Windows

  1. Image titled Do Trend Analysis in Excel Step 1
    1
    Open your Excel workbook. Double-click the Excel workbook document in which your data is stored.
    • If you don't have the data that you want to analyze in a spreadsheet yet, you'll instead open Excel and click Blank workbook to open a new workbook. You can then enter your data and create a graph from it.
  2. Image titled Do Trend Analysis in Excel Step 2
    2
    Select your graph. Click the graph to which you want to assign a trendline.
    • If you haven't yet created a graph from your data, create one before continuing.
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  3. Image titled Do Trend Analysis in Excel Step 3
    3
    Click ＋. It's a green button next to the upper-right corner of the graph. A drop-down menu will appear.
  4. Image titled Do Trend Analysis in Excel Step 4
    4
    Click the arrow to the right of the "Trendline" box. You may need to hover your mouse over the far-right side of the "Trendline" box to prompt this arrow to appear. Clicking it brings up a second menu.
  5. Image titled Do Trend Analysis in Excel Step 5
    5
    Select a trendline option. Depending on your preferences, click one of the following options
    • Linear
    • Exponential
    • Linear Forecast
    • Two Period Moving Average
    • You can also click More Options... to bring up an advanced options panel after selecting data to analyze.
  6. Image titled Do Trend Analysis in Excel Step 6
    6
    Select data to analyze. Click a data series name (e.g., Series 1) in the pop-up window. If you named your data already, you'll click the data's name instead.
  7. Image titled Do Trend Analysis in Excel Step 7
    7
    Click OK. It's at the bottom of the pop-up window. Doing so adds a trendline to your graph.
    • If you clicked More Options... earlier, you'll have the option of naming your trendline or changing the trendline's persuasion on the right side of the window.
  8. Image titled Do Trend Analysis in Excel Step 8
    8
    Save your work. Press Ctrl+S to save your changes. If you've never saved this document before, you'll be prompted to select a save location and file name.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 2:

On Mac

  1. Image titled Do Trend Analysis in Excel Step 9
    1
    Open your Excel workbook. Double-click the Excel workbook document in which your data is stored.
    • If you don't have the data that you want to analyze in your spreadsheet, you'll instead open Excel to create a new workbook. You can then enter your data and create a graph from it.
  2. Image titled Do Trend Analysis in Excel Step 10
    2
    Select the data in your graph. Click the series of data that you want to analyze to select it.
    • If you haven't yet created a graph from your data, create one before continuing.
  3. Image titled Do Trend Analysis in Excel Step 11
    3
    Click the Chart Design tab. It's at the top of the Excel window.[1]
  4. Image titled Do Trend Analysis in Excel Step 12
    4
    Click Add Chart Element. This option is on the far-left side of the Chart Design toolbar. Clicking it prompts a drop-down menu.
  5. Image titled Do Trend Analysis in Excel Step 13
    5
    Select Trendline. It's at the bottom of the drop-down menu. A pop-out menu will appear.
  6. Image titled Do Trend Analysis in Excel Step 14
    6
    Select a trendline option. Depending on your preferences, click one of the following options in the pop-out menu:[2]
    • Linear
    • Exponential
    • Linear Forecast
    • Moving Average
    • You can also click More Trendline Options to bring up a window with advanced options (e.g., trendline name).
  7. Image titled Do Trend Analysis in Excel Step 15
    7
    Save your changes. Press ⌘ Command+Save, or click File and then click Save. If you've never saved this document before, you'll be prompted to select a save location and file name.
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    How do I choose where the data goes in Excel?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Just click a section of the grid, then put whatever you need to in the box. You can also extend boxes by dragging them.
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Warnings

  • Make sure that you have sufficient data to predict a trend. It's almost impossible to analyze a "trend" in only two or three points of data.
    ⧼thumbs_response⧽
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References

  1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gErjs_HrkvA
  2. ↑ https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Add-a-trendline-or-other-line-to-a-chart-d196a209-77d5-4ce0-b33c-d4a85a15eaf6

About This Article

Jack Lloyd
Written by:
Jack Lloyd
wikiHow Technology Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd. Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher. This article has been viewed 748,617 times.
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Co-authors: 17
Updated: May 17, 2022
Views: 748,617
Categories: Microsoft Excel
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