In the following example, I changed the color to orange, so it’s different from the column color. Open the Format Trendline pane by either double-clicking the trendline you want to format or by right-clicking and selecting “Format Trendline.”Ĭlick the Fill & Line category, and then you can select a different line color, width, dash type, and more for your trendline. You might want to format the trendline differently-especially if you have multiple trendlines on a chart.
Trendlines are added as a dashed line and match the color of the data series to which they’re assigned. In this example, Linear and Moving Average trendlines have been added to the chart. You can also add different trendlines to the same data series. In the following image, a trendline has been added to the Tea and Coffee data series. You can add a trendline to multiple data series. 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. The Format Trendline pane opens so you can select the trendline you want. Next, select “Add Trendline” from the menu. If you want to apply a trendline to only one of the data series, right-click on the desired item. In the first example, the line graph had only one data series, but the following column chart has two. We’ll explore more of these later in this article.Ĭhoose the trendline you want to use from the list, and it will be added to your chart. The Format Trendline pane opens and presents all trendline types and further options.
To see the full complement of options, click “More Options.” It uses a specified number of data points (two is the default), averages them, and then uses this value as a point in the trendline. Moving Average: To smooth out the fluctuations in your data and show a trend more clearly, use this type of trendline.Logarithmic: This type is best used when the data increases or decreases quickly, and then levels out.
The line is more curved than a linear trendline. Exponential: This trendline visualizes an increase or decrease in values at an increasingly higher rate.Linear: A straight line used to show a steady rate of increase or decrease in values.There are different trendlines available, so it’s a good idea to choose the one that works best with the pattern of your data.Ĭlick the arrow next to the “Trendline” option to use other trendlines, including Exponential or Moving Average. This adds the default Linear trendline to the chart. Select the chart, click the “Chart Elements” button, and then click the “Trendline” checkbox. The equation of a line is typically written as y=mx+b where m is the slope and b is the y-intercept.You can add a trendline to an Excel chart in just a few clicks. Check “Display Equation on chart” and “Display R-squared value on chart”. Specify the number of periods to include in the forecast. TrendlineSelect the chart.Click the + button on the right side of the chart, click the arrow next to Trendline and then click More Options. How do you calculate a trendline in Excel? Excel displays the linear equation on the chart in the y=mx+b format. The formula for slope is this one: How do you insert a straight line in Excel?Īdd a linear regression line to the scatter chart by clicking the “Layout” tab, selecting the “Trendline” drop-down box and clicking “Trendline Options.” Select the “Linear” option and click the “Display Equation on Chart” box. Step 3: Plug these two points into the formula for slope. Your next step is to locate two points on the trend line. To find your equation of a trend line, follow these steps.Step 1: Draw your trend line. How do you find the equation of a trendline?