Content

• Steps
• Advice
• Warning

In this article, wikiHow will show you how to create a data chart project in Microsoft Excel. You can do this on Windows and Mac.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: On Windows

1. 

   Open the Excel document. Double-click the Excel document where the data is stored.
   • If you haven't already imported the data you want to analyze in your table, open Excel and click Blank workbook (Blank Document) to create a new document. You can import data and plot charts against it.

2. 

   
   
   Select the chart. Click the chart type you want to use to create a trendline.
   • If you haven't drawn a chart from your data, draw it before proceeding.

3. 

   Click ＋. This is the green button located in the upper right corner of the chart. The menu will appear.

4. 

   
   
   Click the arrow to the right of the "Trendline" dialog box. Sometimes you have to drag your mouse to the far right corner of the "Trendline" dialog box to see the arrow appear. Click to return to 2nd menu.

5. 

   Select the trendline. Depending on your needs, you can choose one of the following options:
   • Linear (Linear)
   • Exponential (Index number)
   • Linear Forecast (Linear prediction)
   • Two Period Moving Average (2-period moving average)
   • You can click More Options ... (Add Option) to open the advanced options panel after selecting the data to analyze.

6. 

   
   
   Select data to analyze. Click on the data series name (eg Series 1) in the window. If you have named the data, you can click on the data name.

7. 

   Click OK. This button is at the bottom of the pop-up window. This is the action of drawing a trend line to the chart.
   • If clicked More Options ...You can name the trendline or change the direction towards the right side of the window.

8. 

   Save document. Press Ctrl+S to save changes. If you have not saved the document before, you will be asked to choose a save location and a file name. advertisement

Method 2 of 2: On a Mac

1. 

   Open the Excel document. Double click on the data store document.
   • If you haven't already imported the document you want to analyze in your table, open Excel to create a new document. You can import documents and draw charts based on them.

2. 

   Select data in the chart. Click on the series of data you want to analyze.
   • If you haven't drawn a chart based on the data, do it before proceeding.

3. 

   Click on the tab Chart Design (Designing the chart). This tab is at the top of the Excel window.

4. 

   Click Add Chart Element (Add component to chart). This option is on the far left side of the toolbar Chart Design. Click here to see the menu.

5. 

   Choose Trendline. The button is at the bottom of the menu. You will see a new window appear.

6. 

   Select trend line options. Depending on your needs, you can choose one of the following:
   • Linear
   • Exponential
   • Linear Forecast
   • Moving Average (Moving average)
   • You can click More Trendline Options (Add trendline options) to open the advanced options window (for example trendline name).

7. 

   Save changes. Press ⌘ Command+Save, or click File (File) then select Save (Save). If you have not saved the document before, you will be asked to choose a location and file name. advertisement

Advice

• Depending on the data of the chart, you may see additional trendline options (for example Polynomial (polynomial)).

Warning

• Make sure you have enough data to forecast a trend. It is almost impossible to analyze "trend" with only 2 or 3 data points.