Microsoft® Office Excel® 2007 Inside Out

Adding Moving Averages and Other Trendlines

A trendline is a line that describes the general tendency of a data series. It can be a moving average, a linear-regression line, or a line generated by one of various kinds of nonlinear curve-fitting methods.

To add a trendline to a series in an area, bar, column, line, or X Y (scatter) chart, right-click the series, and click Add Trendline. The dialog box shown in Figure 20-23 appears. (Alternatively, you can select any part of the chart, click the Layout tab, and then click Trendline in the Analysis group. The options that descend from the Ribbon when you do this don’t cover the full gamut of trendline capabilities, however, and you’ll probably want to click More Trendline Options at the bottom of ...