Graph help

[jhill]

Hi all, i have been given a set of figures (monthly ones) dating back to
Sep 04. i have put them on an excel spreadsheet and createad a line
graph for 17 mths (sep 04 - jan 06). Is there a way using excel to find
a "trend" or "line of best fit" etc. In addition, is there a way for
excel to create a forecast for the next 12 or 24 months based on the
previous 17 months. ANY HELP OR ADVICE GEREATLY APPRECIATED.

 

[Bernard Liengme]

Read Help on:
trendline: how to add, how to extend for forecast
function TREND to forecast
then come back with more questions

To add trendline: right click the data series on the chart; use Add
Trendline; make choice between Linear, Polynomial etc; open Option tab and
have equation displayed, and use Foreword fro forecast

DO not expect such a long extrapolation to reflect what actually will
happen!