When plotting data in a graph, you may often want to see the general trend of your data. You can do this if you learn how to add a line of best fit in Excel. Microsoft Excel makes it easier to do this by following very simple steps. 

A line of best fit, also called a best-fit line or trendline, is a straight line that indicates a trending pattern on a scatter chart. Excel makes it easy to create this line and find an accurate trend line by calculating it for you. Line of Best fit in Excel helps you to create graphs with the data in a trending manner. It makes your job easier, and you do not need to do it manually with complex equations.

It takes a lot of time to create those Excel sheets, but there are a lot of times when the files corrupt and are required to be recovered. And at that time, everyone searched for how to Repair a Corrupted Excel File? So, let us see the methods for adding a line of best fit in Excel.

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What Is Line Of Best Fit In Excel?

It is also known as a trendline in Excel. The line of best fit is a straight or curved line representing a trending pattern in a scattered chart. It generally shows the overall direction of the data present in Excel. The application records data and creates meaningful charts for visual data analysis. Nonetheless, most people have questions about how to change legend text in Excel.excel workbook

It is most commonly used as an analytical tool to show data movements over time or to examine the correlation between two variables. A trendline may look similar to a line chart but does not connect the data points like a line chart. In a best-fit line, it shows the general trend, disregarding statistical errors and minor exemptions. Click here To learn the Ways To Use Excel Formulas. If the Cell Contains Text, then Return the Value In Another Cell

But drawing this line by hand is very difficult as the formula is complex. Microsoft Excel can easily do this for you. Also, read this article to fix #Num Error In Excel

Methods On How To Add Line Of Best Fit In Excel

Here are a few ways by which you can learn how to add line of best fit in Excel.

Add Line of Best Fit in Excel 2013 or Newer Versions

In newer versions of Microsoft Excel, it is very simple to add an Excel line of best fit. Follow the steps below to learn how to add a line of best fit in Excel:

  1. Open the document you want to add the best-fit line in Excel. It should have data in the file. Select the data you want to analyze with the best-fit line to create the chart.  Go to the Insert tab. Select the Insert Scatter (X, Y) or Bubble Chart option present in the Charts panel.scatter
  2. Select the first chart from the option. It will insert a Scatter chart into your Excel file with the selected data. After the chart is inserted, right-click on any of the data points. Then, from the context menu, select the Add Trendline option.add trendline
  3. On the right side of the window, a pane will appear, which is called Format Trendline. Then, click on the Trendline Options tab, and select Linear from the option.linear
  4. At the bottom of the Trendline Options pane, select the box next to Display Equation on Chart to enable it. This will display the mathematical equation used to create the Excel fit line.display equation on chart You can also customize the line of best fit according to you. Go to the Fill & Line and Effects tabs in the Format Trendline pane. Now, you know how to do a line of best fit on Excel’s newer versions.

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Add Line of Best Fit in Excel 2010 or Older Versions

Adding a best-fit line is slightly different for the older versions of Excel. Follow the steps below to learn how to do a curve to fit in Excel.

    1. Open the document you want to add the best-fit line in Excel. It should have data in the file. Select the data you want to analyze with the best-fit line to create the chart. Go to the Insert tab. From the charts category, select Scatter. Then select the first chart from the list.scatter chart 
    2. After the chart is inserted, select it and go to the Layout tab in the Chart Tools section. Expand the Trendline section and select More Trendline Options.trendline
    3. The Format Trendline window will appear. First, from the Trend/Regression Type section, select Polynomial.polynomial
    4. Then, select the box next to the Display Equation on the chart to enable it.display equation Click the Close button to close the window. The line of best fit will be visible now.

You should follow these steps to know how to add a line of best fit in Excel older versions. Read this article if you are facing the problem of Outlook 2010 only opening in safe mode.

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FAQs

How do I add the line of best-fit equations in Excel?

Right Click on any one of the data points and a dialog box will appear. Click “Add Trendline”; this is what is called a ‘best-fit line.’ An options window appears, and to ask what type of Trend/Regression type you want.

How to apply the best fit to all columns in Excel?

Select the column or columns that you want to change. On the Home tab, in the Cells group, click Format. Under Cell Size, click AutoFit Column Width. Note: To quickly autofit all columns on the worksheet, click the Select All button, and then double-click any boundary between two column headings.

Where is the Quick Analysis tool in Excel?

Whenever you select a cell range, the Quick Analysis button will appear in the lower-right corner of the selection. When you click it, you'll be able to choose from a variety of charts, sparklines, conditional formatting options, and more.

What options are available in Excel quick analysis?

The Quick Analysis toolbar appears with the options FORMATTING, CHARTS, TOTALS, TABLES, and SPARKLINES. The quick Analysis tool is handy and quick to use as you can also have a preview of applying different options before selecting the one you want.

How do I fit a page in Excel?

Click the Page tab in the Page Setup dialog box. Under Scaling, select Fit to. In the Fit to Boxes, select 1 page(s) wide by 1 tall to fit your document on one page. Note: Excel will shrink your data to fit on the number of pages specified.

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Conclusion

We hope that by following these methods, you will be able to learn how to add a line of best fit in Excel. You will be able to insert charts very easily without manually calculating the data. These methods make your job very easy.

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