Tip #18: 6 Trendlines and when to use them in your spreadsheet data?

Tip #18: 6 Trendlines and when to use them in your spreadsheet data?

Charts are a great tool for visualizing and interpreting large chunks of data in spreadsheets. Zoho Sheet offers you 35+ chart options, along with AI-powered chart recommendations based on the data set you select. There are various chart elements that can help you format and add additional details to your charts based on how you'd like to visualize the data.
 
A trendline is one of the chart elements that helps you visualize the general direction or trend of the data points plotted on the chart. It helps you observe the overall movement, pattern, or tendency of data over time to support analysis and forecasting. For example, let's take a chart indicating the sales of product X increasing over the given number of years. By adding trendlines to your chart, you can easily deduce the increasing sales.


What are the different types of trendlines and when should you use them? 

  • Linear
  • Power
  • Exponential
  • Logarithmic
  • Polynomial
  • Moving average

Linear


Linear trendlines are suitable for data sets that indicate a steady increase or decrease over a given period of time and are often straight lines.



In this example, an employee's annual salary has steadily increased in relation to their work experience, indicating a linear trendline.


Power


Power trendlines are helpful in predicting data sets that increase at a regular interval and result in a curved line.



In this example, the number of people following a Twitter account has increased rapidly over the course of a year.

Exponential


Exponential trendlines form a curved line representing values that increase or decrease at an accelerating rate. It's used for data with exponential growth or decay.



In this example, bicycle usage decreases rapidly over the given years.

Logarithmic


Logarithmic trendlines are suitable to represent data sets that show an increase or decrease and then gradually stabilize.



In this example, the person's height increases as he grows and then levels out as he reaches maturity.

Polynomial


Polynomial trendlines are appropriate capturing complex relationships between variables in data sets that keep oscillating or have intricate fluctuations.This type of trendline is classified into different types based on the degree or order. In Zoho Sheet, you can select the degree of the polynomial (2 to 10) based on how perfectly the trendline fits the given data set.



In this example, electricity consumption gradually increases and then decreases over the given months.

Moving average


The moving average trendline takes the fluctuations in the given values, averages them, and uses the average values to plot the trendline.
Moving average trendlines are useful for showing the overall trajectory of data sets with a lot of ups and downs. 

The stock market is a perfect match for the moving average trendline because stocks generally fluctuate on a regular basis.




Zoho Sheet offers multiple chart elements, like trendlines, data labels, legends, and gridlines, to help you customize the way your charts visualize information and ideas. You can also check out our post on the 3 important chart customizations.

 

Follow our Tips and Tricks forum to explore similar tips on using Zoho Sheet for your business. You can also join our community to stay informed on the latest updates and feature enhancements.



    Access your files securely from anywhere








                            Zoho Developer Community




                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Digest


                                                  • Functions


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner


                                                  • Word of the Day


                                                  • Ask the Experts



                                                            • Sticky Posts

                                                            • Tip #20 - Three things you probably didn't know you can do with picklists

                                                              Hello Zoho Sheet users! We’re back with another quick tip to help you make your spreadsheets smarter. Picklists are a great tool to maintain consistency in your spreadsheet. Manually entering data is time-consuming and often leaves typos and irregular
                                                            • Tip #18: 6 Trendlines and when to use them in your spreadsheet data?

                                                              Charts are a great tool for visualizing and interpreting large chunks of data in spreadsheets. Zoho Sheet offers you 35+ chart options, along with AI-powered chart recommendations based on the data set you select. There are various chart elements that
                                                            • Tip #17: Easily share spreadsheets with non-Zoho account users

                                                              With efficient, collaboration-friendly options, Zoho Sheet is a popular choice among users. Sheet's external share links help you collaborate more effectively by sharing your spreadsheets with anyone outside your organization, including users who do not
                                                            • Tip #16: Ask Zia your data-related questions and get powerful insights

                                                              Zoho Sheet provides a variety of tools and functionalities to help you analyze your data from end to end. But what if you could analyze all your data sets with a single AI-powered tool? Meet Zia, our smart virtual assistant who will answer all your data-related
                                                            • Tip #7: Four things you didn't know you can do with Conditional Formatting

                                                              Conditional formatting helps you highlight and visualize data in your spreadsheet based on provided rules. Zoho Sheet offers three types of conditional formatting: Classic, Color Scales, and Icon Sets. If you're already familiar with how Conditional Formatting works, here are some bonus tips for Classic formats: Customize rules with formulas Zoho Sheet allows you to create personalized rules based on formulas. For example, in a task list you can use customized formulas to highlight tasks which are


                                                            Manage your brands on social media



                                                                  Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                      Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                        Zoho Books Resources


                                                                          Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                            Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                              Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                                Qntrl Resources


                                                                                  Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                      Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                      • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                        CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                      • Kaizen

                                                                                        Kaizen

                                                                                      • Functions

                                                                                        Functions

                                                                                      • Meetups

                                                                                        Meetups

                                                                                      • Kbase

                                                                                        Kbase

                                                                                      • Resources

                                                                                        Resources

                                                                                      • Digest

                                                                                        Digest

                                                                                      • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                        CRM Marketplace

                                                                                      • MVP Corner

                                                                                        MVP Corner







                                                                                          Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                          Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                          Get Started Now


                                                                                            Zoho Show Resources

                                                                                              Zoho Writer

                                                                                              Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                              Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                                Zoho CRM コンテンツ




                                                                                                  Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                      ご検討中の方







                                                                                                              • Recent Topics

                                                                                                              • Using gift vouchers

                                                                                                                We would like to be able to offer a limited number of gift vouchers, of varying values, to our customers, and are looking for the best way to do this. We have looked at Coupons and Gift Certificates, but neither seem to fit the bill perfectly. Coupons:
                                                                                                              • Convert HTML to PDF & Send as Email Attachments in Zoho Creator (Deluge)

                                                                                                                This approach is useful for sending welcome letters, instructions, or promotional offers after order creation. // 1. Define the variables using the submitted input customerName = input.Customer_Name1; orderID = input.ID; customerEmail = input.Email_Address; //
                                                                                                              • Redirect after submission is not working after a few submission

                                                                                                                I have setup redirect url correctly and everything works as expected. However, it seems that there's a limit to the number of submissions before the redirect stops working. After the "limit" is reached, the page redirects to a seemingly zoho hosted page,
                                                                                                              • Enhancement Request for Multi-Asset Work Order Feature

                                                                                                                Hello Latha, Thank you for your continued support. The multi-asset Work Order feature is extremely helpful. I did some testing based on our requirements, and during the process, I noticed a few areas where we need your team’s support to improve the feature
                                                                                                              • Marketing Tip #8: Run limited-time offers

                                                                                                                Exclusive offers that don't last long make shoppers purchase right away instead of waiting. Run a flash sale or limited-time discount to convert interest into sales. Try this today: Set up a "Buy X Get Y" coupon in Zoho Commerce valid for a limited time
                                                                                                              • Add Option to Mass Dispatch by User

                                                                                                                Hello! We are using the dispatch console to dispatch service appointments to our service ressources. Right now, the process is our dispatcher verifies each ressource's route for the day and dispatches it after validation. Sadly, there doesn't seem to
                                                                                                              • Free webinar: Zoho Sign unwrapped – 2025 in review

                                                                                                                Hey there! 2025 is coming to an end, and this year has been all about AI. Join our exclusive year-end webinar, where we'll walk you through the features that went live in 2025, provide answers to your questions, and give you a sneak peek on what to expect
                                                                                                              • Zoho Projects - Email notification relabelling of modules not present on default templates

                                                                                                                Hi Projects Team, I noticed that in the default email template notification, the word "bug" was not renamed to the lable I am using in my system. As many users may used the Bugs modules for various purposes including Changes, Revisions, Issues, etc...
                                                                                                              • Publish to LinkedIn via API

                                                                                                                Hi, Is it possible to publish a job opening to LinkedIn (paid job slots) if creating a job opening via api / deluge function? Or is the user required to manually publish via the job boards process? Many Thanks Adrian
                                                                                                              • Is there a way to automatically add Secondary Contacts (CCs) when creating a new ticket for specific customers?

                                                                                                                Some of our customers want multiple contacts to receive all notifications from our support team. Is there a way to automatically add secondary contacts to a ticket when our support team opens a new ticket and associates it with an account? This would
                                                                                                              • Include the "Added Email ID" to the Filters of a Report

                                                                                                                Hi, With a Report and lots of entries, a normal thing is to filter entries by the submitter, but that is not included in the Auto Filter of Reports and you can't add a custom filter to a Report without specifying the actual value. I would like to be able
                                                                                                              • Loops in Deluge

                                                                                                                Hi, Can someone tell me how I do a simple loop in deluge? For example, if i have a variable "X" containing a number of loops to perform, i would like to perform an action X amount of times. X = 10; do while (Y < X){       // ... do something } to further explain, the equivalent in PHP of what i am trying to acheive would be: $X = 20; for($Y = 1; $Y < $X; $Y++ ){       // ... do something } Thanks
                                                                                                              • I am facing a problem with an if-else condition

                                                                                                                If I use if, else if, and else conditions in Deluge with the same variable name, sometimes the variable causes an error because the same variable name is present in every block
                                                                                                              • Zoho Projects - Reply by email to @ mentions posted on the Feed.

                                                                                                                When mentioning someone on the Feed (Status), it would be great if that mentioned person could reply to the email notification to update the Feed thread.
                                                                                                              • Add home page or dashboard in CRM customer portal

                                                                                                                is it possible to add home page or dashboard in CRM customer portal?
                                                                                                              • Zoho Analytics Bulk Api Import json Data

                                                                                                                HI, I’m trying to bulk-update rows in Zoho Analytics, and below are the request and response details. I’d like to understand the required parameters for constructing a bulk API request to import or update data in a table using Deluge. Any guidance on
                                                                                                              • Record Overseas Transactions Along with CC charges

                                                                                                                Hi All, We receive payments via stripe in multiple currencies and stripe takes around 2.5% fees. The amount is settled in INR into our local bank. What should be the currency of the income account used for Stripe payments? Here is a sample flow that we
                                                                                                              • Product Updates in Zoho Workplace applications | October 2025

                                                                                                                Hello Workplace Community, Let’s take a look at the new features and enhancements that went live across all Workplace applications this October. Zoho Mail Create Signature from Compose window You can now effortlessly create a Signature using the Create
                                                                                                              • Subform data to Sheets

                                                                                                                I have been trying to setup a Zoho Flow automation to bring any Subform input to a Zoho Sheets but it seems impossible to post the subform entries to a Zoho Sheet. Is there any way to do it via Zoho Sheet API? https://www.zoho.com/sheet/help/api/v2/#CONTENT-Insert-row-with-JSON-data
                                                                                                              • E-Invoicing in Belgium with Zoho Books

                                                                                                                Starting January 1, 2026, Belgium is introducing mandatory electronic invoices (e-invoicing) for all B2B transactions between VAT-registered businesses. This means that invoices and credits notes must be exchanged in a prescribed digital format. How E-Invoicing
                                                                                                              • Edit Contact Roles in the Potentials Mod

                                                                                                                New to ZOHO so I need some help. I work the same people on different projects concurrency. Their contact info remains the same but their role changes from project to project. In the Potential Mod you can pick contacts and assign a Role to them. I know
                                                                                                              • Is there a way to disable the Activity Reminders Pop-Up Window every time I log in?

                                                                                                                Just wondering if there is a setting to disable the window from opening every time I open my CRM? Thanks Chris
                                                                                                              • Auto-sync field of lookup value

                                                                                                                This feature has been requested many times in the discussion Field of Lookup Announcement and this post aims to track it separately. At the moment the value of a 'field of lookup' is a snapshot but once the parent lookup field is updated the values diverge.
                                                                                                              • Hide fields only for creation

                                                                                                                Hello, I'd like to hide some fields only during the creation of a contact in Zoho CRM. In fact I have some fields that are automatically calculated thanks to an automation, so when my users create a contact I don't want them to fill those fields. I know
                                                                                                              • Rich-text fields in Zoho CRM

                                                                                                                Hello everyone, We're thrilled to announce an important enhancement that will significantly enhance the readability and formatting capabilities of your information: rich text options for multi-line fields. With this update, you can now enjoy a more versatile
                                                                                                              • Font Size 11 - Zoho CRM Email Templates

                                                                                                                Our company communicates with our vendors exclusively using Calibri Font Size 11, as this is the standard formatting for professional emails. Since the CRM only allows for the selection of font sizes 10 & 12, we have been unable to utilize the CRM email
                                                                                                              • Error 400 Booking

                                                                                                                Added a custom domain to Booking. Am Getting a SSL Error that has some other domain on the SSL and giving a 400 error. Followed instructions and it stated it verified our domain.. However it is not working. Please Help!
                                                                                                              • Error AS101 when adding new email alias

                                                                                                                Hi, I am trying to add apple@(mydomain).com The error AS101 is shown while I try to add the alias.
                                                                                                              • How do I change a form's name? Why isn't this more intuitive?

                                                                                                                Can someone please let me know how to change a form's name?
                                                                                                              • Link Purchase Order to Deal

                                                                                                                Zoho Books directly syncs with contacts, vendors and products in Zoho CRM including field mapping. Is there any way to associate vendor purchase orders with deals, so that we can calculate our profit margin for each deal with connected sales invoices
                                                                                                              • Recruit paid support?

                                                                                                                Hi all, Could anyone who has paid support package advise if it provides value for money with regards to support response times? Exploring the idea as unfortunately when we have faced issues with Recruit it has been a 7+ day timescale from reporting to
                                                                                                              • Converting Customer Invoice to Purchase Bill

                                                                                                                Hi, In my service-based business, I sometimes create the customer invoice first, and later I receive the purchase bill from the vendor for the same job. Is there any option in Zoho Books to: Convert a customer invoice into a purchase bill, or Link/associate
                                                                                                              • Zoho Projects - Unread Comment Icon

                                                                                                                Hi Projects Team, It would be great if there was a notification I con on the comments icon so it's easy to see which tasks have new comments. Something like a red circle with a number of unread comments would be great. Thanks for considering my feed
                                                                                                              • E-Invoicing in Belgium with Zoho Billing

                                                                                                                Starting January 1, 2026, Belgium is introducing mandatory electronic invoices (e-invoicing) for all B2B transactions between VAT-registered businesses. Invoices and credits notes must be exchanged in a prescribed digital format. How E-Invoicing works
                                                                                                              • Zoho Projects - Email Notifications for Feed Updates

                                                                                                                Hi Projects Team, I'm working with a client who wants a simple way to communicate with their customers on projects. Getting the customer to add comments to Tasks or Bug records is not ideal, as we need a way which is easy with minimal training, and has
                                                                                                              • Zoho Analytics Export API

                                                                                                                Hi Team, I’m working on some integration tasks and wanted to confirm if it’s possible to retrieve a Zoho Analytics table as JSON data using a Deluge script. I’ve already stored my custom data from multiple sources and combined it into a single source.
                                                                                                              • Loading Project Balances in ZOHO Books for each project

                                                                                                                Hello, What is the best method for loading project balances actual and budget into ZOHO books to provide tracking to our project managers. We have projects and federal awards (also treated as projects) which span multiple years. We are converting from
                                                                                                              • Weekly Tips : Make collaboration effortless with Whiteboard in Zoho Mail

                                                                                                                Working with your team often means switching between emails, notes, and other applications just to explain an idea. Maybe you are trying to sketch a layout, plan a workflow, or quickly brainstorm ideas—with text alone, things can get confusing. So how
                                                                                                              • Zoho Projects - Update Feed via API

                                                                                                                Hi Projects Team, Please consider adding an API to allow update and retrieval of messages to the Feed. Thank you
                                                                                                              • Zoho Sites "pages" management page

                                                                                                                I have 80 plus pages on zoho sites. When I go to the "pages" link to view and edit pages, They are not in any kind of order, so I spend lots of time searching for pages when I need to edit or create new. How can I change the view order of all my pages
                                                                                                              • Next Page