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.



    • Recent Topics

    • Convert Sales order to Delivery Challan

      Dear Developer Team, In Zoho books we cannot convert sales order into delivery challan before making invoices. As a service business we have to get the delivery note signed then only we can make the invoice. In Some cases we don't receive a purchase order

    • What's New in Zoho Inventory | September 2026

      Hello users, September brings a range of new features and enhancements across Zoho Inventory. From improved inventory operations and reporting capabilities to greater customization, automation, and enhancements to Delivery Challans, there’s plenty to

    • Mirror Component in Zoho CRM: Access real-time related data without leaving your record

      Hi everyone, This feature is now available for the JP, CA, SA, UAE, and AU DCs. We're excited to bring to you Zoho CRM's mirror component, which presents relevant data on a record's details page and keeps everything users need in one place without having

    • All new Address Field in Zoho CRM: maintain structured and accurate address inputs

      Availability Update: 29 September 2025: It's currently available for all new sign-ups and for existing Zoho CRM orgs which are in the Professional edition exclusively for IN DC users. 2 March 2026: Available to users in all DCs except US and EU DC. 24

    • Create custom rollup summary fields in Zoho CRM

      Hello everyone, In Zoho CRM, rollup summary fields have been essential tools for summarizing data across related records and enabling users to gain quick insights without having to jump across modules. Previously, only predefined summary functions were

    • How to mix different types of inputs (such as dropdown list and textbox)

      Hi, I'm creating a form called "Room Reservations" for a company. I created a "table" using "Matrix Choice". I created "Room 1", "Room 2" and "Room 3" with the "Questions". I would then like to create two columns with the "Answers", one called "Department"

    • Feature Request: Render Markdown (.md) files in Zoho Cliq

      Hi, We regularly share Markdown (.md) files in Zoho Cliq. However, when we open these files in Cliq, the content does not render as Markdown—it displays as plain text. This forces us to copy/paste the content into an external Markdown viewer to read it

    • Dealing With One-Time Customers on Zoho Books

      Hello there! I am trying to figure out a way to handle One-Time customers without having to create multiple accounts for every single one on Zoho Books. I understand that I can create a placeholder account called "Walk-In Customer", for example, but I

    • Cash Basis VAT RETURN REPORT Required in Saudi Arabia

      Zoho Books in Saudi Arabia not showing TAX RETURNS report on CASH Basis.. It only showing accrual basis. Oforur requirement is both reports (Cash Basis and Accrual Basis ) , same like indian Edition of Zoho Books showing. CASH BASIS RETURN is our Basic

    • Tips & Tricks Series - #4 Customize your manual PDF before export

      Hello everyone! We’re back again with our Tips & Tricks series. Today, we’ll look at how you can customize your manual PDF before exporting it. With Zoho Learn, you can personalize the exported PDF with options such as headers, footers, colors, and custom

    • Digital Marketing Agency: Transforming Your Brand's Online Presence

      Imagine trying to build a house on your own without the necessary tools or expertise—it’s overwhelming, right? Digital marketing is the same.

    • Introducing Zoho Key Service, a simpler way to access LLMs without API keys

      Available in the Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions in the US, IN, AU, JP, and CA DCs. Hello everyone, We are excited to bring Zoho Key Service (ZKS) in Zoho CRM, a simpler way for organizations to access and use third party LLMs. You can

    • Reach us through our official support channels

      Dear Customers, Thanks a lot for choosing Zoho! Our applications are built to help achieve your day-to-day business goals. We are committed to engaging with you, to understand and develop solutions that enhance your productivity. We are happy and ready

    • I cannot add user to my account

      I have an account, I deleted a user from the account and I have one unused licence which lasts for 23 days, I tried adding a new user and it said This user is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details, please

    • Domain Activation Issue

      I purchased a domain through Zoho, and as I understand it, you were supposed to send me a domain activation link. However, I never received it. As a result, I was unable to activate the domain, and it is now suspended. Because of this, I am not receiving

    • Grouping by Stage *type* in widgets

      Hi Can I ask for a new feature? I'd like to be able to group by stage type in a Deal widget. That is by whether the Deal is in an Open Stage, a Closed Won Stage, or a Lost stage. Currently I can group by Stage, but if we have 10 open stages and one Closed

    • Please release domain bravovietnam.com from an old account

      Hello Zoho Support, I am trying to set up Zoho Mail with my domain bravovietnam.com on my account office@bravovietnam.com. Every time I add the domain, I get: "This domain is already associated with this account" — pointing to a DIFFERENT, older account

    • ChatGPT Plugin / MCP Server auth error

      Hi all I'm trying to connect the ChatGPT plugin for Zoho CRM but after username stage of the auth process, I get this error from the URL https://mcp.zoho.eu/mcp-client/ {"error_description":"Invalid request url, Request is not as per defined in oauth

    • Need Multiple currency for Suppliers and Buyers

      Hello, We need multiple currency support for buyer and suppliers, We are doing international business and we often sell goods in foreign currency as well as local currency, However zoho does not support this, I am trying Free agent and xero they support all currencies for suppliers Bills & expenses as well as buyers invoices, Kindly work on this feature will be great help to decide using zoho books Thank you

    • Enhanced Zoho CRM and Office 365 calendar synchronization features!

      Dear customers, We're excited to share some significant improvements to our Office 365 calendar synchronization features, aimed at providing you with more control and a more personalized experience. What’s new Choose your Office 365 calendar: During the

    • Zoho Books Support

      Dear Team, Zoho Books offers a demo before you purchase zoho books. But after that when he actually purchases the product he has to rely on toll free number or help documents. But this might get frustrated in the initial period. Specially in initial period.

    • How to add a fee based on payment method

      I currently accept both ACH payments and credit card. I want to add a 3% fee to a number of my subscription plans if the customer chooses to use a credit card (and not ACH/checking). How do I do this? Is there an in-built feature, or would i have to create

    • What's New in Zoho Invoice | July – September 2026

      Hello everyone! We're back with the latest updates and enhancements we've rolled out in Zoho Invoice from July to September 2026. Here's what's new this quarter: Zoho Invoice is Now Available in Nigeria Introducing the Super Admin Privilege E-Invoicing

    • Address limits per customer by edition

      I’m on the Standard edition and have reached a limit of 30 addresses under a single customer. Before I move to an annual Professional subscription, I need to confirm the following: What is the maximum number of addresses allowed under one contact, and

    • Export from List view

      I'm constantly having the issue where my users are building lists in ListView for various objects and then realising they cant export the data, then they have to go and build the data set in reports to export. I would like to see the ability to export to excel/csv from ListView.

    • Cannot apply tags to multiple items at once

      It is very frustrating needing to apply tags to notes individually. Even worse that it takes multiple clicks to do it. Can there please be an update to: 1.) Allow us to apply tags to batches of notes in one go. 2.) Make it less clicks to add a tag 3.)

    • Get all hiring updates via Zoho Cliq bot notifications

      We’re introducing a new way to stay updated on recruitment activities: Cliq Bot notifications. Now you can receive Zoho Recruit notifications directly in Zoho Cliq—alongside your existing in-app alerts and emails. Whether it’s a candidate status change,

    • Notes Acknowledgement

      It would be great to have emojis that can be used for Notes. Emojis such as Thumbs Up to let someone know you agree with them or a emoji for thanks. It's a simple way to acknowledge that you read someone's note. Moderation update: Emoji reactions for

    • Is it possible to log text messages from iphone into Zoho CRM

      My team is more and more utilizing text messaging to communicate with clients. Does Zoho have a solution for logging these text messages when clicking "Send Text Message" from the Zoho app. Much like when you call, you get prompted to log a call, can

    • Project Finances: Fully Accessible within Projects

      Project finances and work items are now on the same screen and it transforms the way you run your project. Managing your project finances is now much easier and in the same screen as your work items. Access quotes, invoices, bills, sales orders, and purchase

    • UI / UX Improvements

      Please consider changing the Dependency Details window from a column-based layout to a list-based layout, or allowing users to choose their preferred layout. The current column-based view uses screen space inefficiently and makes navigation difficult,

    • Zoho CRM and Desk sandboxes for testing native integration

      Hello team, We are evaluating the native integration between Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk, We have sandbox instances of both products and want to test the integration there, without any effect on our production CRM or production Desk data. While setting up

    • Function #24: Automatically display deal name from Zoho CRM on quotes in Zoho Books

      Deals allow businesses to organize and visualize their sales pipeline. This provides a clear overview of all potential opportunities and helps in making informed decisions. Zoho CRM empowers you to create deals or potentials for your clients and monitor

    • Auto-Sync Field of Lookup Values When Parent Record Changes

      Hi Zoho Team, Currently, when you use a "Field of Lookup" in Zoho CRM, the value is captured as a snapshot at the time the lookup is set. If the parent record is later updated, the Field of Lookup value on the child record does NOT update and stays stale.

    • Multiple criteria in searchRecords

      Hi, is it possible to search with multiple criteria in zoho.crm.searchRecords? I have tried several variations of the following without much success. CustomerRecord = zoho.crm.searchRecords("Contacts", "(First Name|=| lee)" && "(Last Name|=| spencer)"); Thanks. Chris

    • [Request] Pivot filter date option : from set date to relative value ie from 01Jan to LastMonth

      I don't think I can currently do this... but it's worth asking if it's possible. My use case is concerning annual leave which is calculated from the beginning of the calendar year (01Jan) then each month I want to have details of leave taken etc... In

    • Customer Statement Showing Incorrect Negative Balance Due to Unused Advance

      Dear Zoho Support Team, We are facing an issue with the Customer Statement in Zoho Invoice related to customer advances/mobilization advances. The issue is that when a customer has made an advance payment that has not yet been fully utilized against invoices,

    • Mois de la sensibilisation à la cybersécurité 2026 : faites de la sécurité un réflexe avec Zoho

      Imaginez : vos systèmes informatiques répondent aux normes de sécurité en vigueur et votre entreprise est assurée contre les cyberattaques. Pourtant, un matin, tout bascule. Vos données sont chiffrées et un message glaçant s’affiche à l’écran : « Si vous

    • Specifying time increments on a Date/Time field

      Hi all, Im using a Date/Time field in my CRM module. At the moment the increments are 30 minutes. How can I change these to be 15 minutes? Thanks

    • What's new in Zoho Workplace | August 2026

      Hello Zoho Workplace community! Here's a roundup of all the new features and announcements that went live across Zoho Workplace applications in August. Zoho Mail Zoho Mail is now available in AWS Marketplace! AWS Marketplace users can access and subscribe

    • Next Page