The confidence interval is the range surrounding each predicted value, in which 95% of future points are expected to fall, based on the forecast (with normal distribution). If your data is seasonal, then starting a forecast before the last historical point is recommended.Ĭheck or uncheck Confidence Interval to show or hide it. Using all of your historical data gives you a more accurate prediction. However, if you start the forecast too early, the forecast generated won't necessarily represent the forecast you'll get using all the historical data. Starting your forecast before the last historical point gives you a sense of the prediction accuracy as you can compare the forecasted series to the actual data. When you pick a date before the end of the historical data, only data prior to the start date are used in the prediction (this is sometimes referred to as 'hindcasting'). You'll find information about each of the options in the following table. If you want to change any advanced settings for your forecast, click Options.

You'll find the new worksheet just to the left ('in front of') the sheet where you entered the data series. In the Forecast End box, pick an end date, and then click Create.Įxcel creates a new worksheet that contains both a table of the historical and predicted values and a chart that expresses this data. In the Create Forecast Worksheet box, pick either a line chart or a column chart for the visual representation of the forecast.

On the Data tab, in the Forecast group, click Forecast Sheet.

Tip: If you select a cell in one of your series, Excel automatically selects the rest of the data.

How to use data analysis tool in excel