# FORECAST.LINEAR Function

The FORECAST.LINEAR function is one of the statistical functions. It is used to calculate, or predict, a future value by using existing values; the predicted value is a y-value for a given x-value. The known values are existing x-values and y-values, and the new value is predicted by using linear regression.

The FORECAST.LINEAR function syntax is:

FORECAST.LINEAR(x, known_y's, known_x's)

where

x is an x-value for which you want to predict a new y-value, a numeric value entered manually or included into the cell you make reference to.

known_y's is an array of known y-values.

known_x's is an array of known x-values.

To apply the FORECAST.LINEAR function,

1. select the cell where you wish to display the result,
2. click the Insert function icon situated at the top toolbar,
   or right-click within a selected cell and select the Insert Function option from the menu,
   or click the icon situated at the formula bar,
3. select the Statistical function group from the list,
4. click the FORECAST.LINEAR function,
5. enter the required arguments separating them by commas,
6. press the Enter button.

The result will be displayed in the selected cell.