using date/time values in linest

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Level 4

1,120 points

using date/time values in linest

I want to use linest with a time series. Specifying the y-values as date returns an error. Linest complains that it expected a number and got "8/1/20".

According to linest help page, it will work with y-values either a number or a date/time value.

I have checked and the y data is formatted as a date/time. I can successfully perform other calculations on these values using date functions such as duration.

What is needed to use date/time values in the y-values of linest?

Posted on Oct 24, 2020 1:14 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Badunit

Level 7

28,414 points

Oct 24, 2020 2:04 PM in response to Robert Broome

It does say that, and it does not seem to work. Being that dates are not answers to this kind of math equation, I was trying to figure out what the function result would be if it worked so I charted some dates (Y) vs numbers (X) and turned on a linear trendline. It looked like it created the parameters for an equation that would result in the number of seconds from Jan 1, 2001.

Given that the results would be kind of strange anyway, you might change your Y values into numbers, like number of days from a start date (use a column to subtract your dates from the start date), and use LINEST on that instead.

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Answer 2

Robert Broome Author

Level 4

1,120 points

Oct 24, 2020 2:11 PM in response to Badunit

Thanks for the confirmation. I also have concluded that converting the dates to numbers does work and gets my task done.

I would like to be able to use dates, so many data sets are time series, it would be convenient.

Does anyone know how to turn in a bug/documentation report? I have already replied through the help page.

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using date/time values in linest

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