Alta lets you overlay two extra lines on a metric series in any chart: a Forecast that projects where the number is heading based on its historical trend, and a Goal line that shows the target you're tracking against. Both are turned on per series, right inside the chart editor — no separate report needed.
Who this is for
Anyone building or editing a metric, chart, or dashboard widget in Alta who wants a time-based chart to show not just past performance, but where it's trending and whether it's on pace to hit a target.
Before you start
You need a time-based chart (for example a trend or line chart built on a date field). The forecast and goal controls appear on measure series in time-based visualizations.
To overlay a Goal line, you first need a goal defined for that metric. If you don't have one yet, you can create it on the spot (see step 4) or follow How to Create and Track Goals & KPIs in Alta. The Forecast line needs no goal — it works on any metric series.
Add a forecast or goal line
Open the chart in the explorer, or edit the widget you want to change.
In the editor, find your metric under Measures.
Hover over that measure. A small goal/forecast icon appears next to it. Click it to open the settings popover. (Once a forecast or goal is set, the icon stays highlighted so you can tell at a glance the series has an overlay.)
Set what you want to show:
Forecast — toggle this on to project the series into the future based on its historical trend. It's on by default when you open the popover.
Goal — if the metric already has a goal, you'll see a Goal label field (pre-filled, e.g. "Revenue Goal") that you can rename, a color picker for the goal line, and a View goal link that opens the goal in a new tab. If the metric has no goal yet, you'll instead see: "You don't have a goal for this metric, to create one click here" — the link opens the new-goal screen in a new tab.
Click Apply to add the overlay to the chart, or Cancel to discard your changes.
Save the chart or dashboard as you normally would so the overlay sticks.
Remove a forecast or goal line
Open the same popover from the goal/forecast icon and click Remove. This clears both the goal overlay and the forecast from that series in one step. (The Remove button is greyed out if the series has neither a goal nor a forecast set.)
Tips and common pitfalls
The controls are per series, not per chart. If a chart plots several measures, set the forecast or goal on each measure individually — hover the specific measure to get its own goal/forecast icon.
No icon on hover? The control only shows on time-based measure series. If you're on a non-time chart (or a non-measure field), switch to a trend/line chart over a date field and try again.
Apply commits, Cancel discards. Toggling Forecast or editing the goal label doesn't take effect until you click Apply. Closing the popover by clicking away also saves your current selection, so use Cancel if you changed your mind.
The goal line reflects the live goal. Renaming or recoloring the goal here only changes how it appears on this chart. To change the actual target value or time frame, open the goal itself with View goal (or manage it from Goals & KPIs).
Treat the forecast as a projection, not a promise. It extrapolates from the series' historical trend — the more clean history the metric has, the more useful the projection. Pair it with the goal line to see at a glance whether you're trending toward or away from target.
Related