Microsoft Excel 2008

Working with PivotTables

When your Excel data range accumulates large amounts of mixed data, you need a way to identify the key trends and anomalies that exist deep within the data. For this, Excel 2008 offers the PivotTable report, a powerful tool designed to perform this very task. A PivotTable report provides a dynamic summary of an existing table or data range that can be quickly expanded, collapsed, and rearranged to give you several different perspectives on your data.

NOTE: This document provides a brief overview of creating a PivotTable from existing data and using the PivotTable Field List to create different views of the data. There are many advanced features related to PivotTables (e.g., PivotCharts and the PivotTable Options and Design tabs) which are beyond the scope of this document.

Notes on Working with PivotTables
Creating a PivotTable
Creating a PivotTable Report
The PivotTable Field List Illustrated
PivotTable Tools

Notes on Working with PivotTables

PivotTables need first row column labels to determine how your data should be grouped
PivotTables are most helpful for analyzing complex tables and data ranges (e.g., those with three or more columns, with at least one column containing multiple data types)
Each column in your data source becomes a PivotTable field, which summarizes its corresponding rows
The initial PivotTable report is an empty shell; with this shell in place, you can add, remove, rearrange, and modify data using the PivotTable Field List or tools found in the Options and Design command tabs
As you make changes in a PivotTable report, your data source remains untouched and completely secure
The PivotTable toolbar appears only when a PivotTable is active
Before creating a PivotTable, be sure to disable any existing subtotals in your data source; PivotTables generate their own totals and subtotals.

Creating a PivotTable

Creating a PivotTable report from an existing data range is easy. For more information on Tables, refer to Database Basics .

Select a cell within the data range for which you are creating a PivotTable
From the Data menu, select PivotTable Report...
The PivotTable Wizard appears.
Select Microsoft Excel list or database
Click NEXT
The PivotTable Wizard - Step 2 of 3 dialog box appears.
In the Range text box, verify that your data range is indicated
OR
In the Range text box, type the cell range that represents your data range
OR
To select the data range,
1. Click SELECT...
  The Choose a Workbook dialog box appears.
2. Navigate to and select the workbook
3. Click OK
Click NEXT >
The PivotTable Wizard - Step 3 of 3 dialog box appears.
In the Where do you want to put the PivotTable section, select the desired option
Click FINISH
An empty PivotTable appears in the specified location.
The PivotTable toolbar appears.

The PivotTable toolbar displays the available fields.

The empty PivotTable has four categories for fields.

Creating a PivotTable Report

The PivotTable toolbar lets you select which fields appear in your PivotTable report, and also where and how they are displayed. You can easily display or hide fields, and change how field data are viewed, sorted, or filtered.

When you select a field in the PivotTable toolbar, Excel allows you to assign it to one of the four categories: Page Fields, Column Fields, Data Items, or Row Fields. If for example, a field contains numerical data, you likely will add it to the Data Items category; if you want to analyze Class and Semester, you will probably display them in either the Row Fields or Column Fields category. However, the strength (and the purpose) of PivotTables lies in the ease with which you can maneuver fields between these various categories.

From the PivotTable toolbar, click and drag a field to the desired category on the empty PivotTable report
Repeat step 1 for all desired fields

Customizing a PivotTable Report

By moving fields among different Field List categories, the corresponding PivotTable report changes accordingly. For a visual example, refer to The PivotTable Field List Illustrated.

In the PivotTable report, position the mouse over a field
The pointer becomes an inflated plus sign.
Click and drag the field into a different category of the PivotTable report
Release the mouse button
The field is added to the new category of the PivotTable report.
The PivotTable report changes accordingly.
NOTES:
Fig. 3 in The PivotTable Field List Illustrated will record these changes as you are creating your PivotTable. The changes vary for each PivotTable.
If a PivotTable category contains multiple fields, the lower fields are displayed in the PivotTable report as cascading sub-entries of the top field.

The PivotTable Field List Illustrated

The graphics below illustrate how fields selected in a PivotTable Field List are displayed in the PivotTable report.

The original data source is shown in fig. 1; the PivotTable toolbar is shown in fig. 2.
To understand the relationship between a data source, the PivotTable toolbar, and the PivotTable empty report, scan from fig. 1 to fig. 4.
Notice that the Semester field subdivides Class in the report.

PivotTable illustrated

PivotTable Tools

Once a PivotTable report has been created, the Options and Design tabs appear on the Ribbon, under the PivotTable Tools heading. From these tabs you can sort, filter, format, and move your PivotTable report.

NOTE: For the PivotTable Tools (i.e., the Options and Design tabs) to be visible, the PivotTable report must be active (i.e., selected).