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Step by Step Guide: Excel Pivot Tables

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179 views

Step by Step Guide: Excel Pivot Tables

Medical

Uploaded by

Cao Minh Trí
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Excel Pivot Tables

Step by Step Guide

CONQUER THE FEAR OF EXCEL

www.learnexcelnow.com

EXCEL PIVOT TABLES


Step by Step Guide
CONQUER THE FEAR OF EXCEL

Excel Pivot Tables


Step by Step Guide
Table of Contents
Intro
Set Up/Build a Pivot Table
Manipulate the Date
Report on the Data

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Page 5
Page 7
Page 9

Microsoft Office Excel is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All rights reserved.

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EXCEL PIVOT TABLES


Step by Step Guide
CONQUER THE FEAR OF EXCEL

Lets start with a story.

ack Smith found his perfect job. As the sales manager for a boutique
marketing firm, he had everything he wanted: good salary, easy commute,
and a company culture he could get behind.

This is part of the reason he was so stressed out after his first review. The Director
of his department wasnt satisfied with his sales reports. She complained
that that data was too unreadable and raw.
She said she expected the reports to be in a Pivot Table from now on. He didnt
know how to create Pivot Tables.
The night after the review he felt frustrated with the job. His confidence waned
and be began to dread going into the office the next day.
But with the fresh start of morning he became more optimistic about the job.
Before falling asleep the night before, Zack decided was going to wake up and
conquer Pivot Tables.
The next time he submitted his reports, he was going to show what he learned

PAGE 3

EXCEL PIVOT TABLES


Step by Step Guide
CONQUER THE FEAR OF EXCEL

Pivot Tables are used to summarize data in a visual way, so people know
what is going on with their numbers. Its a good way to organize large lists
of data, so you can understand the data better and produces reports
about it. They save you time and energy and ensure accuracy
with automatic calculations. Follow these steps as it takes you from
beginning to end of the Pivot Table process.

PAGE 4

EXCEL PIVOT TABLES


Step by Step Guide
CONQUER THE FEAR OF EXCEL

Set Up/Build a Pivot Table


First you will need to organize your data: you cant have any blank rows
or columns, the columns and rows need to be labeled with unique names,
and automatic subtotals and filters need to be removed. Once your data is
organized, you can create your Pivot Table. As you enter data in Excel, the
data appears in the cell and in the formula bar at the top of the worksheet.
To do this:
Highlight the data that you want included, then Type and enter
to move down, cell to cell, across rows.
Go to the Insert tab and in the Tables Command Group click
on Pivot Table.
A dialogue box will appear and you can verify that you selected
the appropriate data.
You will be moved to the new sheet tab where the Pivot Table will be
on the left and the Field List will be on the right.
If the field is a text or date field, its usually placed in the Row Labels
or Column Labels areas.
If the field is numeric data, its usually place in the Values area.
The Column Labels will display as a column across the page and the
Row Labels will display as rows down the page.
The Report Filter acts as a filter for the whole Pivot Table and is
displayed in the top two left columns.
The Report Filter acts as a filter for the whole Pivot Table and is
displayed in the top two left columns.
The Values will be calculated automatically as a summation for numeric
values, but for text values, it will automatically be summarized
with a count calculation.
PAGE 5

EXCEL PIVOT TABLES


Step by Step Guide
CONQUER THE FEAR OF EXCEL

To view your data in different ways, move the fields among the 4 areas
in the Field List and the table will change automatically.
You do not have to have a field in each area.
Also, changing the data source doesnt automatically update the Pivot
Table. To refresh the Pivot Table use Alt + F5 (refreshes a single Pivot
Table) or Alt + Ctrl +F5 (refreshes all Pivot Tables in a workbook).

PAGE 6

EXCEL PIVOT TABLES


Step by Step Guide
CONQUER THE FEAR OF EXCEL

Manipulate the Date


With Pivot Tables, readability is key, so you want to make your data look good.
Once you have the Pivot Table structure in place, you can manipulate the data
by formatting, sorting, and filtering it. If you want to show less data in the
Pivot Table, you can drag a field out of the area section or uncheck it.
You can add or remove them as you want.
To format your Pivot Table, right-click on any number and select Format
Cells and then select the Number tab on the left. From there you can
set the commas or decimals to make the Pivot Table easier to read.
The format you choose will be applied to all the numbers on the Pivot Table.
Sorting data in the Pivot Table can make it easier to understand. Go to the
Options tab, then click on the Sort button. For numeric values,
you can sort from largest to smallest or smallest to largest; for text values
you can sort alphabetically; and for dates you can sort from oldest to newest
or newest to oldest. But, make sure to always double check sorted data
to ensure that the information is moving with its source.

PAGE 7

EXCEL PIVOT TABLES


Step by Step Guide
CONQUER THE FEAR OF EXCEL

When you use the filter, you can view specific data. By narrowing down the
visible data, its easier for the reader to focus on the important data that
you want them to focus on. To use a filter on a row or column, click on the
drop-down arrow next to the Row or Column Labels cell, from there youll be
able to uncheck the boxes of the data that you dont want shown on the Pivot
Table. To use the value filter, click on the drop-down arrow next to the Value
cell, go down to Value Filters and youll be able to filter by greater/less
than a certain value, top 10, equal, etc.

PAGE 8

EXCEL PIVOT TABLES


Step by Step Guide
CONQUER THE FEAR OF EXCEL

Report on the Data


When reporting data, there are a few options you can choose from including
drill down, automatic reports, duplicating Pivot Tables, and Pivot Table web.
Sometimes, it might be helpful to drill down into the Pivot Table to show
the numbers that make up the summary numbers. To do this, double click
on the value that you want to drill down on. Excel will put a duplicate of the
source data that was used to create that value on a new worksheet. Another
way to do this is to right click on the value and select Show Details. If you
want to see the details behind the whole Pivot Table, double-click on the
Grand Total and the data source will be duplicated on a new worksheet.
With automatic reports, a formatted Pivot Table is created on a separate
sheet tab for each category of data in the Report Filter area. To do this, click
on the Options tab, then in the Pivot Table Command Group, click on the
Options drop-down arrow, and click on Show Report Filter Pages. This will
create multiple reports automatically.
For reporting, duplicate Pivot Tables can be used to display the data
in a combination of different ways. When you copy and paste a Pivot Table,
the duplicate holds a copy of the source data, so it can be used to create
different views of the data. There are several ways to do this, first highlight
the Pivot Table, then right-click and select Copy or type Ctrl + C
and the data will be copied. To paste, go to a new worksheet, click on a cell,
then right-click and select Paste or Ctrl + P. To produce a static copy
of the Pivot Table (one that doesnt hold the source data), when pasting, rightclick and select Paste Special and choose Values Only.
To share your Pivot Table as a web page, go to File, then select Save As.
In the dialog box, under Save as type select Web Page and click Publish.

PAGE 9

EXCEL PIVOT TABLES


Step by Step Guide
CONQUER THE FEAR OF EXCEL

Another way to customize your report is with report layouts. To do this,


go to the Design tab and from the Layout Command Group select Report
Layout. From the drop-down menu, you can choose from the following
options: Compact Form (reduces space), Outline Form (indents), and Tabular
Form (spreadsheet-like).

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We here at Learn Excel Now hope you


found this Pivot Table step-by-step
guide useful.
If you would like additional information
on Excel, please visit us at:
LEARNEXCELNOW.COM

EXCEL PIVOT TABLES


Step by Step Guide

CONQUER THE FEAR OF EXCEL

Looking for more training


for new users?
Click here to check out our
Excel Foundations program

Have questions or want more information?


Please email us at: [email protected]
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