Chapter 27: Creating and Using Worksheet Outlines
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entering data from scratch, the most flexible approach is to enter it in a normalized table
format and create a PivotTable.
We discuss PivotTables (and normalized data) in Chapter 29, “Introducing PivotTables,” and Chapter
30, “Analyzing Data with PivotTables.”Creating an Outline
This section describes the two ways to create an outline: automatically and manually.
Before you create an outline, you need to ensure that data is appropriate for an outline and
that the formulas are set up properly.
Preparing the data
What type of data is appropriate for an outline? Generally, the data should be arranged in a
hierarchy, such as a budget that consists of an arrangement similar to the following:
Company
Division
Department
Budget Category
Budget ItemIn this case, each budget item (for example, airfare and hotel expenses) is part of a bud-
get category (for example, travel expenses). Each department has its own budget, and the
departments are rolled up into divisions. The divisions make up the company. This type of
arrangement is well suited for a row outline.
The data arrangement suitable for an outline is essentially a summary table of your data.
In some situations, your data will be “normalized” data—one data point per row. You can
easily create a PivotTable to summarize such data; a PivotTable is much more flexible than
an outline.
See Chapter 29, “Introducing PivotTables,” and Chapter 30, “Analyzing Data with PivotTables,” for more
information about PivotTables.After you create such an outline, you can view the information at any level of detail that
you want by clicking the outline controls. When you need to create reports for different
levels of management, consider using an outline. For example, upper management may
want to see only the division totals, division managers may want to see totals by depart-
ment, and department managers will want to see the full details for their departments.
Keep in mind that using an outline isn’t a security feature. The data that’s hidden when an
outline is collapsed can easily be revealed when the outline is expanded.