Excel 2010 Bible

Chapter 34: Introducing Pivot Tables

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Creating a Pivot Table

In this section, I describe the basic steps required to create a pivot table, using the bank account

data described earlier in this chapter. Creating a pivot table is an interactive process. It’s not at all

uncommon to experiment with various layouts until you find one that you’re satisfied with.

If you’re unfamiliar with the elements of a pivot table, see the upcoming sidebar, “Pivot Table

Terminology.”

Specifying the data

If your data is in a worksheet range, select any cell in that range and then choose Insert ➪

Tables ➪ PivotTable, which displays the dialog box shown in Figure 34.7.

Excel attempts to guess the range, based on the location of the active cell. If you’re creating a pivot

table from an external data source, you need to select that option and then click Choose

Connection to specify the data source.

Tip
If you’re creating a pivot table from data in a worksheet, it’s a good idea to first create a table for the range
(choose Insert ➪ Tables ➪ Table). Then, if you expand the table by adding new rows of data, Excel will refresh
the pivot table without the need to manually indicate the new data range. n

FIGURE 34.7

In the Create PivotTable dialog box, you tell Excel where the data is and where you want the pivot table.

Specifying the location for the pivot table

Use the bottom section of the Create PivotTable dialog box to indicate the location for your pivot

table. The default location is on a new worksheet, but you can specify any range on any worksheet,

including the worksheet that contains the data.