Excel 2019 Bible

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C H A P T E R

29

Introducing PivotTables

IN THIS CHAPTER

Understanding PivotTables

Identifying types of data appropriate for a PivotTable

Getting clear on PivotTable terminology

Creating PivotTables

Looking at PivotTable examples that answer specific questions about data

T

he PivotTable feature is perhaps the most technologically sophisticated component in Excel.

With only a few mouse clicks, you can slice and dice data in dozens of different ways and pro-

duce just about any type of summary you can imagine.

If you haven’t yet discovered the power of PivotTables, this chapter provides an introduction, and

Chapter 30, “Analyzing Data with PivotTables,” continues with many examples that demonstrate

how easy it is to create powerful data summaries using PivotTables.

About PivotTables

A PivotTable is essentially a dynamic summary report generated from a database. The database

can reside in a worksheet (in the form of a table) or in an external data file. A PivotTable can help

transform endless rows and columns of numbers into a meaningful presentation of the data—and

do it so quickly you’ll be amazed.

Perhaps the most powerful aspect of a PivotTable is its interactivity. After you create a PivotTable,

you can rearrange the information in almost any way imaginable and even insert special formulas

that perform new calculations. You even can create post hoc groupings of summary items (for exam-

ple, combine Northern Region totals with Western Region totals). With a few mouse clicks, you can

apply formatting to a PivotTable to convert it into an report, albeit with a few limitations.

One minor drawback to using a PivotTable is that, unlike a formula-based summary report, a

PivotTable does not update automatically when you change information in the source data. This

drawback doesn’t pose a serious problem, however, because a single click of the Refresh button

forces a PivotTable to update itself with the latest data.

Excel® 2019 Bible, First Edition. Michael Alexander, Dick Kusleika and John Walkenbach.
© 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2019 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.