Excel 2010 Bible

Part V: Analyzing Data with Excel

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

table does not update automatically when you change information in the source data. This draw-

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

pivot table to update itself with the latest data.

Pivot tables were introduced in Excel 97. Unfortunately, many users overlook this feature because

they think it’s too complicated. The pivot table feature was improved significantly in Excel 2007,

and you’ll find a few new twists in Excel 2010. Creating and working with pivot tables is easier

than ever.

A pivot table example

The best way to understand the concept of a pivot table is to see one. Start with Figure 34.1, which

shows a portion of the data used in creating the pivot table in this chapter.

FIGURE 34.1

This table is used to create a pivot table.

This table consists of a month’s worth of new account information for a three-branch bank. The

table contains 712 rows, and each row represents a new account. The table has the following

columns: