What is a Pivot Table?
A pivot table may be a table of statistics that summarizes the info of a more extensive table (such as from a database, spreadsheet, or business intelligence program). This summary might include sums, averages, or other statistics, which the pivot table groups together in a meaningful way.
Pivot tables are interactive tables that allow the user to group and summarize large amounts of knowledge during a concise, tabular format for easier reporting and analysis. Pivot tables are useful for data processing as they can sort, count, and total the stored data and display it in a clear format.
The goal of a pivot table in excel is to summarize large amounts of data into an easy-to-understand report without requiring formulas or cell references. Pivot tables are often used to group data by categories such as date ranges or product names.
Where to find Pivot Tables in Excel?
The Pivot Table in Excel is used to make custom reports from your spreadsheet databases. You can use it to “pivot” or rotate data and create a second table from the first.
The Pivot Table feature is not available on Google Sheets and is only available on Microsoft Excel for Mac/PC. How you find it on each platform depends on the version of Excel you are using:
Excel 365 (formerly Excel 2016): Click the Insert tab on the Ribbon, then click Recommended PivotTables.
Excel 2013: Click the Insert tab on the Ribbon, then click PivotTable in the Tables group.
Excel 2010: Click the Insert tab on the Ribbon, then click PivotTable in the Tables group.
Excel 2007: Click the Data tab on the Ribbon, then click PivotTable in the Tools group.
In later versions of Excel, you will be prompted to select where your data is located. After you do that, a new window will appear with a blank pivot table and a field list containing all of your columns from your original Excel sheet.
How to build a Pivot Table in Excel?
– Open the Excel workbook that contains the info
– Select the cells containing the data you want to build the Pivot Table from. Note: You do not have to select the entire table, only the cell range that contains your data.
– Click on Insert > Pivot Table and a Create PivotTable dialog box will appear.
– Ensure that your data range is correct in the Table/Range field and click OK.
– A new worksheet labeled PivotTable1 will open and your cursor will be located in an empty field called Choose fields to add to report at the top of your screen.
– Begin dragging fields from Field List over to different areas of your sheet, as needed.
Advantages of pivot tables in excel
Pivot tables in excel are excellent to summarize data. They help you in identifying trends, patterns, and correlations between data. Pivot tables are very useful for analyzing data. By using pivot tables, you can quickly analyze large amounts of data without having to create complex formulas or copy-and-paste values from source data.
Here are the advantages of using pivot tables in excel:
1)You can easily drag and drop items from the field list into any position within the pivot table, which is known as the Report Filter, Row Labels, Column Labels, or Values area. You can also rearrange the layout of your pivot table at any time by simply dragging and dropping fields in different areas.
2)You can easily change your summary calculations without having to create new formulas. For example, you may want to summarize your sales data by sum, count, or average.
3)Using a pivot table allows you to filter your data with ease by just clicking on the item you want to filter in the Report Filter section of the pivot table. You can also set up slicers to allow users to select a filter that is more intuitive than selecting an item from a drop-down list.
