How To Change a Pivot Table
A pivot table is one of the most innovative features in Microsoft Excel. The tool allows you to construct a new spreadsheet grid from existing data that re-arranges the information to provide many different forms of analysis. Most spreadsheets consist of many rows of similar data. A pivot table condenses these into several groups and then compares the groups using any of the summary functions available. For example, a sheet may contain a list of people and their birthdays. The pivot table could be used to quickly identify which month has the most birthdays in the list. More complicated scenarios can also be designed. Once a pivot table is created, it is easy to redesign the interface to focus on a different style of grouping. While this is not obvious at first, the process can be accomplished in just a few clicks.
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Instructions
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Open Microsoft Excel and load the pivot table file you have created.
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Click on the pivot table worksheet. This is a separate worksheet from the original source data. The worksheets may be switched by clicking the tabs at the bottom of the Excel window.
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Display the pivot table toolbar if it is not already displayed. Usually clicking once anywhere inside the pivot table will display this toolbar. If not, click the "View" menu and the "Toolbars" submenu. Select the "Pivot Table" option.
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Verify that the field list is floating in a separate window over the pivot table worksheet. It will clearly say "Pivot Table Field List" at the top of this window. If it is not displayed, click the right-most button on the pivot table toolbar. The field list shows all the available variables that the pivot table can use when grouping its information. The list is taken directly from the names of the columns in the original worksheet.
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Click any cell on the pivot table that is shaded in a beige color. These differ from the actual pivot table data that contains the standard white background. The shaded cells represent the chosen variables used to create the pivot table. Drag one or more of these cells onto the field list window and release the mouse. Those fields are quickly removed from the pivot table.
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Drag any other field from the field list window and place it on top of the pivot table. The table immediately updates using the new variable to create the groups.
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Double-click the first cell in the upper left corner of the pivot table. This cell usually says "Sum Of" by default. A new window will appear once you double-click it.
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Choose any other function in the pop-up window. The pivot table can analyze the groups based on a variety of factors. The "Sum" calculation is the most popular, however it can also average, count or find statistical deviations of the data. A pivot table counting up the number of people with birthdays in each month could instead provide the average age of all people in each month. Choose a function and press the "OK" button.
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Re-arrange the pivot tables fields and function in this manner until you arrive at a table that meets your needs. Manipulating these components of the pivot table take just seconds and it is possible change the pivot table many times before arriving at an innovate way of displaying your data.
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