How to Master Excel 2007 Pivot Tables
One of the most powerful ways to summarize and organize Excel 2007 data is through pivot tables. Master Excel 2007 pivot tables and you’ll be able to provide an immediate summary of hundreds or even thousands of rows of data in a single, easy-to-understand table. The art of mastering Excel 2007 pivot tables is part practice and part understanding the purpose of each section of a pivot table.
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Instructions
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1
Open or create an Excel spreadsheet. The sheet needs to contain 20 or more rows of data plus column headings, which are required to create pivot tables.
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2
Select the data you want to include in your pivot table. Either highlight the data before creating the pivot table or select the data during the pivot table creation process (See Step 3.)
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3
Select the “Tables” group and choose “Insert.”
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4
Select “PivotTable” and select “PivotTable” again.
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5
Follow the prompts to create a pivot table. If you want to use data from an external source, choose “Use an external data source.”
The default is to use data from the existing spreadsheet. Type in the cell range you want to include (not needed if you highlighted data beforehand) and finish the pivot table wizard to create a pivot table along with a provided field list based upon the range you chose.
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6
Drag field names to the corresponding sections in the field list to organize the data you want summarized. The four main areas include Report Filter, Column Label, Row Label and Values.
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7
Check each field name you want added to the pivot table. If you did not drag a field name to an area name, right-click the field and choose the area you want to add it to.
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8
Practice adding fields to different areas of the pivot table to master the purpose of each area and how a pivot table is laid out.
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9
Go to the “View” menu in the pivot table field list to change how the pivot table field list is viewed.
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10
Change the way data are summarized by right-clicking a field heading or section in the pivot table and choosing “Field Options.” This includes changing various calculations such as average, count and sum.
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Tips & Warnings
Excel 2007 pivot tables can be fully customized to meet your needs. See the Microsoft Office’s Excel 2007 Pivot Table Basics link in the Resources section for more information.
If you want an Excel spreadsheet to practice with to help you master Excel 2007 pivot table tasks, see the first two links in the Resources section.
