

So what else can we do with our Pivot Table? Well, now that we sorted the data it might be a good idea to change our table appearance. A brand new sheet will open containing all the data that forms the specific value. Tip 3 : If you want to know what data makes up a certain value, you just need to double-click on the desired value cell. Right click on it and go Sort>Sort Smallest to Largest or the other way round.Select one sum value within the Pivot Table.If you’re working with a huge spreadsheet, it won’t be this straightforward. Now, for our example, we went with a small sample and we can clearly see that Joe is the top performing salesman, while Ralph has the lowest scores. Tip 2 : To show sale values as a % of the total sales instead of amount just right click on a sum value within the Pivot Table and set Show Values As>% of Grand Total. For instance, to show the product quantity that each salesman sold, drag the Quantity field to the Value area. Tip 1 : Depending on which field is placed in which area, different outcomes will be obtained. Total Sales field goes into Values area.Salesman field goes into Column Labels area.Product field goes into Row Labels area.To accomplish this, we need to add corresponding fields to the appropriate layout areas: We need to add and rearrange the spreadsheet data in order to find the salesmen that got the highest sales numbers. How do we find this out? Rearranging Data “ Who is our top performing sales representative?” For our example, let’s say that our manager asked us this question: Pivot Tables are ideal when you need to answer a specific question. Note : We’ve prepared a spreadsheet example (see image) that contains raw, unsorted sales data from a fictional company. Values – the most important area that shows the data you are analyzing (mostly numerical values).Rows – used to apply a filter to one or more rows in the table.Columns – used to apply a filter to one or more columns in the table.Filters – used to apply a filter to an entire table and further refine the results.On the other hand, the Pivot Table Layout is determined by four area options: Every Excel Pivot Table has a specific design layout and fields.įields are located in the field list, they’re basically all the column headers presented in the table (non-numerical values).
Pivot tables in excel how to#
Pivot Table Designįirst thing’s first – before we start explaining how to make the most out of Pivot Tables let’s take a moment to get to know their structure.

Now we’ll show you how to exploit the basic features of Excel Pivot Tables and how to customize them in order to compile meaningful reports. We’ve already shown you how to create Excel Pivot Tables. In order to perform complex Excel data analysis, you’ll have to master various Pivot Table functionalities. If you’re more comfortable with web-based applications and prefer to perform your data analysis online, make sure to check out our guide on how to work with Pivot Tables in Google Sheets. The best part – no need for complicated formulas.īesides MS Excel, Pivot Tables can be created in many other spreadsheet applications like LibreOffice and Google Docs. Everything is done by simple drag and drop maneuvers. Although most people think of them as complicated and time-consuming, they’re actually quite user-friendly. Often overlooked, Pivot Tables are a powerful tool used to help you recognize patterns in spreadsheet data and extract their significance in the form of a summarized table. How do you work around that? The most effective way is to use Excel Pivot Tables – a summarizing tool that can greatly simplify the process of refining your data and display results in a succinct and clear way. If your daily job requires you to analyze and summarize key business metrics from huge data sets, information overload is inevitable. Such tables can have millions of data cells, finding any significant meaning in them can be a Sisyphean task. Typical MS Excel spreadsheet data appears in form of a table which consists of multiple columns and rows.
