Create pivot table in excel

A PivotTable is a powerful tool to calculate, summarize, and analyze data that lets you see comparisons, patterns, and trends in your data. PivotTables work a little bit differently depending on what platform you are using to run Excel.

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  1. Select the cells you want to create a PivotTable from.

    Note:  Your data should be organized in columns with a single header row. See the Data format tips and tricks section for more details.

  2. Select Insert > PivotTable.

    PivotTable Button

  3. This will create a PivotTable based on an existing table or range.
    PivotTable from Range or Table

    Note: Selecting Add this data to the Data Model will add the table or range being used for this PivotTable into the workbook’s Data Model. Learn more.

  4. Choose where you want the PivotTable report to be placed. Select New Worksheet to place the PivotTable in a new worksheet or Existing Worksheet and select where you want the new PivotTable to appear. 

  5. Click OK.

By clicking the down arrow on the button, you can select from other possible sources for your PivotTable.  In addition to using an existing table or range, there are three other sources you can select from to populate your PivotTable.

Select PivotTable Source

Note: Depending on your organization’s IT settings you might see your organization’s name included in the button. For example, «From Power BI (Microsoft)»

Get from External Data Source

PivotTable from External Source

Get from Data Model

Use this option if your workbook contains a Data Model, and you want to create a PivotTable from multiple Tables, enhance the PivotTable with custom measures, or are working with very large datasets. 
PivotTable from Data Table

Get from Power BI

Use this option if your organization uses Power BI and you want to discover and connect to endorsed cloud datasets you have access to. 

PivotTable from Power BI

  1. To add a field to your PivotTable, select the field name checkbox in the PivotTables Fields pane.

    Note: Selected fields are added to their default areas: non-numeric fields are added to Rows, date and time hierarchies are added to Columns, and numeric fields are added to Values.

    Pivot Table

  2. To move a field from one area to another, drag the field to the target area.

If you add new data to your PivotTable data source, any PivotTables that were built on that data source need to be refreshed. To refresh just one PivotTable you can right-click anywhere in the PivotTable range, then select Refresh. If you have multiple PivotTables, first select any cell in any PivotTable, then on the Ribbon go to PivotTable Analyze > click the arrow under the Refresh button and select Refresh All.

Refresh a PivotTable

Summarize Values By

By default, PivotTable fields that are placed in the Values area will be displayed as a SUM. If Excel interprets your data as text, it will be displayed as a COUNT. This is why it’s so important to make sure you don’t mix data types for value fields. You can change the default calculation by first clicking on the arrow to the right of the field name, then select the Value Field Settings option.

Excel Value Field Settings dialog

Next, change the calculation in the Summarize Values By section. Note that when you change the calculation method, Excel will automatically append it in the Custom Name section, like «Sum of FieldName», but you can change it. If you click the Number Format button, you can change the number format for the entire field.

Tip: Since the changing the calculation in the Summarize Values By section will change the PivotTable field name, it’s best not to rename your PivotTable fields until you’re done setting up your PivotTable. One trick is to use Find & Replace (Ctrl+H) >Find what > «Sum of«, then Replace with > leave blank to replace everything at once instead of manually retyping.

Excel Value Field Settings dialog for Summarize Values By options

Show Values As

Instead of using a calculation to summarize the data, you can also display it as a percentage of a field. In the following example, we changed our household expense amounts to display as a % of Grand Total instead of the sum of the values.

PivotTable example with Values displayed as a percentage of the Grand Total
PivotTable example with Values displayed as a percentage of the Grand Total

Once you’ve opened the Value Field Setting dialog, you can make your selections from the Show Values As tab.

Display a value as both a calculation and percentage.

Simply drag the item into the Values section twice, then set the Summarize Values By and Show Values As options for each one.

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  1. Select a table or range of data in your sheet and select Insert > PivotTable to open the Insert PivotTable pane.

  2. You can either manually create your own PivotTable or choose a recommended PivotTable to be created for you. Do one of the following:

  • On the Create your own PivotTable card, select either New sheet or Existing sheet to choose the destination of the PivotTable.

  • On a recommended PivotTable, select either New sheet or Existing sheet to choose the destination of the PivotTable.

Note: Recommended PivotTables are only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers.

The Insert PivotTable pane lets you set the source, destination, and other aspects of the PivotTable. 

You can change the data sourcefor the PivotTable data as you are creating it.

  1. In the Insert PivotTable pane, select the text box under Source. While changing the Source, cards in the pane won’t be available.

  2. Make a selection of data on the grid or enter a range in the text box. 

  3. Press Enter on your keyboard or the button to confirm your selection. The pane will update with new recommended PivotTables based on the new source of data.

Insert PivotTable pane asking for a table or range to use as a Source and allowing you to change the Destination.

Get from Power BI

Use this option if your organization uses Power BI and you want to discover and connect to endorsed cloud datasets you have access to. 

PivotTable from Power BI

In the PivotTable Fields pane, select the check box for any field you want to add to your PivotTable.

By default, non-numeric fields are added to the Rows area, date and time fields are added to the Columns area, and numeric fields are added to the Values area.

You can also manually drag-and-drop any available item into any of the PivotTable fields, or if you no longer want an item in your PivotTable, drag it out from the list or uncheck it.

PivotTable Fields in Excel for the web 

Summarize Values By

By default, PivotTable fields in the Values area will be displayed as a SUM. If Excel interprets your data as text, it will be displayed as a COUNT. This is why it’s so important to make sure you don’t mix data types for value fields.

Change the default calculation by right clicking on any value in the row and selecting the Summarize Values By option.

Summarize By in Excel for the web

Show Values As

Instead of using a calculation to summarize the data, you can also display it as a percentage of a field. In the following example, we changed our household expense amounts to display as a % of Grand Total instead of the sum of the values.

PivotTable example with Values displayed as a percentage of the Grand Total

Right click on any value in the column you’d like to show the value for.  Select Show Values As in the menu. A list of available values will display.

Make your selection from the list.

To show as a % of Parent Total, hover over that item in the list and select the parent field you want to use as the basis of the calculation. 

Show As 

If you add new data to your PivotTable data source, any PivotTables built on that data source will need to be refreshed. Right-click anywhere in the PivotTable range, then select Refresh.

Refresh PivotTable 

If you created a PivotTable and decide you no longer want it, select the entire PivotTable range and press Delete. It won’t have any effect on other data or PivotTables or charts around it. If your PivotTable is on a separate sheet which has no other data you want to keep, deleting the sheet is a fast way to remove the PivotTable.

  • Your data should be organized in a tabular format, and not have any blank rows or columns. Ideally, you can use an Excel table like in our example above.

  • Tables are a great PivotTable data source, because rows added to a table are automatically included in the PivotTable when you refresh the data, and any new columns will be included in the PivotTable Fields List. Otherwise, you need to either Change the source data for a PivotTable, or use a dynamic named range formula.

  • Data types in columns should be the same. For example, you shouldn’t mix dates and text in the same column.

  • PivotTables work on a snapshot of your data, called the cache, so your actual data doesn’t get altered in any way.

If you have limited experience with PivotTables, or are not sure how to get started, a Recommended PivotTable is a good choice. When you use this feature, Excel determines a meaningful layout by matching the data with the most suitable areas in the PivotTable. This helps give you a starting point for additional experimentation. After a recommended PivotTable is created, you can explore different orientations and rearrange fields to achieve your specific results. You can also download our interactive Make your first PivotTable tutorial.

  1. Click a cell in the source data or table range.

  2. Go to Insert > Recommended PivotTable.

    Go to Insert > Recommended PivotTables to have Excel create a PivotTable for you

  3. Excel analyzes your data and presents you with several options, like in this example using the household expense data.

    Excel Recommended PivotTables dialog

  4. Select the PivotTable that looks best to you and press OK. Excel will create a PivotTable on a new sheet, and display the PivotTable Fields List

  1. Click a cell in the source data or table range.

  2. Go to Insert > PivotTable.

    Data tab, Analysis group

  3. Excel will display the Create PivotTable dialog with your range or table name selected. In this case, we’re using a table called «tbl_HouseholdExpenses».

  4. In the Choose where you want the PivotTable report to be placed section, select New Worksheet, or Existing Worksheet. For Existing Worksheet, select the cell where you want the PivotTable placed.

  5. Click OK, and Excel will create a blank PivotTable, and display the PivotTable Fields list.

PivotTable Fields list

In the Field Name area at the top, select the check box for any field you want to add to your PivotTable. By default, non-numeric fields are added to the Row area, date and time fields are added to the Column area, and numeric fields are added to the Values area. You can also manually drag-and-drop any available item into any of the PivotTable fields, or if you no longer want an item in your PivotTable, simply drag it out of the Fields list or uncheck it. Being able to rearrange Field items is one of the PivotTable features that makes it so easy to quickly change its appearance.

PivotTable Fields list

Example of the Excel PivotTable Fields list dialog

  • Summarize by

    By default, PivotTable fields that are placed in the Values area will be displayed as a SUM. If Excel interprets your data as text, it will be displayed as a COUNT. This is why it’s so important to make sure you don’t mix data types for value fields. You can change the default calculation by first clicking on the arrow to the right of the field name, then select the Field Settings option.

    Next, change the calculation in the Summarize by section. Note that when you change the calculation method, Excel will automatically append it in the Custom Name section, like «Sum of FieldName», but you can change it. If you click the Number… button, you can change the number format for the entire field.

    Tip: Since the changing the calculation in the Summarize by section will change the PivotTable field name, it’s best not to rename your PivotTable fields until you’re done setting up your PivotTable. One trick is to click Replace (on the Edit menu) >Find what > «Sum of«, then Replace with > leave blank to replace everything at once instead of manually retyping.

  • Show data as

    Instead of using a calculation to summarize the data, you can also display it as a percentage of a field. In the following example, we changed our household expense amounts to display as a % of Grand Total instead of the sum of the values.

    PivotTable example with Values displayed as a percentage of the Grand Total

    Once you’ve opened the Field Settings dialog, you can make your selections from the Show data as tab.

  • Display a value as both a calculation and percentage.

    Simply drag the item into the Values section twice, right-click the value and select Field Settings, then set the Summarize by and Show data as options for each one.

If you add new data to your PivotTable data source, any PivotTables that were built on that data source need to be refreshed. To refresh just one PivotTable you can right-click anywhere in the PivotTable range, then select Refresh. If you have multiple PivotTables, first select any cell in any PivotTable, then on the Ribbon go to PivotTable Analyze > click the arrow under the Refresh button and select Refresh All.

If you created a PivotTable and decide you no longer want it, you can simply select the entire PivotTable range, then press Delete. It won’t have any affect on other data or PivotTables or charts around it. If your PivotTable is on a separate sheet that has no other data you want to keep, deleting that sheet is a fast way to remove the PivotTable.

Data format tips and tricks

  • Use clean, tabular data for best results.

  • Organize your data in columns, not rows.

  • Make sure all columns have headers, with a single row of unique, non-blank labels for each column. Avoid double rows of headers or merged cells.
    ​​​​​​​
    Excel column 2

  • Format your data as an Excel table (select anywhere in your data and then select Insert > Table from the ribbon).

  • If you have complicated or nested data, use Power Query to transform it (for example, to unpivot your data) so it is organized in columns with a single header row.

Need more help?

You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community or get support in the Answers community.

PivotTable Recommendations are a part of the connected experience in Microsoft 365, and analyzes your data with artificial intelligence services. If you choose to opt out of the connected experience in Microsoft 365, your data will not be sent to the artificial intelligence service, and you will not be able to use PivotTable Recommendations. Read the Microsoft privacy statement for more details.

Related articles

Create a PivotChart

Use slicers to filter PivotTable data 

Create a PivotTable timeline to filter dates

Create a PivotTable with the Data Model to analyze data in multiple tables

Create a PivotTable connected to Power BI Datasets

Use the Field List to arrange fields in a PivotTable

Change the source data for a PivotTable

Calculate values in a PivotTable

Delete a PivotTable


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Step-by-step tutorial for making and editing a pivot table in Excel


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  • Building the Pivot Table
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  • Configuring the Pivot Table
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  • Using the Pivot Table
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  • Expert Q&A
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  • Tips
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  • Warnings

Trying to make a new pivot table in Microsoft Excel? The process is quick and easy using Excel’s built-in tools. Pivot tables are a great way to create an interactive table for data analysis and reporting. Excel allows you to drag and drop the variables you need in your table to immediately rearrange it. This wikiHow guide will show you how to create pivot tables in Microsoft Excel.

Things You Should Know

  • Go to the Insert tab and click «PivotTable» to create a new pivot table.
  • Use the PivotTable Fields pane to arrange your variables by row, column, and value.
  • Click the drop-down arrow next to fields in the pivot table to sort and filter.
  1. Image titled Create Pivot Tables in Excel Step 1

    1

    Open the Excel file where you want to create the pivot table. A pivot table allows you to create tabular reports of data in a spreadsheet. You can also perform calculations without having to input formulas.

    • You can also create a pivot table in Excel using an outside data source, such as an Access database.
  2. Image titled Create Pivot Tables in Excel Step 2

    2

    Highlight the cells you want to make into a pivot table. Note that the original spreadsheet data will be preserved. Skip this step if you’re going to make the pivot table using an external source of data.

    • Make sure your data is formatted correctly. To create a pivot table, you’ll need a dataset that is organized in columns. It should have a single header row.
    • Optionally, formatting your original data as a table using Insert > Table will help make sure the formatting is correct.

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  3. Image titled Create Pivot Tables in Excel Step 3

    3

    Go to the Insert tab and click PivotTable. This will open a new window for creating the pivot table.

    • If you are using Excel 2003 or earlier, click the Data menu and select PivotTable and PivotChart Report.
    • If you’re using an external source of data, click the drop-down arrow under PivotTable and select From External Data Source. Then click Choose Connection in the new window.
  4. Image titled Create Pivot Tables in Excel Step 4

    4

    Select the location for your pivot table and click OK. This will place the new pivot table in the selected location. By default, Excel will place the table on a new worksheet, allowing you to switch back and forth by clicking the tabs at the bottom of the window. You can also choose to place the pivot table on the same sheet as the data, which allows you to pick the cell where you want it to be placed.

    • You can later delete the pivot table without losing its data if needed.
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  1. Image titled Create Pivot Tables in Excel Step 5

    1

    Click the checkbox next to fields you want in the PivotTables Fields pane. This adds the field to your pivot table. Note that fields are what Excel calls the variables in your dataset, based on the headers in the header row.[1]

    • Clicking the checkboxes automatically adds the field to a section of the pivot table. Non-numeric fields are placed in the rows section, dates are placed in the columns section, and numeric fields are placed in the values section.
    • You can rearrange the fields by dragging them to a different section.
  2. Image titled Create Pivot Tables in Excel Step 6

    2

    Add or move a row field. Drag a field from the field list on the right onto the «Row» section of the pivot table pane to add the field to your table.

    • For example, your company sells two products: tables and chairs. You have a spreadsheet with the number (Sales) of each product (Product Type) sold in your five stores (Store).
    • Drag the Store field from the field list into the Row Fields section of the pivot table. Your list of stores will appear, each as its own row.
  3. Image titled Create Pivot Tables in Excel Step 7

    3

    Add a value field. Drag a field from the field list on the right onto the «Values» section of the pivot table pane to add the field to your table. The values will be calculated and organized based on the rows and columns you select.

    • Continuing our example: Click and drag the Sales field into the Value Fields section of the pivot table. You will see your table display the sales information for each of your stores.
  4. Image titled Create Pivot Tables in Excel Step 8

    4

    Add or move a column field. Drag a field from the field list on the right onto the «Column» section of the pivot table pane to add the column field to your table. This is used to separate your data by different categories or dates.

    • Continuing our example, you could move Product Type to the columns section to see the product sales data for each store.
  5. Image titled Create Pivot Tables in Excel Step 9

    5

    Add multiple fields to a section. Pivot tables allow you to add multiple fields to each section, displaying more information on the table or further subdividing the data.

    • Using the above example, say you make several types of tables and several types of chairs. Your data notes whether the item is a table or chair (Product Type), but also the exact model of the table or chair sold (Model).
    • Drag the Model field onto the Column Fields section. The columns will now display the breakdown of sales per model and overall type. You can change the order that these labels are displayed by clicking the arrow button next to the field in the boxes in the lower-right corner of the window. Select Move Up or Move Down to change the order.
  6. Image titled Create Pivot Tables in Excel Step 10

    6

    Change the way data is displayed. You can change the way values are displayed by following these steps:

    • Click the arrow icon next to a value in the Values box.
    • Select Value Field Settings to change the way the values are calculated.
    • For example, you could display the average value instead of a sum.
    • You can add the same field to the Value box multiple times to take advantage of this. In the above example, the sales total for each store is displayed. By adding the Sales field again, you can change the value settings to show the second Sales as a percentage of total sales.
  7. Image titled Create Pivot Tables in Excel Step 11

    7

    Learn some of the ways that values can be manipulated. When changing the ways values are calculated, you have several options to choose from depending on your needs.

    • Sum — This is the default for value fields. Excel will total all of the values in the selected field.
    • Count — This will count the number of cells that contain data in the selected field.
    • Average — This will take the average of all of the values in the selected field.
  8. Image titled Create Pivot Tables in Excel Step 12

    8

    Click the drop-down arrow next to a field to add a filter and sort data. Note that this is next to the field header in the pivot table, not in the pivot table editor pane. Adding a filter allows you to display only certain data given the criteria you select. Sorting the data changes the order that it appears in the pivot table.

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  1. Image titled Create Pivot Tables in Excel Step 13

    1

    Update your pivot table. Your pivot table will automatically update as you modify the data in the spreadsheet. This can be great for monitoring your spreadsheets and tracking changes.

    • You can also manually update the pivot table by clicking Refresh in the PivotTable Analyze tab.
  2. Image titled Create Pivot Tables in Excel Step 14

    2

    Change your pivot table around. Pivot tables are easy to edit using the editing pane. Try dragging different fields to different locations to come up with a pivot table that meets your exact needs.

    • This is where the pivot table gets its name. Moving the data to different locations is known as «pivoting» as you are changing the direction that the data is displayed.
  3. Image titled Create Pivot Tables in Excel Step 15

    3

    Create a pivot chart. You can use a pivot chart to show dynamic visual reports. Your Pivot Chart can be created directly from your completed pivot table.

    • Click PivotChart in the «Tools» section of the PivotTable Analyze tab to make a pivot chart.
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Add New Question

  • Question

    I have created pivot tables in Excel 2020. I have selected in Design Totals to show Column and row totals but row totals will not show. Any advice please?

    Kyle Smith

    Kyle Smith is a wikiHow Technology Writer, learning and sharing information about the latest technology. He has presented his research at multiple engineering conferences and is the writer and editor of hundreds of online electronics repair guides. Kyle received a BS in Industrial Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

    Kyle Smith

    wikiHow Technology Writer

    Expert Answer

    You can try using the PivotTable Options menu to resolve this issue. Go to the PivotTable Analyze tab > click the drop-down arrow under the PivotTable button > click Options > go to the Totals & Filters tab > check the box next to «Show grand totals for rows.»

  • Question

    How do I change a name in a field/column in an existing pivot table without changing the field before/after the field requiring the update?

    Kyle Smith

    Kyle Smith is a wikiHow Technology Writer, learning and sharing information about the latest technology. He has presented his research at multiple engineering conferences and is the writer and editor of hundreds of online electronics repair guides. Kyle received a BS in Industrial Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

    Kyle Smith

    wikiHow Technology Writer

    Expert Answer

    You can change a field name by right-clicking a value of the field in the pivot table > select Field Settings > and enter a new name in the «Custom Name» section.

  • Question

    Why doesn’t my pivot table show the changes I made to the base file?

    Community Answer

    There could be couple of reasons: the base file could be missing from original location, or you did not save the changes properly in the base file. Also, remember to save your pivot table before you can expect to see any changes reflected.

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wikiHow Video: How to Create Pivot Tables in Excel

  • If you use the Import Data command from the Data menu, you have more options on how to import data ranging from Office Database connections, Excel files, Access databases, Text files, ODBC DSNs, webpages, OLAP and XML/XSL. You can then use your data as you would an Excel list.

  • If you are using an AutoFilter (Under «Data», «Filter»), disable this when creating the pivot table. It is okay to re-enable it after you have created the pivot table.

  • In addition to pivot tables, another powerful tool in Excel is the Solver function.

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  • If you are using data in an existing spreadsheet, make sure that the range that you select has a unique column name at the top of each column of data.

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About This Article

Article SummaryX

A pivot table is an interactive table that lets you group and summarize data in a concise, tabular format. To create a pivot table, click the Insert tab, and then click the PivotTable icon on the toolbar. You can enter your data range manually, or quickly select it by dragging the mouse cursor across all cells in the range, including the labeled column headers. Or, if the data is in an external database, select Use an external data source, and then choose that database and range. Your new pivot table will be placed on the active worksheet by default, but you can change the sheet name and range under «»Existing Worksheet»» to put it elsewhere, or select New Worksheet to place it on its own brand new sheet. Click OK to place your pivot table on the selected sheet.
You’ll use the Pivot Table Fields bar on the right to lay out your table in columns and rows. Drag fields to the Columns and Rows areas, and then drag fields that represent values to the Values area. Adding fields to the Filters area lets you filter your table by the type of data in that field. You can add multiple data fields to any of these sections, and move things around until they look the way you’d like. Once you’ve created your table, you can click the PivotTable Analyze tab to view and manage more settings, or the Design tab to customize its color and style.

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Как сделать сводную таблицу в Excel – пошаговая инструкция для чайников

В этом руководстве вы узнаете, что такое сводная таблица, и найдете подробную инструкцию, как по шагам создавать и использовать её в Excel.

Если вы работаете с большими наборами данных в Excel, то сводная таблица очень удобна для быстрого создания интерактивного представления из множества записей. Помимо прочего, она может автоматически сортировать и фильтровать информацию, подсчитывать итоги, вычислять среднее значение, а также создавать перекрестные таблицы. Это позволяет взглянуть на ваши цифры совершенно с новой стороны.

Важно также и то, что при этом ваши исходные данные не затрагиваются – что бы вы не делали с вашей сводной таблицей. Вы просто выбираете такой способ отображения, который позволит вам увидеть новые закономерности и связи. Ваши показатели будут разделены на группы, а огромный объем информации будет представлен в понятной и доступной для анализа форме.

  1. Что такое сводная таблица?
  2. Как создать сводную таблицу.
    • 1. Организуйте свои исходные данные
    • 2. Создаем и размещаем макет
    • 3. Как добавить поле
    • 4. Как удалить поле из сводной таблицы?
    • 5. Как упорядочить поля?
    • 6. Выберите функцию для значений (необязательно)
    • 7. Используем различные вычисления в полях значения (необязательно)
  3. Работа со списком показателей сводной таблицы
  4. Закрытие и открытие панели редактирования.
  5. Воспользуйтесь рекомендациями программы.
  6. Давайте улучшим результат.
  7. Как обновить сводную таблицу.
  8. Как переместить на новое место?
  9. Как удалить сводную таблицу?

Что такое сводная таблица?

Это инструмент для изучения и обобщения больших объемов данных, анализа связанных итогов и представления отчетов. Они помогут вам:

  • представить большие объемы данных в удобной для пользователя форме.
  • группировать информацию по категориям и подкатегориям.
  • фильтровать, сортировать и условно форматировать различные сведения, чтобы вы могли сосредоточиться на самом актуальном.
  • поменять строки и столбцы местами.
  • рассчитать различные виды итогов.
  • разворачивать и сворачивать уровни данных, чтобы узнать подробности.
  • представить в Интернете сжатые и привлекательные таблицы или печатные отчеты.

Например, у вас множество записей в электронной таблице с цифрами продаж шоколада:

И каждый день сюда добавляются все новые сведения. Одним из возможных способов суммирования этого длинного списка чисел по одному или нескольким условиям является использование формул, как было продемонстрировано в руководствах по функциям СУММЕСЛИ и СУММЕСЛИМН. 

Однако, когда вы хотите сравнить несколько показателей по каждому продавцу либо по отдельным товарам, использование сводных таблиц является гораздо более эффективным способом. Ведь при использовании функций вам придется писать много формул с достаточно сложными условиями. А здесь всего за несколько щелчков мыши вы можете получить гибкую и легко настраиваемую форму, которая суммирует ваши цифры как вам необходимо.

Вот посмотрите сами.

Этот скриншот демонстрирует лишь несколько из множества возможных вариантов анализа продаж. И далее мы рассмотрим примеры построения сводных таблиц в Excel 2016, 2013, 2010 и 2007.

Как создать сводную таблицу.

Многие думают, что создание отчетов при помощи сводных таблиц для «чайников» является сложным и трудоемким процессом. Но это не так! Microsoft много лет совершенствовала эту технологию, и в современных версиях Эксель они очень удобны и невероятно быстры. 

Фактически, вы можете сделать это всего за пару минут. Для вас – небольшой самоучитель в виде пошаговой инструкции:

1. Организуйте свои исходные данные

Перед созданием сводного отчета организуйте свои данные в строки и столбцы, а затем преобразуйте диапазон данных в таблицу. Для этого выделите все используемые ячейки, перейдите на вкладку меню «Главная» и нажмите «Форматировать как таблицу».

Использование «умной» таблицы в качестве исходных данных дает вам очень хорошее преимущество — ваш диапазон данных становится «динамическим». Это означает, что он будет автоматически расширяться или уменьшаться при добавлении или удалении записей. Поэтому вам не придется беспокоиться о том, что в свод не попала самая свежая информация.

Полезные советы:

  • Добавьте уникальные, значимые заголовки в столбцы, они позже превратятся в имена полей.
  • Убедитесь, что исходная таблица не содержит пустых строк или столбцов и промежуточных итогов.
  • Чтобы упростить работу, вы можете присвоить исходной таблице уникальное имя, введя его в поле «Имя» в верхнем правом углу.

2. Создаем и размещаем макет

Выберите любую ячейку в исходных данных, а затем перейдите на вкладку Вставка > Сводная таблица .

Откроется окно «Создание ….. ». Убедитесь, что в поле  Диапазон указан правильный источник данных. Затем выберите местоположение для свода:

  • Выбор нового рабочего листа поместит его на новый лист, начиная с ячейки A1.
  • Выбор существующего листа разместит в указанном вами месте на существующем листе. В поле «Диапазон» выберите первую ячейку (то есть, верхнюю левую), в которую вы хотите поместить свою таблицу.

Нажатие ОК создает пустой макет без цифр в целевом местоположении, который будет выглядеть примерно так:

Полезные советы:

  • В большинстве случаев имеет смысл размещать на отдельном рабочем листе. Это особенно рекомендуется для начинающих.
  • Ежели вы берете информацию из другой таблицы или рабочей книги, включите их имена, используя следующий синтаксис: [workbook_name]sheet_name!Range. Например, [Книга1.xlsx] Лист1!$A$1:$E$50. Конечно, вы можете не писать это все руками, а просто выбрать диапазон ячеек в другой книге с помощью мыши.
  • Возможно, было бы полезно построить таблицу и диаграмму одновременно. Для этого в Excel 2016 и 2013 перейдите на вкладку «Вставка», щелкните стрелку под кнопкой «Сводная диаграмма», а затем нажмите «Диаграмма и таблица». В версиях 2010 и 2007 щелкните стрелку под сводной таблицей, а затем — Сводная диаграмма.
  1. Организация макета.

Область, в которой вы работаете с полями макета, называется списком полей. Он расположен в правой части рабочего листа и разделен на заголовок и основной раздел:

  • Раздел «Поле» содержит названия показателей, которые вы можете добавить. Они соответствуют именам столбцов исходных данных.
  • Раздел «Макет» содержит область «Фильтры», «Столбцы», «Строки» и «Значения». Здесь вы можете расположить в нужном порядке поля.

Изменения, которые вы вносите в этих разделах, немедленно применяются в вашей таблице.

3. Как добавить поле

Чтобы иметь возможность добавить поле в нужную область, установите флажок рядом с его именем.

По умолчанию Microsoft Excel добавляет поля в раздел «Макет» следующим образом:

  • Нечисловые добавляются в область Строки;
  • Числовые добавляются в область значений;
  • Дата и время добавляются в область Столбцы.

4. Как удалить поле из сводной таблицы?

Чтобы удалить любое поле, вы можете выполнить следующее:

  • Снимите флажок напротив него, который вы ранее установили.
  • Щелкните правой кнопкой мыши поле и выберите «Удалить……».

И еще один простой и наглядный способ удаления поля. Перейдите в макет таблицы, зацепите мышкой ненужный вам элемент и перетащите его за пределы макета. Как только вы вытащите его за рамки, рядом со значком появится хатактерный крестик. Отпускайте кнопку мыши и наблюдайте, как внешний вид вашей таблицы сразу же изменится.

5. Как упорядочить поля?

Вы можете изменить расположение показателей тремя способами:

  1. Перетащите поле между 4 областями раздела с помощью мыши. В качестве альтернативы щелкните и удерживайте его имя в разделе «Поле», а затем перетащите в нужную область в разделе «Макет». Это приведет к удалению из текущей области и его размещению в новом месте.

  1. Щелкните правой кнопкой мыши имя в разделе «Поле» и выберите область, в которую вы хотите добавить его:

  1. Нажмите на поле в разделе «Макет», чтобы выбрать его. Это сразу отобразит доступные параметры:

Все внесенные вами изменения применяются немедленно.

Ну а ежели спохватились, что сделали что-то не так, не забывайте, что есть «волшебная» комбинация клавиш CTRL+Z, которая отменяет сделанные вами изменения (если вы не сохранили их, нажав соответствующую клавишу).

6. Выберите функцию для значений (необязательно)

По умолчанию Microsoft Excel использует функцию «Сумма» для числовых показателей, которые вы помещаете в область «Значения». Когда вы помещаете нечисловые (текст, дата или логическое значение) или пустые значения в эту область, к ним применяется функция «Количество».

Но, конечно, вы можете выбрать другой метод расчёта. Щелкните правой кнопкой мыши поле значения, которое вы хотите изменить, выберите Параметры поля значений и затем — нужную функцию.

Думаю, названия операций говорят сами за себя, и дополнительные пояснения здесь не нужны. В крайнем случае, попробуйте различные варианты сами.

Здесь же вы можете изменить имя его на более приятное и понятное для вас. Ведь оно отображается в таблице, и поэтому должно выглядеть соответственно.

В Excel 2010 и ниже опция «Суммировать значения по» также доступна на ленте — на вкладке «Параметры» в группе «Расчеты».

7. Используем различные вычисления в полях значения (необязательно)

Еще одна полезная функция позволяет представлять значения различными способами, например, отображать итоговые значения в процентах или значениях ранга от наименьшего к наибольшему и наоборот. Полный список вариантов расчета доступен здесь .

Это называется «Дополнительные вычисления». Доступ к ним можно получить, открыв вкладку «Параметры …», как это описано чуть выше.

Подсказка. Функция «Дополнительные вычисления» может оказаться особенно полезной, когда вы добавляете одно и то же поле более одного раза и показываете, как в нашем примере, общий объем продаж и объем продаж в процентах от общего количества одновременно. Согласитесь, обычными формулами делать такую таблицу придется долго. А тут – пара минут работы!

Итак, процесс создания завершен. Теперь пришло время немного поэкспериментировать, чтобы выбрать макет, наиболее подходящий для вашего набора данных.

Работа со списком показателей сводной таблицы

Панель, которая формально называется списком полей, является основным инструментом, который используется для упорядочения таблицы в соответствии с вашими требованиями. Вы можете настроить её по своему вкусу, чтобы удобнее .

Чтобы изменить способ отображения вашей рабочей области, нажмите кнопку «Инструменты» и выберите предпочитаемый макет.

Вы также можете изменить размер панели по горизонтали, перетаскивая разделитель, который отделяет панель от листа.

Закрытие и открытие панели редактирования.

Закрыть список полей в сводной таблице так же просто, как нажать кнопку «Закрыть» (X) в верхнем правом углу панели. А вот как заставить его появиться снова – уже не так очевидно :)

Чтобы снова отобразить его, щелкните правой кнопкой мыши в любом месте таблицы и выберите «Показать …» в контекстном меню.

Также можно нажать кнопку «Список полей» на ленте, которая находится на вкладке меню «Анализ».

Воспользуйтесь рекомендациями программы.

Как вы только что видели, создание сводных таблиц — довольно простое дело, даже для «чайников». Однако Microsoft делает еще один шаг вперед и предлагает автоматически сгенерировать отчет, наиболее подходящий для ваших исходных данных. Все, что вам нужно, это 4 щелчка мыши:

  1. Нажмите любую ячейку в исходном диапазоне ячеек или таблицы.
  2. На вкладке «Вставка» выберите «Рекомендуемые сводные таблицы». Программа немедленно отобразит несколько макетов, основанных на ваших данных.
  3. Щелкните на любом макете, чтобы увидеть его предварительный просмотр.
  4. Если вас устраивает предложение, нажмите кнопку «ОК» и добавьте понравившийся вариант на новый лист.

Как вы видите на скриншоте выше, Эксель смог предложить несколько базовых макетов для моих исходных данных, которые значительно уступают сводным таблицам, которые мы создали вручную несколько минут назад. Конечно, это только мое мнение :)

Но при всем при этом, использование рекомендаций — это быстрый способ начать работу, особенно когда у вас много данных и вы не знаете, с чего начать. А затем этот вариант можно легко изменить по вашему вкусу.

Давайте улучшим результат.

Теперь, когда вы знакомы с основами, вы можете перейти к вкладкам «Анализ» и «Конструктор» инструментов в Excel 2016 и 2013 ( вкладки « Параметры» и « Конструктор» в 2010 и 2007). Они появляются, как только вы щелкаете в любом месте таблицы.

Вы также можете получить доступ к параметрам и функциям, доступным для определенного элемента, щелкнув его правой кнопкой мыши (об этом мы уже говорили при создании).

После того, как вы построили таблицу на основе исходных данных, вы, возможно, захотите уточнить ее, чтобы провести более серьёзный анализ.

Чтобы улучшить дизайн, перейдите на вкладку «Конструктор», где вы найдете множество предопределенных стилей. Чтобы получить свой собственный стиль, нажмите кнопку «Создать стиль….» внизу галереи «Стили сводной таблицы».

Чтобы настроить макет определенного поля, щелкните на нем, затем нажмите кнопку «Параметры» на вкладке «Анализ» в Excel 2016 и 2013 (вкладка « Параметры» в 2010 и 2007). Также вы можете щелкнуть правой кнопкой мыши поле и выбрать «Параметры … » в контекстном меню.

На снимке экрана ниже показан новый дизайн и макет.

Я изменил цветовой макет, а также постарался, чтобы таблица была более компактной. Для этого поменяем параметры представления товара. Какие параметры я использовал – вы видите на скриншоте.

Думаю, стало даже лучше. 😊

Как избавиться от заголовков «Метки строк» ​​и «Метки столбцов».

При создании сводной таблицы, Excel применяет Сжатую форму по умолчанию. Этот макет отображает «Метки строк» и «Метки столбцов» в качестве заголовков. Согласитесь, это не очень информативно, особенно для новичков.

Простой способ избавиться от этих нелепых заголовков — перейти с сжатого макета на структурный или табличный. Для этого откройте вкладку «Конструктор», щелкните раскрывающийся список «Макет отчета» и выберите « Показать в форме структуры» или « Показать в табличной форме» .

И вот что мы получим в результате.

Показаны реальные имена, как вы видите на рисунке справа, что имеет гораздо больше смысла.

Другое решение — перейти на вкладку «Анализ», нажать кнопку «Заголовки полей», выключить их. Однако это удалит не только все заголовки, а также выпадающие фильтры и возможность сортировки. А для анализа данных отсутствие фильтров – это чаще всего нехорошо.

Как обновить сводную таблицу.

Хотя отчет связан с исходными данными, вы можете быть удивлены, узнав, что Excel не обновляет его автоматически. Это можно считать небольшим недостатком. Вы можете обновить его, выполнив операцию обновления вручную или же это произойдет автоматически при открытии файла.

Как обновить вручную.

  1. Нажмите в любом месте на свод.
  2. На вкладке «Анализ» нажмите кнопку «Обновить» или же нажмите клавиши ALT + F5.

Кроме того, вы можете по щелчку правой кнопки мыши выбрать пункт Обновить из появившегося контекстного меню.

Чтобы обновить все сводные таблицы в файле, нажмите стрелку кнопки «Обновить», а затем  —  «Обновить все».

Примечание. Если внешний вид вашей сводной таблицы сильно изменяется после обновления, проверьте параметры «Автоматически изменять ширину столбцов при обновлении» и « Сохранить форматирование ячейки при обновлении». Чтобы сделать это, откройте «Параметры сводной таблицы», как это показано на рисунке, и вы найдете там эти флажки.

После запуска обновления вы можете просмотреть статус или отменить его, если вы передумали. Просто нажмите на стрелку кнопки «Обновить», а затем — «Состояние обновления» или «Отменить обновление».

Автоматическое обновление сводной таблицы при открытии файла.

  1. Откройте вкладку параметров, как это мы только что делали.
  2. В диалоговом окне «Параметры … » перейдите на вкладку «Данные» и установите флажок «Обновить при открытии файла».

Как переместить на новое место?

Может быть вы захотите переместить своё творение в новую рабочую книгу? Перейдите на вкладку «Анализ», нажмите кнопку «Действия» и затем — «Переместить ….. ». Выберите новый пункт назначения и нажмите ОК.

Как удалить сводную таблицу?

Если вам больше не нужен определенный сводный отчет, вы можете удалить его несколькими способами.

  • Если таблица находится на отдельном листе, просто удалите этот лист.
  • Ежели она расположена вместе с некоторыми другими данными на листе, выделите всю её с помощью мыши и нажмите клавишу Delete.
  • Щелкните в любом месте в сводной таблице, которую хотите удалить, перейдите на вкладку «Анализ» (см. скриншот выше) => группа «Действия», нажмите небольшую стрелку под кнопкой «Выделить», выберите «Вся сводная таблица», а затем нажмите Удалить.

Примечание. Если у вас есть какая-либо диаграмма, построенная на основе свода, то описанная выше процедура удаления превратит ее в стандартную диаграмму, которую больше нельзя будет изменять или обновлять.

Надеемся, что этот самоучитель станет для вас хорошей отправной точкой.  Далее нас ждут еще несколько рекомендаций, как работать со сводными таблицами. И спасибо за чтение!

Возможно, вам также будет полезно:

If you are reading this tutorial, there is a big chance you have heard of (or even used) the Excel Pivot Table. It’s one of the most powerful features in Excel (no kidding).

The best part about using a Pivot Table is that even if you don’t know anything in  Excel, you can still do pretty awesome things with it with a very basic understanding of it.

Let’s get started.

Click here to download the sample data and follow along.

What is a Pivot Table and Why Should You Care?

A Pivot Table is a tool in Microsoft Excel that allows you to quickly summarize huge datasets (with a few clicks).

Even if you’re absolutely new to the world of Excel, you can easily use a Pivot Table. It’s as easy as dragging and dropping rows/columns headers to create reports.

Suppose you have a dataset as shown below:

Creating a Pivot Table in Excel - Dataset

This is sales data that consists of ~1000 rows.

It has the sales data by region, retailer type, and customer.

Now your boss may want to know a few things from this data:

  • What were the total sales in the South region in 2016?
  • What are the top five retailers by sales?
  • How did The Home Depot’s performance compare against other retailers in the South?

You can go ahead and use Excel functions to give you the answers to these questions, but what if suddenly your boss comes up with a list of five more questions.

You’ll have to go back to the data and create new formulas every time there is a change.

This is where Excel Pivot Tables comes in really handy.

Within seconds, a Pivot Table will answer all these questions (as you’ll learn below).

But the real benefit is that it can accommodate your finicky data-driven boss by answering his questions immediately.

It’s so simple, you may as well take a few minutes and show your boss how to do it himself.

Hopefully, now you have an idea of why Pivot Tables are so awesome. Let’s go ahead and create a Pivot Table using the data set (shown above).

Inserting a Pivot Table in Excel

Here are the steps to create a pivot table using the data shown above:

As soon as you click OK, a new worksheet is created with the Pivot Table in it.

While the Pivot Table has been created, you’d see no data in it. All you’d see is the Pivot Table name and a single line instruction on the left, and Pivot Table Fields on the right.

Creating a Pivot Table in Excel - Blank Pivot Table Worksheet

Now before we jump into analyzing data using this Pivot Table, let’s understand what are the nuts and bolts that make an Excel Pivot Table.

Also read: 10 Excel Pivot Table Keyboard Shortcuts

The Nuts & Bolts of an Excel Pivot Table

To use a Pivot Table efficiently, it’s important to know the components that create a pivot table.

In this section, you’ll learn about:

  • Pivot Cache
  • Values Area
  • Rows Area
  • Columns Area
  • Filters Area

Pivot Cache

As soon as you create a Pivot Table using the data, something happens in the backend. Excel takes a snapshot of the data and stores it in its memory. This snapshot is called the Pivot Cache.

When you create different views using a Pivot Table, Excel does not go back to the data source, rather it uses the Pivot Cache to quickly analyze the data and give you the summary/results.

The reason a pivot cache gets generated is to optimize the pivot table functioning. Even when you have thousands of rows of data, a pivot table is super fast in summarizing the data. You can drag and drop items in the rows/columns/values/filters boxes and it will instantly update the results.

Note: One downside of pivot cache is that it increases the size of your workbook. Since it’s a replica of the source data, when you create a pivot table, a copy of that data gets stored in the Pivot Cache.

Read More: What is Pivot Cache and How to Best Use It.

Values Area

The Values Area is what holds the calculations/values.

Based on the data set shown at the beginning of the tutorial, if you quickly want to calculate total sales by region in each month, you can get a pivot table as shown below (we’ll see how to create this later in the tutorial).

The area highlighted in orange is the Values Area.

Creating a Pivot Table in Excel - Values Area

In this example, it has the total sales in each month for the four regions.

Rows Area

The headings to the left of the Values area makes the Rows area.

In the example below, the Rows area contains the regions (highlighted in red):
Creating a Pivot Table in Excel - Rows Area

Columns Area

The headings at the top of the Values area makes the Columns area.

In the example below, Columns area contains the months (highlighted in red):

Creating a Pivot Table in Excel - Columns Area

Filters Area

Filters area is an optional filter that you can use to further drill down in the data set.

For example, if you only want to see the sales for Multiline retailers, you can select that option from the drop down (highlighted in the image below), and the Pivot Table would update with the data for Multiline retailers only.

Creating a Pivot Table in Excel - Filters Area

Analyzing Data Using the Pivot Table

Now, let’s try and answer the questions by using the Pivot Table we have created.

Click here to download the sample data and follow along.

To analyze data using a Pivot Table, you need to decide how you want the data summary to look in the final result. For example, you may want all the regions in the left and the total sales right next to it. Once you have this clarity in mind, you can simply drag and drop the relevant fields in the Pivot Table.

In the Pivot Tabe Fields section, you have the fields and the areas (as highlighted below):

Creating a Pivot Table in Excel - Fields and Area

The Fields are created based on the backend data used for the Pivot Table. The Areas section is where you place the fields, and according to where a field goes, your data is updated in the Pivot Table.

It’s a simple drag and drop mechanism, where you can simply drag a field and put it in one of the four areas. As soon as you do this, it will appear in the Pivot Table in the worksheet.

Creating a Pivot Table in Excel - Demo

Now let’s try and answer the questions your manager had using this Pivot Table.

Q1: What were the total sales in the South region?

Drag the Region field in the Rows area and the Revenue field in the Values area. It would automatically update the Pivot Table in the worksheet.

Note that as soon as you drop the Revenue field in the Values area, it becomes Sum of Revenue. By default, Excel sums all the values for a given region and shows the total. If you want, you can change this to Count, Average, or other statistics metrics. In this case, the sum is what we needed.

The answer to this question would be 21225800.

Creating a Pivot Table in Excel - Q1a

Q2 What are the top five retailers by sales?

Drag the Customer field in the Row area and Revenue field in the values area. In case, there are any other fields in the area section and you want to remove it, simply select it and drag it out of it.

You’ll get a Pivot Table as shown below:

Creating a Pivot Table in Excel - Q2a

Note that by default, the items (in this case the customers) are sorted in an alphabetical order.

To get the top five retailers, you can simply sort this list and use the top five customer names. To do this:

This will give you a sorted list based on total sales.

Creating a Pivot Table in Excel - Q2d

Q3: How did The Home Depot’s performance compare against other retailers in the South?

You can do a lot of analysis for this question, but here let’s just try and compare the sales.

Drag the Region Field in the Rows area. Now drag the Customer field in the Rows area below the Region field. When you do this, Excel would understand that you want to categorize your data first by region and then by customers within the regions. You’ll have something as shown below:

Creating a Pivot Table in Excel - Q3a

Now drag the Revenue field in the Values area and you’ll have the sales for each customer (as well as the overall region).

Creating a Pivot Table in Excel - Q3b

You can sort the retailers based on the sales figures by following the below steps:

  • Right-click on a cell that has the sales value for any retailer.
  • Go to Sort –> Sort Largest to Smallest.

This would instantly sort all the retailers by the sales value.

Now you can quickly scan through the South region and identify that The Home Depot sales were 3004600 and it did better than four retailers in the South region.

Creating a Pivot Table in Excel - Q3c

Now there are more than one ways to skin the cat. You can also put the Region in the Filter area and then only select the South Region.

Click here to download the sample data.

I hope this tutorial gives you a basic overview of Excel Pivot Tables and helps you in getting started with it.

Here are some more Pivot Table Tutorials you may like:

  • Preparing Source Data For Pivot Table.
  • How to Apply Conditional Formatting in a Pivot Table in Excel.
  • How to Group Dates in Pivot Tables in Excel.
  • How to Group Numbers in Pivot Table in Excel.
  • How to Filter Data in a Pivot Table in Excel.
  • Using Slicers in Excel Pivot Table.
  • How to Replace Blank Cells with Zeros in Excel Pivot Tables.
  • How to Add and Use an Excel Pivot Table Calculated Fields.
  • How to Refresh Pivot Table in Excel.

The pivot table is one of Microsoft Excel’s most powerful — and intimidating — functions. Pivot tables can help you summarize and make sense of large data sets. However, they also have a reputation for being complicated.

Computer with pivot table examples over an orange background with a green arch.

The good news is that learning how to create a pivot table in Excel is much easier than you may believe.

We’re going to walk you through the process of creating a pivot table and show you just how simple it is. First, though, let’s take a step back and make sure you understand exactly what a pivot table is, and why you might need to use one.

What is a pivot table?
What are pivot tables used for?
How to Create a Pivot Table
Pivot Table Examples

Download 10 Excel Templates for Marketers [Free Kit]

What is a pivot table?

A pivot table is a summary of your data, packaged in a chart that lets you report on and explore trends based on your information. Pivot tables are particularly useful if you have long rows or columns that hold values you need to track the sums of and easily compare to one another.

In other words, pivot tables extract meaning from that seemingly endless jumble of numbers on your screen. And more specifically, it lets you group your data in different ways so you can draw helpful conclusions more easily.

The «pivot» part of a pivot table stems from the fact that you can rotate (or pivot) the data in the table to view it from a different perspective. To be clear, you’re not adding to, subtracting from, or otherwise changing your data when you make a pivot. Instead, you’re simply reorganizing the data so you can reveal useful information.

What are pivot tables used for?

If you’re still feeling a bit confused about what pivot tables actually do, don’t worry. This is one of those technologies that are much easier to understand once you’ve seen it in action.

The purpose of pivot tables is to offer user-friendly ways to quickly summarize large amounts of data. They can be used to better understand, display, and analyze numerical data in detail.

With this information, you can help identify and answer unanticipated questions surrounding the data.

Here are seven hypothetical scenarios where a pivot table could be helpful.

1. Comparing Sales Totals of Different Products

Let’s say you have a worksheet that contains monthly sales data for three different products — product 1, product 2, and product 3. You want to figure out which of the three has been generating the most revenue.

One way would be to look through the worksheet and manually add the corresponding sales figure to a running total every time product 1 appears. The same process can then be done for product 2, and product 3 until you have totals for all of them. Piece of cake, right?

Imagine, now, that your monthly sales worksheet has thousands upon thousands of rows. Manually sorting through each necessary piece of data could literally take a lifetime.

With pivot tables, you can automatically aggregate all of the sales figures for product 1, product 2, and product 3 — and calculate their respective sums — in less than a minute.

pivot table examples, compare sales totals of different productsImage source

2. Showing Product Sales as Percentages of Total Sales

Pivot tables inherently show the totals of each row or column when created. That’s not the only figure you can automatically produce, however.

Let’s say you entered quarterly sales numbers for three separate products into an Excel sheet and turned this data into a pivot table. The pivot table automatically gives you three totals at the bottom of each column — having added up each product’s quarterly sales.

But what if you wanted to find the percentage these product sales contributed to all company sales, rather than just those products’ sales totals?

With a pivot table, instead of just the column total, you can configure each column to give you the column’s percentage of all three column totals.

Let’s say three products totaled $200,000 in sales. The first product made $45,000, you can edit a pivot table to instead say this product contributed 22.5% of all company sales.

To show product sales as percentages of total sales in a pivot table, simply right-click the cell carrying a sales total and select Show Values As > % of Grand Total.

pivot table examples, product sales as percentageImage source

3. Combining Duplicate Data

In this scenario, you’ve just completed a blog redesign and had to update many URLs. Unfortunately, your blog reporting software didn’t handle the change well and split the «view» metrics for single posts between two different URLs.

In your spreadsheet, you now have two separate instances of each individual blog post. To get accurate data, you need to combine the view totals for each of these duplicates.

BostonImage source

Instead of having to manually search for and combine all the metrics from the duplicates, you can summarize your data (via pivot table) by blog post title.

Voilà, the view metrics from those duplicate posts will be aggregated automatically.

pivot table examples, combine complex dataImage source

4. Getting an Employee Headcount for Separate Departments

Pivot tables are helpful for automatically calculating things that you can’t easily find in a basic Excel table. One of those things is counting rows that all have something in common.

For instance, let’s say you have a list of employees in an Excel sheet. Next to the employees’ names are the respective departments they belong to. You can create a pivot table from this data that shows you each department’s name and the number of employees that belong to those departments.

The pivot table’s automated functions effectively eliminate your task of sorting the Excel sheet by department name and counting each row manually.

5. Adding Default Values to Empty Cells

Not every dataset you enter into Excel will populate every cell. If you’re waiting for new data to come in, you might have lots of empty cells that look confusing or need further explanation.

That’s where pivot tables come in.

pivot table examples, combine complex dataImage source

You can easily customize a pivot table to fill empty cells with a default value, such as $0, or TBD (for «to be determined»). For large data tables, being able to tag these cells quickly is a valuable feature when many people are reviewing the same sheet.

To automatically format the empty cells of your pivot table, right-click your table and click PivotTable Options.

In the window that appears, check the box labeled Empty Cells As and enter what you’d like displayed when a cell has no other value.

pivot table examples, empty cells Image source

  1. Enter your data into a range of rows and columns.
  2. Sort your data by a specific attribute.
  3. Highlight your cells to create your pivot table.
  4. Drag and drop a field into the «Row Labels» area.
  5. Drag and drop a field into the «Values» area.
  6. Fine-tune your calculations.

Now that you have a better sense of what pivot tables can be used for, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how to actually create one.

Step 1. Enter your data into a range of rows and columns.

Every pivot table in Excel starts with a basic Excel table, where all your data is housed. To create this table, simply enter your values into a specific set of rows and columns. Use the topmost row or the topmost column to categorize your values by what they represent.

For example, to create an Excel table of blog post performance data, you might have:

  • A column listing each «Top Pages.»
  • A column listing each URL’s «Clicks.»
  • A column listing each post’s «Impressions.»

We’ll be using that example in the steps that follow.

pivot table, enter your data into a range of rows and columns.

Step 2. Sort your data by a specific attribute.

Once you’ve entered all your data into your Excel sheet, you’ll want to sort your data by attribute. This will make your information easier to manage once it becomes a pivot table.

To sort your data, click the Data tab in the top navigation bar and select the Sort icon underneath it. In the window that appears, you can sort your data by any column you want and in any order.

For example, to sort your Excel sheet by «Views to Date,» select this column title under Column and then select whether you want to order your posts from smallest to largest, or from largest to smallest.

Select OK on the bottom-right of the Sort window.

Now, you’ve successfully reordered each row of your Excel sheet by the number of views each blog post has received.

pivot table, sort data

Step 3. Highlight your cells to create your pivot table.

Once you’ve entered and sorted your data, highlight the cells you’d like to summarize in a pivot table. Click Insert along the top navigation, and select the PivotTable icon.

You can also click anywhere in your worksheet, select «PivotTable,» and manually enter the range of cells you’d like included in the PivotTable.

This opens an options box. Here you can select whether or not to launch this pivot table in a new worksheet or keep it in the existing worksheet, in addition to setting your cell range.

If you open a new sheet, you can navigate to and away from it at the bottom of your Excel workbook. Once you’ve chosen, click OK.

Alternatively, you can highlight your cells, select Recommended PivotTables to the right of the PivotTable icon, and open a pivot table with pre-set suggestions for how to organize each row and column.

pivot table, highlight cells you want to include in the pivot table

Note: If using an earlier version of Excel, «PivotTables» may be under Tables or Data along the top navigation, rather than «Insert.» In Google Sheets, you can create pivot tables from the Data dropdown along the top navigation.

Step 4. Drag and drop a field into the «Row Labels» area.

After you’ve completed Step 3, Excel will create a blank pivot table for you.

Your next step is to drag and drop a field — labeled according to the names of the columns in your spreadsheet — into the Row Labels area. This will determine what unique identifier the pivot table will organize your data by.

For example, let’s say you want to organize a bunch of blogging data by post title. To do that, you’d simply click and drag the “Top pages” field to the «Row Labels» area.

pivot table, drag and drop a field into the "Row Labels" area.

Note: Your pivot table may look different depending on which version of Excel you’re working with. However, the general principles remain the same.

Step 5. Drag and drop a field into the «Values» area.

Once you’ve established how you’re going to organize your data, your next step is to add in some values by dragging a field into the Values area.

Sticking with the blogging data example, let’s say you want to summarize blog post views by title. To do this, you’d simply drag the «Views» field into the Values area.

pivot tables, drag and drop a field into the "Values" area.

Step 6. Fine-tune your calculations.

The sum of a particular value will be calculated by default, but you can easily change this to something like average, maximum, or minimum depending on what you want to calculate.

On a Mac, you can do this by clicking on the small i next to a value in the «Values» area, selecting the option you want, and clicking «OK.» Once you’ve made your selection, your pivot table will be updated accordingly.

If you’re using a PC, you’ll need to click on the small upside-down triangle next to your value and select Value Field Settings to access the menu.

pivot tables,  fine-tune your calculations.

When you’ve categorized your data to your liking, save your work and use it as you please.

Pivot Table Examples

From managing money to keeping tabs on your marketing effort, pivot tables can help you keep track of important data. The possibilities are endless!

See three pivot table examples below to keep you inspired.

1. Creating a PTO Summary and Tracker

pivot table examples, pto summaryImage source

If you’re in HR, running a business, or leading a small team, managing employees’ vacations is essential. This pivot allows you to seamlessly track this data.

All you need to do is import your employee’s identification data along with the following data:

  • Sick time.
  • Hours of PTO.
  • Company holidays.
  • Overtime hours.
  • Employee’s regular number of hours.

From there, you can sort your pivot table by any of these categories.

2. Building a Budget

pivot table examples, budgetImage source

Whether you’re running a project or just managing your own money, pivot tables are an excellent tool for tracking spend.

The simplest budget just requires the following categories:

  • Date of transaction
  • Withdrawal/Expenses
  • Deposit/Income
  • Description
  • Any overarching categories (like paid ads or contractor fees)

With this information, you can see your biggest expenses and brainstorm ways to save.

3. Tracking Your Campaign Performance

pivot table examples, campaign performanceImage source

Pivot tables can help your team assess the performance of your marketing campaigns.

In this example, campaign performance is split by region. You can easily which country had the highest conversions during different campaigns.

This can help you identify tactics that perform well in each region and where advertisements need to be changed.

Digging Deeper With Pivot Tables

You’ve now learned the basics of pivot table creation in Excel. With this understanding, you can figure out what you need from your pivot table and find the solutions you’re looking for.

For example, you may notice that the data in your pivot table isn’t sorted the way you’d like. If this is the case, Excel’s Sort function can help you out. Alternatively, you may need to incorporate data from another source into your reporting, in which case the VLOOKUP function could come in handy.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in December 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

excel marketing templates

What is the Pivot Table in Excel?

A Pivot Table in Excel summarizes large amounts of data by organizing the data into small conclusive tables. Pivot Tables can help create reports and charts to understand trends. It also allows data filters to view just the details for areas of interest and explore more by changing the parameters.

It is known as a Pivot Table as it lets the user rearrange the rows and columns around the data to arrive at the desired summary. Users can also view total sales for different products, show product sales in percentages, get employee headcount in different departments, etc.

For example, when we create Pivot Table for the data below,

Pivot Table in Excel 1

The data is organized in the below form:

Pivot Table in Excel 2

Key Highlights

  • Pivot Table in Excel helps group complex data in multiple ways to draw meaningful conclusions easily.
  • We can rotate the data in the large data set to view it from different perspectives.
  • We cannot add, subtract or modify data while creating a Pivot Table.
  • We can use Pivot Tables for creating custom reports with appropriate formatting.

How to Create a Pivot Table in Excel?

You can download this Pivot Table Excel Template here – Pivot Table Excel Template

Example #1

The table below shows a list of auditors with the properties they marked as correct and incorrect. We want to count the properties according to their status using the Pivot Table.

Example #1

Solution:

Step 1: Select the data table and click on the Insert menu

Insert menu

Step 2: Click on Pivot Table

Pivot Table

A dialogue box PivotTable from table or range is displayed as shown below

PivotTable from table or range

Explanation:

Table/Range is the selected data table.

Next, we have to select whether we want the Pivot table in the New Worksheet or the Existing Worksheet.

Here, we select the Existing Worksheet.

Now, we have to specify the location (cell) for the Pivot Table. For this, click the desired cell and it will be displayed in the Location option in the dialogue box.

Now, click OK and the below Pivot Table will be created.

Pivot Table Fields

The above Pivot Table has no data. To enter data into it click anywhere on the Pivot table and we can see a Pivot Table Fields pane on the right side of the Excel Window as shown below

Pivot Table Fields 2

At the top, the Pivot Table has a list of fields (columns of the data table). At the bottom of the Pivot Table Fields pane, there are four areas (Rows, Values, Filters, and Columns) in which we need to place the data fields.

  • Rows: Data that is taken as a specifier
  • Values: Count of the data
  • Filters: Filters to select the desired data field
  • Columns: Values under different conditions

We can place the data fields into the desired area either by dragging them or by clicking the checkbox next to the data field.

Step 3: Drag the Auditor field to the area Rows, Property_ID to Values, and Status to Filters.

Auditor field

It results in the below table

Auditor field 2

The table shows the Total count (17) of the Property_IDs checked by the auditors.

Now, we want to count the number of Property_IDs marked as Correct

Step 3: Click on the Filter section dropdown in the table

Filter section

Step 4: Click on the Correct checkbox > Select Multiple Items > OK

Select Multiple Items

The result is displayed as shown below

result

The above table shows the total number of Property IDs marked as correct to be 13.

Step 4: Select the Incorrect option from the filter (dropdown) to get the below result

Incorrect option

The above table shows the total count of Incorrect Property IDs.

Example #2

The table below shows sales of Product 1, Product 2, Product 3, Product 4, Product 5, Product 6, Product 7, Product 8, and Product 9 in the year 2017 in quarters- Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4. We want to find the total sales of all the products using the Pivot Table.

Example #2

Solution:

Here, we will use the alternative method to create the Pivot table. For that,

Step 1: Press the keys ALT + D + P on the keyboard

ALT + D + P

The PivotTable and PivotChart Wizard dialogue box opens up. It asks two questions-

  1. Where is the data you want to analyze?
  2. What kind of report do you want to create?

Step 2: Select the first option for both questions, i.e.,

  1. Microsoft Excel list or database and
  2. PivotTable

And click Next.

Microsoft Excel list or database

Note: By default, the first options for both questions are selected.

Now, Excel asks for a range of data. As we had already selected the data, therefore, it is prefilled.

Step 3: Click on Next

Click on Next

Now the dialog box asks us whether we want our pivot table in the same worksheet or a new worksheet. So,

Step 4: Select the New worksheet and click on Finish.

New worksheet

Now a Pivot Table is created with the PivotTable Fields pane on the right side of the Worksheet.

PivotTable Fields pane

Step 5: Drag the field Quarter in the area Columns, Year in Filters, Product in Rows, and Sales in Values.

field Quarter

The Pivot Table is created as shown below

Pivot Table is created

The above table shows the Total Sales of 9161.

Example #3

The below table shows a list of brands with their model, color, mileage, and price. We want to find the total price of all the Models of a Brand using the Pivot Table.

Example #3

Solution:

Step 1: Select the data table and click on Insert > Pivot Table

Insert - Pivot Table

The Pivot table from table or range dialogue box appears

Step 2: Choose Existing Worksheet, specify the location by clicking on the desired cell, and click OK.

Step 2

Note: The Table/Range is pre-filled as we had selected the data table.

The Pivot Table is created as shown below with the Fields pane on the right side.

Table or Range

Step 3: Drag the field Brand in the area Filters, Model in Rows, Color in Columns, and Price in Values.

field Brand

The Pivot Table is created as shown below with a total price of $ 60203.

$ 60203

Step 4: Click the dropdown (filter) and select Toyota > Select Multiple Items > OK

Toyota

Excel creates a Pivot Table showing the total price ($ 17770) for all the models of Toyota

$ 17770

Now, we want to view the total price for Chevrolet and Toyota together

Click the dropdown (filter) and select Chevrolet and Toyota > Select Multiple Items > OK

Chevrolet and Toyota

Excel creates a Pivot Table showing the total price ($ 29463) for all the models of Chevrolet and Toyota

$ 29463

How to Move a Pivot Table in Excel?

To move a Pivot Table,

  1. Select the Pivot Table > PivotTable Analyze > Move PivotTable

How to Move a Pivot Table in Excel

2. Specify the new location and click OK

Shortcuts for Pivot table in Excel

Below are the shortcuts we can use while working with Pivot Table

Shortcuts for Pivot table in Excel

Things to Remember

  • Pivot tables do not change the values in the database.
  • We can insert Pivot Tables either in the same worksheet or a new worksheet.
  • For convenience, we add pivot tables in a new worksheet.
  • We can create Pivot tables with up to 500,000 records.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1) Why use a Pivot Table in Excel?

Answer: We can use Pivot Tables to track and analyze hundreds of thousands of data points with a compact table. We can use Pivot Tables to make a comparison, highlight a trend, or show relationships between parameters. Also, we can prepare multiple reports using the same Pivot Table.

Q2) Where is Pivot Table in Excel?

Answer: To locate the Pivot table,

Step 1: Select the data

Step 2: Click on Insert

Step 3: Select Pivot Table

Where is Pivot Table in Excel.png

Q3) Is there a limit to the number of rows in a Pivot Table in Excel?

Answer: A Pivot Table can display a maximum of 100,000 rows. Therefore, we cannot visualize more than 100k rows.

Q4) How many values can a Pivot Table handle?

Answer: Pivot tables can handle up to 1,048,576 items.

Q5) What are the disadvantages of Pivot table in Excel?

Answer: The disadvantages of the Pivot table are:

  1. We cannot use the aggregate function with the Pivot table
  2. Pivot tables do not support conditional formatting.
  3. The Pivot Table does not work if there are blank rows or columns

Recommended Articles

The above article is a guide to creating a Pivot Table in Excel. For more such information, EDUCBA recommends the below-given articles.

  1. PowerPivot in Excel
  2. Pivot Table Formula in Excel
  3. VBA Refresh Pivot Table
  4. Excel Delete Pivot Table

A Pivot Table is an Excel tool that allows you to extract data in a preferred format (dashboard/reports) from large data sets contained within a worksheet. It can summarize, sort, group, and reorganize data, as well as execute other complex calculations on it.

It is available in the “Tables” section of the “Insert” tab. The keyboard shortcut to insert Pivot Table in excel is – “ALT+D+P.” The content of Pivot Table changes whenever there is a change in the data source.

Table of contents
  • Pivot Table in Excel
    • How to Create a Pivot Table in Excel?
      • Method #1
      • Method #2
    • Pivot Table Uses
      • #1 – “Max” of Science marks by Maths marks
      • #2 – Average of Maths Marks Column
    • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
    • Recommended Articles

How to Create a Pivot Table in Excel?

The Pivot Table is created by using the following methods:

Method #1

Pivot Table in excel can be created using the following steps

  1. Click a cell in the data worksheet.
  2. In the “Tables” section of the “Insert” tab, click “Pivot Table.”

    pivot table method 1.1

  3. A “Create Pivot Table” window appears (as shown below).

    excel pivot table method 1.2

  4. Now under the option “Choose the data that you want to analyze,” Excel automatically selects the data range.
  5. The data range is displayed in the “Table/Range” box under the “Select a table or range.”
  6. In the “Table/Range” option, we can verify the selected cell range (shown in the below image).

    excel pivot table method 1.3

  7. The next step is to choose the location of the Pivot Table report. The worksheet can either be the existing or a new one.
  8. In this example of Excel Pivot Table, cell D1 is selected. Under the option “Choose where you want the Pivot Table report to be placed,” select “Existing Worksheet” (shown in the below image).

    excel pivot table method 1.4

    Note: Select “New Worksheet” if we prefer to insert a Pivot Table on the new worksheet (as shown in the below image).

    excel pivot table method 1.6

  9. To analyze multiple tables, go to the option “Choose whether you want to analyze multiple tables” and click the below checkbox “Add this data to the Data Model.”

    excel pivot table method 1.5

  10. Click “OK” to insert the Pivot Table in the worksheet, depending on the location selected.

    If we select “New Worksheet,” the “Pivot Table 1” is placed on the new empty worksheet.

    The succeeding image shows a column named “Pivot Table Fields” on the right-hand side. This shows a list of fields or columns to be added to the Pivot Table report.

    Now, the Pivot Table is created on the Column range A (“Maths”) and Column B (“Science”), respectively. The same is displayed in the “Fields” list (shown in the below image).

    excel pivot table method 1.7

Method #2

  • At first, select the data range. It is an input to the Pivot Table.

excel pivot table method 2.1

  • Go to the “Insert” tab and select “Recommended Pivot Tables.” This option provides the recommended ways of creating Pivot Tables. The user can select and choose one among the given recommendations.

excel pivot table method 2.2

  • The below image shows the two recommendations given by Excel. One is the “Sum of Maths by Science,” and the other is “Sum of Science by Maths.”

excel pivot table method 2.3

  • When you click one of the options, the actual Pivot Table along with the values, opens in the right-hand-side panel.

excel pivot table method 2.4

  • Here, the “Group by” option provides the following ways of grouping:
  1. “Add Science column marks group by Maths column marks” 
  2. “Add Maths column marks group by Science column marks”
  • The user can select either of the two ways of grouping. The grouped data is displayed in ascending order (for both the ways of grouping).
  • The other option is “Blank Pivot Table.” To create a new Pivot Table, click “Blank Pivot Table” box. It is displayed at the bottom (left-hand side) of the “Recommended Pivot Tables” window as shown in the succeeding image.
  • This step will follow the “Method 1” (mentioned in the previous section) of creating a new Pivot Table.

excel pivot table method 2.5

Pivot Table Uses

You can download this Pivot Table Excel Template here – Pivot Table Excel Template

Let us understand the uses of the Pivot Table with the help of the below-mentioned case studies:

#1 – “Max” of Science marks by Maths marks

The table below provides the marks of the subjects Maths and Science in Column A and Column B, respectively. The given data is selected to create the Pivot Table in excel.

Now generate the Pivot Table report to find the maximum number which is present in the “Science marks column” by “Maths marks column” values.

excel pivot table method 2.1

Let us follow the steps shown in previous sections – “Method 1” or “Method 2” to generate the Pivot Table.

  • Now, drag “Maths” marks to the “Rows” field and “Science” marks to the “Values” field.

excel pivot table example 1.4

  • Right-click on the Pivot Table and select “Value Field Settings.”

excel pivot table example 1.1

  • Now select the “Max” option from the “Summarize value field by” option in the window.

excel pivot table example 1.2

  • The “Max” option returns the maximum number present in the Science marks (represented in Column B of the table below).

excel pivot table example 1.3

#2 – Average of Maths Marks Column

A list of Maths and Science marks is provided in Column A and Column B of the table below. Generate the Pivot Table report on the average number of the Maths marks (Column A).

EX 2.1

Select the data in Column A (Maths marks) to create the Pivot Table.

Let us follow the below steps to find the “Average” of the Maths marks in Column A.

  • Create a Pivot Table and drag “Maths” in the “Rows” field.

  • Right-click on the Pivot Table and select “Field Settings.”

EX 2.2

  • In the “Field Settings” window, select the “Custom” button under the tab “Subtotals & Filters.” 
  • Below this tab, choose the “Average” function.

EX 2.3

  • Now drag “Sum of Maths” in the “Values” field.

  • Right-click on the Pivot Table and select “Value Field Settings.”

EX 2.8

  • In the “Value Field Settings” window, go to the “Summarize value field by” tab. Then select the “Average” option.

EX 2.9

  • The Value Field is selected as “Average,” which returns the average value of 77.4 as a result in the Pivot Table Report.

EX 2.10

Similarly, other numeric operations can be performed on the given dataset. The dataset can also be filtered to fit the ranges as per the requirement.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What are Pivot Tables used for?

A Pivot Table is used to summarise, sort, group, reorganize, and count the data in a Worksheet. It calculates the total and average of the data provided in a table. It allows the transformation of data from columns into rows and rows into columns, respectively. It also permits the grouping of data by any field or column. It also performs many advanced calculations on the data.

2. What is a Pivot Chart in Excel?

A Pivot Table is a built-in feature of Excel. It helps organize, visualize, and summarize the selected columns and rows in a spreadsheet. It helps to obtain a desired report on the given data.

3. What is the difference between Pivot Table and Pivot Chart?

Pivot Tables allow us to view the data summarized in a grid of horizontal and vertical columns. It is also used to extract information from a large dataset.

Pivot Charts are the visual representation of the Pivot Table data. It helps to summarize and analyze the datasets and patterns.

  • Pivot Table is a data processing technique in Excel.
  • Pivot Table is used to summarize data and extract information from a large dataset.
  • Pivot Table assists in making dashboards and reports based on a data source.
  • To create Pivot Table, click the “Tables” section under the “Insert” tab. The keyboard shortcut is – Press “ALT+D+P.”
  • Pivot Chart is a visual representation of Pivot Table, which allows us to summarize and analyze the datasets and patterns.

Recommended Articles

This has been a guide to Pivot Table in Excel. Here we discuss how to create a Pivot Table in Excel using the two methods along with examples and downloadable templates. You may also look at the below useful functions in Excel –

  • Pivot Table From Multiple SheetsPivot Table is a basic data analysis tool that calculates, summarizes, & analyses the data of a more extensive table. To create a Pivot Table from Multiple Sheets, you can use a few shortcuts & features as per the specified conditions. read more
  • Examples of Pivot TablePivot Table represents various statistical figures such as mean, median or mode. For example, data of any real estate project with different fields like type of flats, block names, area of the individual flats could be easily presented using pivot table.read more
  • Insert Pivot Table SlicerPivot Table Slicer is a tool in MS Excel to filter the data present in a pivot table. The data can be presented based on various categories as it offers a way to apply the pivot table filters that dynamically change the view of the pivot table data.read more
  • Filter Data using Pivot TableBy right-clicking on the pivot table, we can access the pivot table filter option. Another approach is to use the filter options available in the pivot table fields.read more

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Home > Microsoft Excel > How to Create a Pivot Table in Excel? — The Easiest guide

If you ask anyone with decent experience in using Excel, about the most useful Excel feature, they will vouch for the Excel Pivot Table. It is one of the most searched Excel features on the internet, and for good reason. 

Related:

Creating A Dynamic Pivot Chart Title Using Slicers

Using Getpivotdata In Excel

Dashboards In Excel Using Pivot Tables, Pivot Charts And Slicers

In this guide, let’s see what makes the Pivot table one of the most popular and powerful Excel features. 

This guide covers 

Table Of Contents

  1. What is a Pivot Table?
  2. What is the use of a Pivot Table in Excel?
  3. How does an Excel Pivot Table work?
  4. How to Create a Pivot Table in Excel?
    • Step 1: Turn the Data Range into a Table
    • Step 2: Open the Create Pivot Table Wizard
    • Step 3: Select the Source Table or Range for the Pivot Table
    • Step 4: Set the Location of the Pivot Table
  5. How to Add Data to an Excel Pivot Table?
    • Four Quadrants
    • Values: 
    • Rows: 
    • Columns: 
    • Filters: 
    • Value Field Settings 
  6. Analyse data using Pivot Table
    • Sales Values across Months
    • Sales Values across months in Each branch.
    • Sales Values across months in Each branch for each department.
  7. What are the Benefits of Pivot Tables?
  8. FAQs
    • What is the use of a Pivot Table in Excel?
    • What is a Pivot Table formula?
  9. Let’s wrap up

What is a Pivot Table?

Microsoft describes a Pivot Table in Excel (or PivotTable if you’re using the trademarked function name!) as “an interactive way to quickly summarize large amounts of data”. It’s a pretty good description. 

What is the use of a Pivot Table in Excel?

The Excel Pivot Table function is an essential part of data analysis in Excel. Before the Pivot Table came along you’d need multiple functions tied together in a complicated and convoluted way to perform the same action that just takes a few clicks in a Pivot Table.

To say they revolutionised the way the average Excel user performs data analysis is an understatement. They are such a big deal that they have their own Wikipedia page. 

For the end-user, Pivot Tables are remarkably simple to use and easy to learn. There are hundreds of brilliant articles on how to create your first Pivot Table as well as some excellent lessons on YouTube.

We’re going to contribute by showing you some of our highest rated videos that teach you how to create a Pivot Table in Excel. 

If for any reason you don’t get it the first time, don’t worry, we’ve included multiple Pivot Table tutorials to help you master this essential skill.

If you have an hour to dedicate to a Pivot Table tutorial, then start with the video below. This is a recording of a live class we held in 2019 that takes you through everything you need to know to start analysing your data using Pivot Tables. These live classes are all free as part of a Simon Sez IT membership.

Learn Pivot Tables in 1 HourVideo Tutorial

If that’s too much, scroll down and we have some other, shorter videos taken straight from our Excel courses.

How does an Excel Pivot Table work?

All Pivot Tables start life as a boring old range of data. But once you create a Pivot Table, Excel takes a quick look at the data and stores it in its cache. 

This is called the Pivot cache and it is responsible for the super fast calculation of summaries that Pivot Tables are known for. 

Each time you add or remove data from the Excel Pivot Table, Excel does not deal with the source data, rather it uses this Pivot Cache as a quick shortcut.  

Also Read:

Introduction To Power Pivot and Power Query In Excel

Getting Started With Power Pivot: Advanced Excel

Excel Crash Course – Learn Pivot Tables In 1 Hour

How to Create a Pivot Table in Excel?

Step 1: Turn the Data Range into a Table

You can create a Pivot Table in Excel from a range but we strongly recommend that you turn your range into a table as this makes it a lot simpler to add or remove data later on.

 For example:

Turn your Range into a Table to add or remove data later on
Turn your Range into a Table to add or remove data later on

A few golden rules about your data range or table before you create an Excel Pivot Table with it:

  • Every column should have a header. If one is missing, you won’t be able to create a Pivot Table.
  • There should be no empty rows. There can be the odd empty cell, but no full empty rows. This can mess up a few things.

Step 2: Open the Create Pivot Table Wizard

Once you’ve turned your range into a table (use Ctrl-T to do this quickly!) you then need to select a cell in that table, go to Insert on the ribbon and select Pivot Table on the far left.

This brings up the Create Pivot Table Wizard where you can start selecting your Pivot Table options.

Step 3: Select the Source Table or Range for the Pivot Table

The first option you’ll notice is that Excel is asking you to select the table or range. Because we have already created a table and we were clicked into that table when we chose to insert the Pivot Table, Excel has done the hard work for us and has selected that table as our range of data.

Select the Table you have created or the Range you need for the Pivot Table/ Pivot table in Excel.
Select the Table you have created or the Range you need for the Pivot Table

Step 4: Set the Location of the Pivot Table

Select whether you create your Pivot Table in a new or an existing worksheet. Once you hit OK, you’ve created your first Pivot Table. Hurray!

What you’ll see next is a blank table to the left with a set of options on your right. These options are the Pivot Table fields and this is where the magic starts to happen. I’ll show you how to do this in the next section.

Pivot Table Fields on the right is the place to add or remove data into your Pivot table
Pivot Table Fields on the right is the place to add or remove data into your Pivot table

How to Add Data to an Excel Pivot Table?

Using the Pivot Table Fields panel you can now start to manipulate your data. 

Four Quadrants

A pivot table is based on these four quadrants:

  • Filters
  • Columns
  • Rows
  • Values

We’ll see what each of these quadrants mean in a minute. 

These four quadrants are the key to manipulating the data in your Pivot Table. You can now start to drag the values at the top of the Excel Pivot Table Fields section into the quadrants below. 

Pivot table fields image 2
Add or remove Pivot table Fields into any of these Four Quadrants

Values: 

The values quadrant is what decides the type and value of calculations that the Pivot Table should display. It is the meat of a Pivot Table so to speak.

 In the following image, the area bordered in red is the Values area in a Pivot Table. 

pivot table summary image
The Values section displays the value of PivotTable fields

Rows: 

The rows quadrant is what decides the rows that the Pivot Table should display. The  Rows are used to slice the data in a suitable way that we are looking for.

 For example, you want to look at the total sales that occurred in different months. For this, you need to drag Months in the Rows quadrant.

 In the following image, the area bordered in green is the Rows area of a Pivot Table. 

Rows Area displays the Rows of the Pivot Table
Rows Area displays the Rows of the Pivot Table

Columns: 

The columns quadrant is what decides the columns that the Pivot Table should display. That is columns are used to further dice the data into a suitable format. 

 For example, you want to look at the total sales that occurred in different months across different departments. For this, you need to drag Months in the Rows quadrant and further drag Departments into the Columns quadrant. 

 In the following image, the area bordered in blue is the Columns area of a Pivot Table. 

Columns Area displays the Columns of the Pivot Table
Columns Area displays the Columns of the Pivot Table

Filters: 

The filters quadrant is optional and is used to further drill down your  Pivot Table. For example, you may want to look only at the sales value of the Detroit Branch. 

This can be done by dragging the Branch field into the filter quadrant. Now, you can select the branch you are looking for from the drop-down list and view only its data.

Value Field Settings 

How do you change what’s happening in your value field away from displaying the sum? Simple, you need Value Field Settings.

To access these select any value in your Pivot Table, go to analyze on the ribbon and select “Field Settings”. Alternatively,  click the little down arrow in the value quadrant and select “Value Field Settings”.

This brings up the options you have in relation to your values. You can average instead of sum, you can count or use Min or Max. You can then select how you show the values including adding some calculations and changing the number format.

pivot table value field settings
You can change the type of value to be displayed in the Value Field Settings

Analyse data using Pivot Table

Depending on which quadrant you pick, the table will format differently so there are a few rules to stick to:

  • Numbers nearly always go in the Values quadrant. This allows you to perform calculations, summaries, averages etc. all from within your Pivot Table.
  • Dates often go in the Rows column because…
  • Anything you put in the rows column will become the row headings, anything in the columns quadrant will become column headings so for ease of use put the data with more options in the Rows column (it’s easier to scroll down rather than across for ages).
  • The Filters quadrant does what you’d expect, it applies a filter to the entire dataset. Super useful if you just want to show something specific.
Drag and Drop your desired Pivot Table Fields into relevant Quadrants
Drag and Drop your desired Pivot Table Fields into relevant Quadrants

Sales Values across Months

Say you have dates in your rows quadrant and a set of corresponding values in your values quadrant. Excel will automatically do a couple of things.

  • It will condense the dates into months, quarters or years (depending on the data set).
  • It will sum the values in the values field.
Months in the Rows Quadrant Displays the sum of sales across months
Months in the Rows Quadrant Displays the sum of sales across months

This is the  Pivot Table starting to work. From your dataset, it’s now summarising that data by month for you. All within a few clicks.

Of course, you may not want that exact data and you may not want to add it together. The amazing thing about the Excel Pivot Table function is just how flexible it is.

 You can drag and drop, remove and change the data within those quadrants as much as you want and you’ll start to see just how powerful Pivot Tables are.

Sales Values across months in Each branch.

The data in our example is sales data. Above we’re seeing sales by month which is useful. But what if we wanted to see sales by branch and by date? 

Easy, we just drop the branch data into the rows column, under the date and we get a breakdown of that as well:

Add Branch in the Rows Quadrant below the Months field, to display sales values for each branch for each month
Add Branch in the Rows Quadrant below the Months field, to display sales values for each branch for each month

Sales Values across months in Each branch for each department.

If we wanted to get even more detail we could then add the departments to the column data and we’d see a summary of sales by branch, by the department and by date! You can quickly see that with very little effort on our part we can now draw really meaningful insight from our dataset:

Pivot table rows and column summary
Add The Department Field to the Columns Quadrant to display the Sales values in Each month for each State across different departments

What are the Benefits of Pivot Tables?

All that an Excel Pivot table does is help you effortlessly slice and dice your data. A normal Excel sheet or table might not suffice for your data needs.

Suppose you need to quickly find out the Bread sales in January that occurred in the Detroit region, manually doing it each time using filters or formulas can be painstaking. 

Or if you need to quickly look at the top 5 performing regions in the coffee department, using an Excel function is akin to taking the roundabout way to reach your destination. 

An Excel Pivot Table achieves all this and more in just a few clicks. 

Slicers and Filters

If you’ve grasped the basics and you’re ready to conquer some more advanced pivot table tutorials, then you need to know all about Slicers and Filters.

By filtering and slicing your data in a Pivot Table you can start to get analyse specific areas of your dataset and pull out interesting patterns. Plus, if you want to create an interactive dashboard that others can use, you’ll want to master these functions. 

All this and so much more is explained in this video:

In this video our Excel expert Toby shows you everything you need to know about Slicers & Filters :

Suggested Reads: 

How To Use Excel Countifs: The Best Guide

Excel Sumifs & Sumif Functions – The No.1 Complete Guide

How To Protect Cells In Excel Workbooks-the Easiest Way

FAQs

What is the use of a Pivot Table in Excel?

An Excel Pivot Table is used to summarise data in a reorganised format. While doing this, you can sort, filter, sum, count or even average your values across different fields. 

What is a Pivot Table formula?

In a Pivot Table, under the value field settings, you will find summary functions to find SUM, AVERAGE, and COUNTS of values for the fields.

 If they are not enough you can create your own formula to find the required value. These are called Pivot Table formulas

Let’s wrap up

That’s enough Pivot Tables for today, isn’t it? In this guide, we looked at the basics of creating and using pivot tables. 

The key takeaway from this tutorial is that an Excel Pivot Table is a very versatile tool to drill down and look at your data. 

There are more interesting things to do with them and we’ll deal with them in later advanced guides. If you find this guide useful, check out our Excel courses for more high-quality comprehensive guides on advanced Excel topics. 

If all the above isn’t enough Pivot Table for you, then we’ve got an extended Pivot Table video here for you. It’s 40 minutes long, so get comfy.

Simon Sez IT has been teaching Excel for over ten years. For a low, monthly fee you can get access to 100+ IT training courses. 

Other Excel classes you might like:

  • What-If Analysis in Excel
  • Designing Better Spreadsheets in Excel
  • Logical Functions in Excel
Deborah Ashby

Deborah Ashby is a TAP Accredited IT Trainer, specializing in the design, delivery, and facilitation of Microsoft courses both online and in the classroom.She has over 11 years of IT Training Experience and 24 years in the IT Industry. To date, she’s trained over 10,000 people in the UK and overseas at companies such as HMRC, the Metropolitan Police, Parliament, SKY, Microsoft, Kew Gardens, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP.She’s a qualified MOS Master for 2010, 2013, and 2016 editions of Microsoft Office and is COLF and TAP Accredited and a member of The British Learning Institute.

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