Pivot Tables in Excel: Explained
In this article, you will learn how to create pivot tables in Excel.
What are pivot tables in Excel?
A pivot table in Excel is a powerful data analysis tool that allows you to summarize and analyze large datasets. It enables you to extract valuable insights and identify patterns or trends within your data. With a pivot table, you can quickly organize, summarize, and manipulate data in a tabular format.
Uses of pivot tables in Excel
Here are some of the key uses of pivot tables in Excel:
- Summarizing data: Pivot tables enable you to quickly summarize and analyze large amounts of data, such as sales figures, financial data, or survey responses. With just a few clicks, you can create a pivot table that shows the total sales by product, region, or time period.
- Filtering and sorting data: You can use pivot tables to filter and sort your data by different criteria, such as by date, category, or value. This makes it easy to identify trends or patterns in your data and drill down to specific details.
- Creating customized reports: Pivot tables allow you to create customized reports that are tailored to your specific needs. You can choose which data to include, how to group and summarize it, and how to present it visually.
Overall, pivot tables are a versatile and powerful tool for analyzing and presenting data in Excel. By using pivot tables effectively, you can save time, gain insights, and make better decisions based on your data.
How to create a pivot table in Excel
Follow the below step-by-step guide on how to create a pivot table in Excel:
Step 1: Make sure your data is organized in a tabular format with column headers. The data can be in a worksheet in the same Excel file or an external file, though we highly recommend you include all necessary data in the same file.
Step 2: Select the entire dataset
Step 3: Go to the "Insert" tab in the Excel ribbon and click on "PivotTable". This will open the "Create PivotTable" dialog box.
Step 4: In the "Create PivotTable" dialog box, make sure that the range of data you want to analyze is selected. You can choose to create the pivot table in a new worksheet or the same worksheet as your data.
Step 5: Click "OK" to create the pivot table.
Step 6: You will now see the "PivotTable Fields" pane on the right side of the Excel window. This is where you will define the layout of your pivot table.
Step 7: Drag the fields that you want to analyze to the appropriate areas of the "PivotTable Fields" pane. For example, if you want to analyze sales by Region and further check which employee has the highest sales, drag the "Region" field and ‘Employee Name’ to the "Rows" area, "Company" field to the "Columns" area and “Sales” field to the “Values” area.
