Creating a pivot table not only makes your work swift but also very accurate. In other words, nothing can go wrong when using the pivot tables. You are going to learn the pivot table’s importance and its formula. More importantly, you’re going to learn how to create a pivot table in Excel. Let’s begin by explaining what a Pivot table is.
What Is a Pivot Table in Excel?
A pivot table in Excel is a data summary packaged in a graphic that allows you to report on and examine patterns based on your data. Pivot tables are very handy if you have a long row or column of information that you need to track the sums of and compare to one another.
To put it another way, pivot tables make sense of the seemingly infinite mess of numbers on your screen. And, more particularly, it allows you to group your data in various ways so that you can readily draw useful conclusions.
The “pivot” part of a pivot table refers to the ability to rotate (or pivot) the data in the table to examine it from a different angle. Just so you know, when you pivot, you are not adding to, subtracting from, or otherwise affecting your data. Instead, you are merely restructuring the data so that useful information can be revealed.
Uses of Pivot Table in Excel
The goal of pivot tables is to provide user-friendly methods for quickly summarizing vast volumes of data. They can be used to more thoroughly interpret, display, and analyze numerical data.
You can use this information to help detect and answer unexpected queries about the data.
Here are some circumstances in which a pivot table could be useful:
#1. When comparing total sales of various products
Assume you have a spreadsheet with monthly sales data for three different products: product A, product B, and product C. You want to figure out which of the three is bringing in the most money.
One method is to go through the worksheet and manually add the matching sales figure to a running total whenever product A appears. Then repeat the process for products B and C until you get totals for all of them.
Consider your monthly sales worksheet to have hundreds upon hundreds of rows. Manually sorting through each necessary piece of data could take an eternity. In less than a minute, pivot tables can automatically combine all of the sales numbers for the products and calculate their respective sums.
#2. When checking the percentage of total sales
When you create a pivot table in Excel, it automatically displays the totals of each row or column. However, that is not the only figure that may be generated automatically. Assume you entered quarterly sales figures for three different items into an Excel sheet and converted the data into a pivot table. The pivot table goes ahead and calculates three totals at the bottom of each column based on the quarterly sales of each product.
But if you want to know the percentage of overall business sales the products contributed rather than just their total sales, you can arrange each column to tell you the column’s percentage of all three column totals using a pivot table.
Simply right-click the cell containing a sales total and select Show Values As >% of Grand Total to display product sales as percentages of total sales in a pivot table.
#3. Bringing Together Duplicate Data
In this case, you’ve recently finished a blog makeover and have to update a lot of URLs. Unfortunately, your blog reporting platform did not handle the change adequately, and the “view” numbers for single posts were spread across two separate URLs.
You now have two instances of each unique blog post in your spreadsheet. To obtain accurate statistics, you must add the view totals for each of these duplicates.
You can summarize your data (through a pivot table) by blog post title instead of manually searching for and combining all the metrics from the duplicates.
#4. Obtaining an Employee Headcount for Individual Departments
Pivot tables are useful for automatically calculating items that are difficult to find in a standard Excel spreadsheet. Counting rows that have something in common is one of them.
Assume you have a list of employees in an Excel spreadsheet. The departments to which the personnel belong are listed next to their names. You can use this data to create a pivot table that displays the name of each department as well as the number of workers that work in that department.
The automated functions of the pivot table efficiently eliminate the chore of manually sorting the Excel sheet by department name and counting each entry.
#5. Filling in the Blanks with Default Values
Not every dataset entered into Excel will fill every cell. If you’re waiting for new data, you may have a lot of empty cells that look confused or require more explanation.
A pivot table can be readily customized to fill empty cells with a default value, such as $0 or TBD (for “to be determined”). When multiple people are studying the same sheet of large data tables, being able to easily tag these cells is a valuable tool.
Right-click your pivot table and select PivotTable Options to automatically format the empty cells.
Check the box labeled Empty Cells As and enter what you want to be shown when a cell has no other value in the window that appears.
Pivot Table Formula in Excel
Pivot Table Field & Formula in Excel is a Pivot Table feature that makes it easier to create calculated fields. A computed field draws its value from other fields. It facilitates easier and smoother data analysis, resulting in better decision-making.
Furthermore, this Pivot Table calculated field and formula feature allows data to be grouped in a sequence and used to calculate fields that are dependent on the values in other fields. The functionality allows users to easily submit data to the system.
How To Edit The Pivot Table Calculated Field & Formula in Excel
To add or edit the Pivot Table Calculated Field & Formula in your Excel sheet, do this:
- Choose a date range and create a Pivot Table.
- Then, on the ribbon, click the newly created Pivot Table to access the Analyze and Design Tabs.
- Lastly, select “Analyze” and the “Insert the Calculated Field” options.
Creating Pivot Table in Excel
It is critical to structure your data correctly before creating a Pivot table in Excel; otherwise, the results will be incorrect. Each data type should be organized in a separate column with a header on top, referred to as a data field. Depending on the kind of data, each data field should be represented as text, numeric, or date. In data fields, there should be no combined cells.
Assume you are employed by a corporation that exports cereals and feed to several countries. You have a data set of orders that have been processed to various nations on a date-by-date basis, and you want to investigate it to determine which product categories are best-selling in which countries. A pivot table lets you separate, filter, and organize data by product category, country, and date.
Create a Pivot Table
After structuring your data, you are now ready to create a Pivot table in Excel. To do this, you must first complete the following steps:
Select any cell in your dataset by clicking on it.
Navigate to the Insert tab and select PivotTable from the Tables group.
Excel automatically chooses your data collection and, by default, produces a New Worksheet in which to place the Pivot table report. You can also choose the Existing Worksheet and the location where you want the Pivot table report to be displayed and click OK.
Inserting Data Fields
Excel generates the Report View pane on the left side and lists all the data columns in the Pivot Table Field List panel on the right side after inserting a Pivot Table. To create their report view on the left-hand side, you must select and drag data fields from the Field List panel and set them in the Row Labels, Column Labels, Filter, and Values boxes.
You can make single-dimensional or two-dimensional Pivot tables by inserting data fields into their relevant Labels. To do a calculation, number fields are placed in the Values area, and additional data fields are placed in the Row, Column, and Filter areas of the Pivot Table Fields list panel as needed.
Pivot Table in One Dimension
For the selected data fields, a one-dimensional Pivot table summarizes the dataset in either a Row or Column arrangement.
A one-dimensional Pivot table, for example, is used when you only want to see a summarized report of all products. To do so, drag and drop the Product field into the Row or Column Label area and the Amount field into the Values area to sum their respective order amounts.
This table summarizes the sales figures for all products in the data set.
Pivot Table with Two Dimensions
Drag and drop data fields into the Rows and Columns boxes to construct two-dimensional Pivot tables. It divides the data further and provides more insight into the data by producing a new picture of the data.
If you want to show a summary of product sales by country, you could create a two-dimensional pivot table by inserting the Product field in the Row area, the Country field in the Column area, and the Amount field in the Values area. It will provide you with a breakdown of product sales by country.
Pivot Table Grouping
The pivot table can categorize the data in report view fields based on data type and user requirements. The date and time fields can be grouped into hours, minutes, days, months, quarters, and years. It is best to place such fields in the Row area, then right-click on any cell of that field within the pivot table, select Group, and then select the correct grouping item.
For instance, you could group the Date field in Months and summarize the Pivot table data for products sold by the month. Place the Date field in the Row area, and then the Product field beneath the Date field in the Row area. Go to the Pivot table; right-click in any cell in the Date field in the Pivot table, select Group, Months, and OK.
Display Product Values in %
By default, the Pivot table in Excel displays values as “No Calculation.” However, you can change this by changing the Field Value Settings on the Value area field’s “Show Value As” tab.
You can display the values as % of Row, % of Column, % of Grand Total, and so on. To do so, simply select “Value Field Settings…” from the drop-down list of the Amount field in the Value section.
On the Show Values As tab, select % of the grand total from the drop-down arrow and click OK. The Pivot table will alter the output as a percentage of the Grand Total values for each product and nation. In this manner, you can determine the contribution of each product to overall revenue by country.
Pivot Table Filtering
You can filter Pivot Table results by inserting the data field in the Report Filter section and using filters to narrow down your results. If you wish to filter results based on product category, for instance, set the Category field in the Report Filter box and reduce the results by selecting one category from the list. Assume you just want to summarize products in the Feed category.
Summarize Value
A pivot table in Excel by default summarizes numeric field values using SUM. However, you can adjust this by modifying the Field Value Settings of the Value Area field.
Instead of SUM, you can alter the output to COUNT, PERCENTAGE, or AVERAGE. Assume you want to know how many orders have been placed for each product in each country. To do so, simply select “Value Field Settings…” from the drop-down list of the Amount field in the Value section.
Instead of the total values, the Report View pane will display a count of values in each country for each product.
What is the purpose of an Excel Pivot Table?
Pivot Tables are used in Microsoft Excel to sort and summarize huge datasets. They allow you to change the pivot table fields, allowing you to easily pick which section of your dataset should be summarized.
By modifying the fields, you may construct interactive summaries that bring together vast amounts of data in the most logical way possible.
What is the simplest approach to incorporating a Pivot Table into your spreadsheet?
To enter a Pivot Table summary into your spreadsheet, navigate to the sheet (the first cell) where you want the Pivot Table summary to appear.
To open the Insert Pivot Table dialog box, go to the Insert Tab > Pivot Table (or click the Alt Key > N > V).
Refer to the data-containing cells.
Select the ‘New Worksheet’ option.
Click the Okay button.
The End
There you have it! A detailed guide on how to create a pivot table in Excel and work with ease and precision. With this information, you now have a clear understanding of what you want from your Pivot Table. You can also contact an Excel expert to help you figure it all out, just in case you need more help.
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