Excel Pivot Tables

Basic Beginners Guide to Learn Excel Pivot

Tables for Data Analysis and Modeling

MG Martin
© Copyright 2019 - _____MG Martin____All rights reserved.
The contents of this book may not be reproduced, duplicated or transmitted
without direct written permission from the author.

Under no circumstances will any legal responsibility or blame be held against

the publisher for any reparation, damages, or monetary loss due to the
information herein, either directly or indirectly.

Legal Notice:
This book is copyright protected. This is only for personal use. You cannot
amend, distribute, sell, use, quote or paraphrase any part or the content within
this book without the consent of the author.

Disclaimer Notice:
Please note the information contained within this document is for educational
and entertainment purposes only. Every attempt has been made to provide
accurate, up to date and reliable complete information. No warranties of any
kind are expressed or implied. Readers acknowledge that the author is not
engaging in the rendering of legal, financial, medical or professional advice.
The content of this book has been derived from various sources. Please
consult a licensed professional before attempting any techniques outlined in
this book.

By reading this document, the reader agrees that under no circumstances is

the author responsible for any losses, direct or indirect, which are incurred as
a result of the use of information contained within this document, including,
but not limited to, —errors, omissions, or inaccuracies.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter One: An Introduction to Pivot Tables
Insert A Pivot Table
Drag Fields In A Pivot
Sort Data In A Pivot
Filter The Pivot
Change Summary Calculation
Two-Dimensional Pivot Table
Chapter Two: Advantages and Disadvantages of Pivot Tables
Advantages of Pivot Tables
Disadvantages of Pivot Tables
Chapter Three: What Can You Do With Pivot Tables?
Working With Tables
Focus On Auditing The Data
Refreshing The Pivot
Subtotals
Report Layouts
Change the Value Field Setting
Number Formatting
Format Error Values
Format Empty Cells
Keep Column Widths Constant
Showing The Report Filters On Multiple Sheets
Average
Calculates A Unique Count
Percent Of grand Total
Percentage of Column Total
Percentage of Row Total
Variance Calculations
Running Total In
Group By Date
Group By years and quarters
Sorting By Largest Or Smallest
Sort Using custom Lists
Filter By Dates
Filtering by values
Inserting Slicers
Slicer Styles
Slicer Connections Between Multiple Pivots
Filtering A Slicer
Creating Calculated Fields
Creating Calculated Items In A Pivot
Insert A Pivot Chart
Pivot Chart And Slicers
Highlight Cells Based on Their Values
Chapter Four: Manipulating Data For A Pivot Table
Accessing The Data
Source Data Fields
Shared Pivot Tables
Preparing The Source Data
Conclusion
Reference:
Introduction

I want to thank you for choosing this book, ‘Excel Pivot Tables - Basic
Beginners Guide to Learn Excel Pivot Tables for Data Analysis and
Modeling.’
Most organizations and businesses use Excel to perform data analysis. These
organizations also use it for modeling. There are numerous features and add-
ins that Excel offers which make it easier to perform data analysis and
modeling. A pivot table is one such feature provided by Excel.
You can analyze a million rows of data within a few clicks, show the required
results, create a pivot chart or report, drag the necessary fields around and
highlight the necessary information. It is imperative that people who use
excel are well versed with using pivots. If you are looking to learn more
about what a pivot table is and how you can use it for data analysis, you have
come to the right place.
Over the course of the book, you will learn more about what a pivot table is,
how you can create a pivot table, the different ways you can use a pivot table
and much more. The information in the book is easy to understand and will
guide you on how you can use a pivot table to analyze data.
Thank you for purchasing the book. I hope you gather the information you
are looking for.
Chapter One: An Introduction to Pivot Tables

A pivot table is one of the most powerful tools or features that Excel offers.
You can extract a significant amount of information from a large data set
using a pivot table. For the purpose of this chapter, we will be using a data set
that contains 213 rows and 6 headers or fields namely, Order ID, Product,
Category, Amount, Date and Country.

Let us now look at how we can insert a pivot table to organize the data set.

Insert a Pivot Table

You should follow the steps mentioned below if you want to insert a pivot
table in Excel.

1. Select any cell that is within the data set.

2. Go to the tab ‘Insert’ and check the ‘Tables’ group. Click the
‘Pivot Table’ option.

3. You will see the dialog box below on your screen. If you look
clearly at the image below, you will notice that Excel has
automatically selected the data for you. Excel always chooses the
 default location for a pivot as a New Worksheet.
c

4. Click OK.
You will see that a New Worksheet has opened with a pivot table that is
linked to your data set. Alternatively, you can instruct Excel to create the
pivot table in the same worksheet if needed.

Drag Fields in a Pivot

Once you create the pivot table, you will see the Pivot Table pane appear on
the right side of your screen. For the purpose of this example, we want to
calculate the total amount that was exported for each product. To do this, you
will need to drag the following fields into the different areas at the bottom of
the Pivot Table pane.

1. Amount field in Values Area.

2. Product field in Rows Area.
3. Country field in the Filters Area.
Your Pivot Table panel will now look like the image below:

You will see that the pivot table has been created in the Excel sheet. This is
how easy it is to create and use a pivot table. From the pivot table that was
created, you will notice that the main export is Bananas.
Sort Data in a Pivot
Once you create the pivot, you may want to sort the data to ensure that you
have sorted the data, in the example above, let us look at how we can move
Bananas to the top of the table.

1. Go to any cell under the column labeled Sum of Amount.

2. Right click on the column and click on the Sort option. Now,
select the ‘Sort Largest to Smallest’ option.

3. You will obtain the following result.

Filter the Pivot
Now that we have included the Field Country as a filter, you can now filter
the pivot based on the country that is available in the data set. For instance,
you can check the different products that are mostly exported in France.

1. Go to the drop down arrow in the filter section of the pivot and
choose the option ‘France.’
2. You will see that apples are the main products exported from
France.

Alternatively, you can also use the triangle arrow that is present next to Row
Labels to filter on the products. This will, however, only show you the
amounts of the different products that are exported.

Change Summary Calculation

Excel uses a default option when it is summarizing your data. It will either
count the items or sum them up. If you want to change the calculation that is
being performed, you should follow the steps given below:

1. Go to any cell within the column ‘Sum of Amount.’

2. Right click on the column and choose the option ‘Value Field
Settings.’

3. Now, choose the calculation that you want to use. You have
multiple options to choose from. Let us choose the ‘Count’ option
for the purpose of this example.
 4. Click OK.

Alternatively, you can change the calculation using the fields present in the
Pivot Table pane.

Two-Dimensional Pivot Table

You can create a two-dimensional pivot table by dragging a field to both the
Rows and Columns area in the pivot table pane. Before you do this, you will
need to create a pivot table. Let us now calculate the amount of product
exported to different countries using a two-dimensional pivot table. Follow
the steps below to do this

1. Move the country field to the row area.

2. Move the product field to the columns area.
3. Move to Amount field to the values area.
4. Move the category field to the filters area.

The following image depicts a two-dimensional pivot table.

When you want to compare numbers, you can apply the same filters and
create a pivot chart. We will look at what a pivot chart is in detail in the
subsequent chapters. The image below shows you how a pivot chart looks.
Chapter Two: Advantages and Disadvantages of
Pivot Tables

According to https://connectusfund.org/8-advantages-and-
disadvantages-of-pivot-tables, “Pivot tables are program tools that
allow users to summarize or reorganize rows or columns of data.
They are usually found in database tables and spreadsheets,
allowing for information to be obtained from the report without the
need for the file to be altered.”
Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of using a tool
like a pivot table in your tables.
Advantages of Pivot Tables
Allow Users To View How Data Works
A pivot table is one of the many Excel tools that allow a user to obtain some
deep insights into data. You can generate multiple reports in Excel using this
tool using one data set.
Works Well With SQL Exports
If you insert a pivot table in Microsoft Excel, you can work with that pivot
table on any SQL export.
Data Is Easier To Segment
It is easier to gather some analytics about the data set into a database or
spreadsheet using a pivot table.
You Can Generate Instant Data
You can create instant data using a pivot table regardless of whether you use
an equation to obtain that information or you rely only on formulae.

Disadvantages of Pivot Tables

A Time-Consuming Venture
For most forms of data analyses, it is a good idea to use pivot tables since you
are able to obtain the data that you want to understand. You can obtain the
required metrics to understand the data. That being said, a pivot table does
not include all the necessary calculation options. This means that you will
need to use equations or manual calculations to obtain the required
information, and you will need to input the required data manually. This will
take up a sufficient amount of time.
No Automatic Updates
Pivot tables do not automatically update when there is a change to the data
set. So, when you run a report on a pivot table, you will need to refresh the
pivot table to obtain the right analytics or metrics. A program that uses pivot
tables does not always allow you to summarize the information easily.
Difficult For Older Computers To Present The Data
If the database you are using or the spreadsheet you are using is large, it can
be difficult for old computers to produce the right analytics. It is possible that
the system crashes because of the sheer volume of data. This is because the
processing power of the system cannot handle the requirements.
It Is Difficult To Learn
It is easy for people to learn how to create and use a pivot table, but it is hard
to understand how you can present that information in a way that it can be
used. A spreadsheet often does not focus on the presentation of data in a pivot
table.
A pivot table is a good option to use for small data sets, but it is hard to use
for a large data set. When you take these pros and cons into account, you will
know how to organize the data well in a spreadsheet and use it.
Chapter Three: What Can You Do With Pivot
Tables?

There are numerous actions that one can perform using pivot tables. This
chapter throws some light on the different functions you can perform using
Pivot tables. Please download the workbook we will be using for the
examples in this chapter from the following link:
https://www.myexcelonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Sort-by-
Largest-or-Smallest.xlsx

Working with Tables

A table is another powerful Excel feature, and it has many advantages.
Regardless of the size of your data, it is important that you use them since the
benefits of using tables are countless.

1. Tables allow structured referencing.

2. You can build tables with existing conditional formats.
3. You can calculate the totals of a column by using the Total row
option. This option will use a formula to calculate the total.
4. You can sort and filter the data using drop down lists.
5. The column letters or content are replaced by the header when you
are scrolling down a column.
6. You can remove any duplicate row from the table easily.
7. Summarize the information in the table using a pivot table.
8. You can create columns using dynamic formulae in the pivot table.
Step One: Select any cell in the table.
Step Two: Now, insert a table for the data that you have in your sheet. To do
this, go to Tab ‘Insert’ and select the option ‘Table’

Step Three: Ensure that you select the dialog box that says ‘My table has
headers.’ Click Ok.

You now have a table ready.

Focus on Auditing the Data
When you want to perform data analysis in Excel, regardless of the method
you choose to analyze the data, you must look at the different attributes that
make up a specific value. To do this, you should double-click on the cell that
contains the value. When you do this, a new worksheet is created which will
contain the information of all the rows or data that are used to calculate that
value. It is important to remember that this information is a simple extraction
of the data source, and if you edit the information in the new worksheet, it
will not make changes to the pivot table. All the changes that you make
should always be made to the main data source. If you do not want this
sample data, you can either press delete or undo. You can double-click on
any value that is present in the Pivot table, including the subtotals and totals.
Step One: Select a cell in the pivot table, and double click on that cell.

You will see that a new worksheet has opened which provides information
about the selected cell. As mentioned earlier, any change made in this new
worksheet will not change the original data source or the data in the pivot.

Refreshing the Pivot

It is important to remember to refresh the data in your pivot table whenever
you make a change to the source data. Whenever you update any information
in the data source, you must refresh the pivot table to ensure that the changes
are flowing through. You can do this in three different ways:
● Go to the PivotTable tools section, go to the options section and click
refresh.
● Use the shortcut Alt+F5.
● Right click on any cell in the pivot table and choose the option to
refresh the table in the dialog box that opens.
Step One: Make a change to a value in the data set.

Step Two: Now, click the pivot table.

Step Three: Right click on any cell in the pivot table, and hit the refresh
button.

You will see that the values in the pivot table have been updated.

Subtotals
If you have multiple fields in the Rows area in the pivot table, you will notice
that there is a Subtotal option under every group in the pivot. So, what if you
want to remove the option to view the subtotals at the bottom of the group or
want to show the values at the top of the group? You can work with subtotals
in different ways. Let us look at how you can do this.
Step One: Move at least two fields in the Row labels area in the pivot table
pane.

Step Two: Now, click on your pivot table, and move to the PivotTable Tools
option. Choose the Design option and move to the subtotals section.
Step Three: Now, choose one of the following options:
Report Layouts
Your report can be in three different layouts – outline, tabular and compact.
Choose a layout by going to the option PivotTable Tools. Choose Design and
click on Report Layouts. Each of these layouts has its own pros and cons, and
we will look at each of them below in detail.
Compact Layout
You can use this layout to optimize the data for readability since it allows
you to keep the data related to the pivot in one column. It will be hard to do
the analysis in the future if you copy the data into a new worksheet.
Outline Layout
This layout will allow you to include a field’s header in every column. You
can also repeat every label in the data set when you use this layout. Unlike
the compact layout, the outline layout allows you to reuse the source data in
any new location for other types of analysis. The disadvantage is that this
layout occupies too much space.
Tabular Layout
The tabular layout allows you to include a field header in every column, and
allows you to repeat every item that is present in the labels. You will see all
the data in the source file in the same format as a traditional table. This
layout, much like the outline layout occupies a lot of space. It is also very
difficult to include a subtotal at the top of the group.
Change the Value Field Setting
Most users complain that they only get the count of the values instead the
sum of those values. There are three reasons why this happens:
● Your source data includes blank cells.
● The columns with values in them show that there are text fields within
the column.
● There are grouped data in the source data.

Blank Cells
There may be an issue where you have blank cells or missing data in the
source data. When there are blanks in the source data, Excel will
automatically assume that the entire column is text based.
Text Cells
If there are some cells that have been formatted as text in the values column
in the pivot pane, Excel will not calculate the sum of the values in those cells,
but will count them instead. This happens when you download the
information from an external system or the Internet. This is because these
sources often convert numbers into text.

In such situations, you will get only the count of the sales and not the total
sales amount.
Excel Fix
Step One: Enter either a zero or any other value in the blank cell or the cells
formatted as text.
Step Two: Click on the column that is formatted as text in the pivot, and right
click on any cell in that column. Remove this column from the Values area in
the pivot pane.
Step Three: Refresh the pivot table.
Step Four: Add the column to the values field in the area once again.
Grouped Values
Let us assume that you have included sales or a similar number in the Values
field in the row and column areas of the pivot pane, and you want to group it.
When you drop those values in the field, you will get the option to count the
number of variables.
Excel Fix:
Step One: You should first ungroup the values in the pivot table. To do this,
right click on the grouped values and choose the ‘ungroup’ option.
Step Two: Now, drag the count of the sales from the Value area and move it
back to the original section of the pivot table pane.
Step Thee: Move the Sales field back into the Values area of the pivot table
pane.
This will not show you a sum of all the sales.
It is important to remember that you will sometimes need to verify if the
pivot table includes any values that are grouped. It may not be evident to the
naked eye, especially if the data is not selected in either the row or column
labels.
If you want to confirm that the fields have been grouped, you should move
this field from the Pivot Table field into the row or column label area.

Number Formatting
It is easy to format the values in the pivot table by choosing the number
format option. You can change the format of the number to a number,
percentage, currency and custom.
Step One: Right click on a cell in the pivot table that contains a number, and
choose the option ‘Number format.’
Step Two: You should now choose the format that you want to use.

The number formatting in your pivot table has been updated based on the
selection made.
Format Error Values
There are times when you will receive errors in a pivot table if you include a
formula or a calculated item. This error will look ugly, especially when you
are presenting the analysis to a lot of people. It is easy to override this error
by including a default value that should be used instead of the error.
Step One: If you look at the pivot table below, you will notice that there is an
error in the calculation for one record.

Step Two: Right click on a cell in the pivot table and go to the option ‘Pivot
table Options.’
Step Three: Select the option ‘For Error Values Show’ in the dialog box that
is open on your screen.
Step Four: Now, enter any value or text in the box.
The error values in the pivot table are not formatted properly.

Format Empty Cells

There are many times when you may have created a pivot table that has
numerous empty cells values. You would have been worried about what
exactly is happening in Excel. The only reason there are blanks in the pivot
table is that there are some blank cells in the data source. This does happen
occasionally, especially if you are downloading your source data from the
Internet. You can fix this issue in your pivot table by using a default value for
the missing data in the source data.
Step One: There is no data in the pivot table below for the North label. Let us
now see how this can be changed.

Step Two: Go to the Pivot Table tools section in the menu bar, and click the
‘Options’ button. A dialog box will open.

Step Three: You should now set the default value for the empty cells in the
source data.
The blank values have now been replaced.

Keep Column Widths Constant

When you refresh a pivot table, you will notice that the columns
automatically change in width depending on the content present in the
column. This is annoying since you would have spent a sufficient amount of
time to align the columns. You do not have to worry about this, since you can
use the Pivot Table options to fix this issue. When you update the source data
and then refresh the pivot table, you will notice that the width of the column
does not change.
Step one: Right click on any cell in the pivot table and choose ‘Pivot table
Options.’

Step Two: Uncheck the option to auto fit the column width when you update
the pivot table.
Step Three: Now, update the data in the source.

Step Four: Refresh the pivot table.

The width of your pivot table will no longer change.

Showing the Report Filters on Multiple Sheets

You can always show the items that are present in the Report Filter in
different sheets in your workbook. Let us assume that you have a pivot table
that will show the user the number of transactions and the total sales made by
a customer. You should first remove the customer field from the report filter
and save the pivot table. Copy this table in a separate sheet for every
customer. Every customer in the data will have a different pivot table in a
separate sheet. This pivot table will contain the transactional metrics and the
individual sales for every customer. This is how the pivot table we will be
using in this example looks like:
Step One: Now, remove the customer field from the report section of the
pivot table area.
Step Two: Now, move to the Options Tab and click on the drop down arrow.
Choose the option to Show Report Filter Pages.
Step Three: Now, click OK.

You will now see that the pivot table for every customer will appear on a new
sheet.

Average
You can choose different calculations that you can perform on the source
data by choosing a specific operation in the Summarize Values By window.
You can calculate the sum, count, average, maximum, minimum, etc.
When you add a numeric value into the Values Area in the pivot table pane,
Excel will automatically calculate the sum of those values. It is easy for you
to convert this calculation from a sum into the average. This will give you the
mean or average value for the values in the source data.
Step One: Now, click the source data and go to the Insert tab in the menu bar.
Select Insert Pivot table.

Step Two: When you do this, you will see the Create Pivot Table box on your
screen. Excel will automatically select the range of the table or source data.
You can choose to insert the pivot table in the existing worksheet or in a new
worksheet.

Step Four: Now, drag and drop the required fields into the pivot tables pane
in your excel workbook.
Step Five: Once your pivot table is set up, you can select any value in the
pivot table and right click on the cell. Now, choose to summarize the values
in the pivot based on the average.
Step Six: You now have a pivot table report that will show you the average
sales for the region in one year.

Calculates a Unique Count

The developers at Microsoft are adding new features to Excel in every edition
that they release, and some new features are overdue. In the previous section,
we created a pivot table, and removed the Customers field from the row
labels, and obtained the total number of transactions that were performed the
customers. So, what must you do if you want to show the total for each
customer? You can do this in a pivot table by using the Data Model option.
Step One: Insert a pivot table for the source data that you have obtained.
Step Two: In the dialog box that opens, ensure that you check the button
against the option ‘Add this to the Data model’ and click OK.

Step Three: You will now see a pivot table on your screen. Remove the
customer field from both the row and values areas. This will give you a total
transaction value for every customer in the source data.
Step Four: If you want to obtain a distinct count of the variables in the source
data, you should click on Customers in the values area of the pivot pane.
Click on the drop down arrow and select the ‘Value Field Settings’ option.
Step Five: You should select the ‘Distinct Count’ option from the list in the
dialog box, and click OK.
Percent Of grand Total
An Excel pivot table allows you to perform numerous calculations, and the
percent of grand total is one such calculation that it can perform. Excel will
automatically calculate the percentage values for you using the numbers
present in the column. Remember that this is only done when the values in
the columns are all numbers. The example below looks at how you can
calculate the percentage of the grand total of the values in any column.
Step One: You should first insert a new pivot table in the excel sheet with the
data.
Step Two: You should add the Sales month field to the rows section, the
financial year to the columns section and include the sales value twice in the
Values area of the pivot table pane.
Step Three: You should now choose the second sales field, and click the drop
down arrow. Choose the ‘Value Field Settings’ option from the window that
opens.
Step Four: Now, select the “Show Values As” tab. Click on the drop down
arrow and choose the percent of grand total. You should also change the
name of the column from Custom name to Percent of Grand Total. This will
make the pivot more presentable.
Step Five: If you notice clearly, you will see that the data is now in a decimal
format that is very hard for any user to read.

If you want to format the column labeled Percent of Grand Total, you should
click on the percent of grand total column (also the second sales field). Click
on the drop down arrow, and select ‘Value Field Settings.’ You must
transform the numbers from the decimal format into a more readable format.

Step Six: Choose the Number format in the dialog box that opens.
Step Seven: You should make the changes to the formatting in the Format
cells dialog box. Click OK twice. For the purpose of this example, we will be
using the percentage category to make it easier for users to read the
percentage values of the grand total.
Excel will now create the pivot table. This table will show you the percentage
of the grand total for the information across different years. The sales
numbers are always represented as the percentage of the grand total. If you
look at the image below, you will note that the figure is represented as a
percentage.
Percentage of Column Total
An Excel pivot table will have numerous calculations under the “Show
Values As” option, and the Percent of Column Total is one calculation that
can help you the most. You can calculate the percentage values for the pivot
using this option. You will notice that the pivot table will calculate the
percentage of any value that is present in the source data in an instant. We
will look at how we can calculate the percent of column total in a pivot table
in the sections below.
Step One: Now, click on the data and insert a new pivot table. To do this, go
to the Insert tab, select Pivot table and choose to create the table either in a
new worksheet or in the existing worksheet.

Step Two: In the rows section in the pivot pane, add the sales month field.
Add the financial year field to the columns area and add the sales field twice
in the values area of the pivot table pane. We will look at why we are doing
this in the sections below.
Step Three: Now, move to the second sum of sales field column, and click on
the drop down arrow. Open the Value Field Settings option.
Step Four: Choose the Show Values As option, and click on the drop down
arrow. Select the % Column Total. You can also change the name of the
column to Percent of Column Total. This will make the pivot table more
presentable. Click OK.
Step Five: If you look carefully at the screen below, you will find it hard to
read the decimal format in the column ‘Percent of Column Total.’

You can also format the column ‘Percent of Column Total.’ To do this, you
should click on the drop down near the percent of column total column, and
choose the option ‘Value Field Settings.’ The objective is to transform the
numbers in that column into a percentage from the decimal format. This will
make it easier for people to read the number.

Step Six: Now, click the button that says ‘Number Format’ in the dialog box.
Step Seven: You can make the changes to the formatting inside the format
cells dialog box, and click on Ok twice. In this section, we are using the
percentage category to calculate the percentage values to obtain the percent
of the column total values. This makes it easier for any external user to read
the numbers.
The pivot table on your screen will now show the percentage of the column
total across different years. The sales numbers are all represented as the
percentage of the total of each column. You will see that this column is
represented as a total of one hundred percent.

Percentage of Row Total

The percent of row total is similar to the percent of column total. Excel will
automatically calculate the percentage of the values if there are numbers in
your source data. In this section, we will look at how to obtain the percentage
of the row total.
Step One: Insert a new pivot table for the source data.

Step Two: Add the Sales person to the rows section of the pivot table, the
financial year field to the columns table and the sales field in the values area.
You should add the sales field to the value area twice.
Step Three: Click the drop down arrow near the header ‘Sum of Sales2,’ and
choose the Value Field Settings option in the window that opens.
Step Four: You should now select the ‘Show Values As’ tab and select the
‘% of Row Total’ option. You should also change the custom name to make
the data in the pivot more presentable.
Step Five: The information in the new column in the pivot will be hard to
read since the numbers are in a decimal format.

You should click on the percent of row total column, and click the drop down
arrow. Now, choose the ‘Value Field Settings’ option from the window that
opens. Select the percentage option since you want to convert the format to
percentage from decimal to improve readability.
Step Six: Now, choose the number format button.
Step Seven: You can make some changes to the format in the pivot within the
Format Cells box and click OK. In the example below, we will be using the
percentage category to make it easier for a user to read the numbers.
You will now see the Percent of Row Total for the sales data across the years
in the updated pivot. The sales numbers in the pivot will now be represented
as a percentage of every row in the source data.

Variance Calculations
You can perform numerous calculations in an Excel pivot table using the
“Show Values As” option. The option that is often used is the Difference
From calculation. You can always use the base period as days, weeks,
months, years, etc. It is a good idea to use this option when your manager
asks you how your company is doing when compared to the past. The
example below will show you how you can look at the variance from the
previous year.
Step One: Insert a pivot chart for the source data.

Step Two: In the Rows area of the pivot, add the Months field, add the years
field to the columns area and the sales field twice to the values area.
Step Three: Now, select the second sales field in the options below and click
the drop down arrow. Choose the Value Field Settings.
Step Four: You should then select the Show values As Tab, and click on the
drop down. Choose the option ‘Difference From’ in the window that appears.

Step Five: You will now need to choose the base items. You can choose the
previous financial year and click OK. The header in the pivot table will now
read ‘Difference from the previous Financial Year.’
Step Six: If you want to format the values of the pivot table, you should go to
the PivotTable Tools option, select ‘Analyze/Options’ and then select the
entire pivot table.

You will then need to go to the PivotTable Tools option and choose the
option ‘Analyze/Options.’ In the dialog window that opens, choose the
‘Values’ option.
If you want to open the format cells dialog box in the pivot table, click on the
shortcut Ctrl+1. You can make the necessary formatting changes and hit OK.
Remember that this will change the format of the entire column, and if you
add any new field to the pivot table, it will take the same format.
Step Seven: If you want to change the name of the header within a pivot
table, all you need to do is click on that header and manually make the
adjustments.

Step Eight: You must first select the entire column that contains the empty
values and hide them. Remember that you should select the entire column to
do this.

You will now see that the pivot table that you have created is formatted fully,
and shows the difference or variance in the figures when compared to the
previous year.

Running Total In
A running total is a value that accumulates the data across a certain period
like weeks, months, years or even days. This option is also known as the year
to date analysis. This value will take the value of one period; add that value
to the second period, then the third period and so on to give you the
accumulated value. If you are well versed with statistics, you will know that
this is called a cumulative value. You can either show this value in the
percentage form or the currency form. You do not have to include a formula
or multiple functions to calculate this in Excel.
Step One: You should first insert a pivot table for your source data.
Step Two: Now, add the month’s field to the rows area, the year field to the
column area and add the sales field to the values area. Make sure that you add
the sales field twice to the values area as you did earlier.
Step Three: Now, right click on any of the total cells and remove the grand
total.
Step Four: Now, move to the header ‘Sum of Sales2’ and click on the drop
down arrow. In the window that appears, click on Show Values As. You can
then choose the option % running total in and choose the base field as
months.
Step Five: Now, you can manually update the name of the second sum field.
This can be done by clicking on the title in the pivot table.
Step Six: You can now insert a pivot chart on the screen. This can be done by
going to PivotTable Tools, clicking on Options/Analyze and choosing the
Pivot Chart option.

Step Seven: Select the Combo Chart option in the Insert Chart dialog box.
Now, select the YTD% series as the secondary axis and click OK.
Now, the percentage of the totals are shown in the pivot table, and these are
also shown in the form of a graph using the pivot chart option.
Group by Date
It is easy to group the data in a pivot table on the basis of the dates. You
should move to the Dates column in the pivot table, and right click on any
cell in the column. Now, choose the option to group the data based on the
dates. A dialog box will open which will allow you to group the data in the
pivot table based on the days, months, quarters and years.
Step One: move to the “dates” column in the pivot, and right click on the cell.
Now, select the option ‘Group…’ from the window.

Step Two: Now, select the right combination and group the data in the right
format. Now, click OK.
The pivot table on the screen is now grouped by the dates.

Group By years and quarters

Have you ever needed to report the sales data based on quarters or years?
What would you do if you only had daily sales data? You will need to group
the data using some complex formulae. A pivot table makes this process
easier, and you will not make any errors either. This will make it easier for
you to update the report using any additional data. The example below will
show you how you can group the data based on the quarters and years.
Step One: Insert a pivot table.

Step Two: Select the ‘Order Date’ field in the rows section in the pivot table
pane. The latest versions of Excel will group the data automatically based on
the years and quarters.
Step Three: If you are using an older version of Excel, right click on any
value in the pivot table and select the ‘Group’ option.
Step Four: Excel is smart to determine the data range that you want to use to
group the data. You must ensure that you only select the quarters and years.
These will be highlighted in blue. This will instruct excel to group the data
based on quarters and years.
You will notice that the year’s field has been added to the pivot table field list
automatically. This field can now be used in different pivot table analyses.
Step Five: Add the Sales field to the values area in the pivot table pane, and
obtain the sales for every range.
You will now see that the values have been grouped by the years and
quarters. You can always improve the formatting of the data.
Step Six: Now choose the sum of sales, and select the option ‘Value Field
Settings.’
Step Seven: Choose the number format.
Step Eight: Choose the option ‘Currency’ in the dialog box and click OK.
You will now see that you have the total sales value for every quarter.

Sorting By Largest Or Smallest

There are numerous times when the pivot table that you use has been set up
fully, but you are unhappy with the way the data has been sorted. Another
advantage of using a pivot table is that you can sort the data using any
criteria. Let us first look at how we can sort the sum of sales for every year
and quarter. Use the link provided at the start of the chapter to download the
Excel workbook. The example below will explain to you how you can sort
data based on the largest or smallest figure.
Step One: Right click on the Year cell in the pivot table, and choose sort
newest to oldest.
The data in the pivot is now sorted based on the years. If you look at the
pivot, you will see that the data for 2014 appears first.
Step Two: Let us now see how we can sort the data on the basis of quarters.
Go to the quarters in your pivot table and right click on them. Go to sort, and
choose the ‘Sort Newest to Oldest’ option.
The quarters will now be sorted in descending order. If you look closely, you
will see that the fourth quarter comes first in the list.
Step Three: Let us now look at what we can do with the column Sum of
Sales. Right click on any value in the column, and select the Sort option.
Now, sort largest to smallest.
You can now see that the sum of sales has been sorted based on the
descending order of the numbers.
It is amazing how a pivot table will allow you to sort the data in the source
data based on your requirements.

Sort using custom Lists

It is always a good idea to use a custom list in Excel, especially if you want
to add your personal list to the data. You can include different lists like phone
numbers, regions, countries, customers or even work for every team member.
The goal is to create a list to remove any repetitive work. It also helps to
remove the probability of human error. Let us see how this can be done.
Before we create a custom list, let us look at how we can use Excel’s default
list.
Step One: Type February in the first cell in the row.
Step Two: Click the lower section of the cell and drag the cursor to the right
by five cells.

Step Three: Release the cursor and you will notice that the months have been
populated automatically until July.

It may seem like magic when excel does this for you, but let us now look at
how we can create custom lists in Excel.
Step Four: Go to the menu bar and select ‘File.’

Step Five: Click on ‘Options.’

Step Six: Now choose the option ‘Advanced.’

Step Seven: Click on edit Custom Lists in the general section of the dialog
box.
You will see the built-in lists of the days and months in the dialog box. When
you click the custom list, you will see that the area under list entries is greyed
out. This means that no changes can be made to that data. This means that
this is a default custom list in Excel.

Step Eight: you can add or create a custom list in Excel under the List entries
section. You should click on the new list option and enter the list manually.
Remember that you can only enter one entry at a time.
Once you have added the necessary values to the list, click Add. We have
added the Greek alphabet to the list. Click OK when you are happy with the
list.
Step Nine: Click on OK.

Step Ten: Let us now look at the previous Excel workbook to view the new
custom list that is prepared. To see how this works, type alpha in one cell.

Step Eleven: Now click the lower right corner of your cell and drag the value
to the cells on the right.
Step Twelve: Now release the cursor, and you will see that the data has been
populated until zeta. This is based on the custom list that we created in the
eighth step.

Filter by Dates
There are numerous date filters that you can choose from when you are using
a pivot table. You can choose to filter by the week, the following month or
quarter, the next year, last year or the current year. This list is endless. It is
useful to use this option when you want to calculate the invoices for the data
that you have collected. You can also use this to assess the sales. Let us first
look at a few examples of filters.
Step One: Go to the Row Labels option, and select ‘Date Filters.’ Select the
option ‘Between’ in the window that opens.
Step Two: Now, add the data range to the pivot table, and click OK.

The data in the pivot table is filtered based on the dates.

Step Three: Let us now look at another example. Go to the Row Labels, and
now filter based on the next quarter.
The pivot table is now filtered using the next quarter as the basis.

Filtering by values
It is easy to filter a pivot based on the top ten values. You can choose from
numerous value filters and perform different kinds of analysis. The image
below shows the pivot table that we will be using.

Step One: Move to the row labels and select value filters. Choose to filter
based on the top ten values.
Step Two: Set the filter to the top five items and click ok.

You have now added the required filters to the pivot table.
Inserting Slicers
A slicer is an interactive and visual button or filter that allows you to look at
the different items that have been chosen in a pivot table. Let us now look at
how you can insert a slicer in your pivot.
Step One: Select any cell on your pivot table and click inside it.

Step Two: Go to Options or Analyze and choose to insert the slicer. You can
select multiple fields. For the purpose of this exercise, we will look at the
month and year fields. Click ok.
The slicer is now ready for you to use. You can slice and dice the data using
the slicer. We will look at how you can select multiple slicers in your
workbook in a different section.
Slicer Styles
There are numerous slicer styles that you can choose from. These styles will
add some color to your Excel workbook. You can also add some components
like columns to a slicer. If you want to explore the different styles that you
can attach to a slicer, right click on a slicer and experiment with the different
options that are available.
Step One: Select the slicer you want to update.
Step Two: In the menu bar, go to slicer tools and choose options. You can
change the style of the slicer using the slicer styles option. You can always go
back and make changes to the slicer is necessary.

The pivot table slicer is now ready for you to use.

Slicer Connections between Multiple Pivots
The slicer that you insert to a pivot table will only be connected to that pivot
table. So, what would you do if you had multiple pivot tables to work with?
How would you connect the slicer to all the pivot tables so that one click can
make a change across all pivot tables? You can do this by using the Report
Connections or PivotTable connections option in Excel. This section will
shed some light on how this can be achieved.
Step One: insert two pivot tables with the same structure as the images
below.
Setup Pivot Table #1:
ROWS: Region
VALUES: Sum of Sales

Setup Pivot Table #2:

ROWS: Customer
VALUES: Sum of Sales

Step Two: Now, click on any cell in the first pivot table, and include the
month slicer. You can do this by going to PivotTable Tools and selecting the
option Analyze/Options. Next, click on ‘Insert Slicer’ and choose the base as
Month. Click OK.
Step Three: Now, click on any cell in the second pivot table, and include the
year slicer. You can do this by going to PivotTable Tools and selecting the
option Analyze/Options. Next, click on ‘Insert Slicer’ and choose the base as
Year. Click OK.
Step Four: You should now right click on the first slicer and then move to the
report connections or pivot table connections. Select the box against
PivotTable2 and then click ok.

Step Five: Now, right click on the second slicer and move to the report
connections or pivot table connections. Select the box against PivotTable1
and then click ok.
When you select the items in the slicer, there will be a change in both pivot
tables. Look at the image below, and the next section to see how you can
perform this function.
Filtering a Slicer
Excel allows you to slice your screen into different segments, and this is one
of the best things about Excel. This feature was first introduced in the 2010
version, and they help you identify which items have been selected or filtered
in a pivot. You can filter a slicer in different ways. Try practicing the
different methods of filtering a slicer using the workbook provided at the
beginning of the chapter.
Left Mouse Click
The easiest way to select numerous items in a slicer is by using the left mouse
button.

Drag Left Mouse Button

If you want to select numerous items in a slicer, you can drag the cursor
down using the left mouse button.

Ctrl Keyboard
You can select numerous slicer items by holding the control key down and
using the left mouse button to select the items.
Shift Keyboard
You should now select the first slicer item. If you want to select a second
slicer item, hold the shift key down and press select. You can select a range
of such items.

Creating Calculated Fields

In a pivot table, you can perform mathematical operations on the field list.
You can perform different functions like addition, subtraction, multiplication
and division. The only issue with this is that you are not allowed to reference
any of the cells or values in the pivot. You can use this option to perform
margin calculations, cost of goods sold or even the sales values. The pivot
table on your screen should look as follows:

Step One: Click on a cell in the pivot table, and go to ‘Options.’ Now go to
the section ‘Fields, Items and Sets’ and choose the ‘Calculated Field’ option.

Step Two: Now, set the name of the calculated field to Cost of Goods sold.
Step Three: Now add the formula in the dialog box. The values in the
calculated field will be based on this formula.

Step Four: Since the formatting is incorrect, you should right click on the
column and select the option ‘Number Format.’
Step Five: Now, select the percentage option and click OK.
The new value is now in the percentage format and is ready to use.
Creating Calculated Items in a Pivot
A Pivot table allows you to include a calculated item. You can perform any
mathematical calculation on that item to obtain a new item. You can use
different mathematical calculations like addition, subtraction, multiplication
or division. The only issue with doing this is that you cannot refer to specific
cells when you are performing these calculation operations. You can use this
item to calculate changes between different records in the data set. If you
want to create a calculated item, ensure that you click on the required cell in
the pivot table. Now, move to the tab PivotTable Tools and go to Options. In
this tab, select Fields, Items and Sets and choose Calculated Item.
Step One: Choose the item in the list that you wish to calculate.
Step Two: Now, move to the tab PivotTable Tools and go to Options. In this
tab, select Fields, Items and Sets and choose Calculated Item.

Step Three: Choose the Field Name ‘Year on Year Variance.’

Step Four: Now, choose the formula that you want to use, and click ok.

The item that you want to calculate is now ready.

Insert a Pivot Chart
Pivot charts are an extension of pivot tables. They are used to represent the
data present in a pivot table graphically. When you filter a pivot table, the
chart will update automatically. If you want to insert a pivot chart in the
worksheet, click on the pivot table and move to the tab labeled ‘Pivot Table
tools’ and choose the ‘Pivot Chart’ option. You can achieve this easily in a
few clicks, and will obtain a graphical representation of the pivot. The image
below shows the pivot table that we are using.

Step One: Click any cell in the pivot table and go to the options tab. Select
PivotChart.
Step Two: A dialog box will appear and give you numerous chart types to
choose from. Select a Chart type and click OK.

You will now see a pivot chart on your screen.

Pivot Chart and Slicers
Let us now take this a little further, and include a slicer in the pivot. You can
use the slicer to control a pivot chart and the pivot table. Let us now look at
how you can create an analytical report using a few steps. We have a pivot
table and chart ready.
Step One: Select a cell in your pivot table. Go to the Options tab and choose
Insert Slicer.

Step Two: Select the year and region.

Excel will include the slicer in your pivot, and you can play around with the
slicer. It is important to remember that this slicer will affect both your Pivot
Chart and Pivot table.
Highlight Cells Based on Their Values
One of the easiest ways to highlight cells in your data set based on the values
present in those cells is to use a Conditional Formatting Rule. Conditional
formatting allows you to visualize the results that you have obtained from
your data set. You can make the conditional format interactive by assigning a
criterion to a specific cell. When you manually change the value in the
referenced cell, you will notice that the conditional format changes. Let us
look at the image below:
Step One: Select a cell in the pivot table.
Step Two: Go to the ‘Home’ tab and navigate to ‘Conditional Formatting.’
Click on the ‘New Rule’ option.

Step Three: Before you apply the rule, select the third option: ‘All cells
showing “Sum of SALES” values for “MONTH” and “YEAR”’.
Step Four: Now, select the rule type ‘Format Only Cells That Contain’.
Step Five: Now, you should edit the description of the rule. To do this, go to
Cell Value > Greater Than, and choose the cell that you want to use as the
reference.
Step Six: Select the format and color.
The highlight or formatting of the cell will automatically change when you
update the value.

Directional Icons
When you use a pivot table, it becomes easy to show the variance between
the data collected.

Once you generate the pivot table, you can use it to show the variance in the
sales data across different months using the directional icon in conditional
formatting or the arrows.
Step One: Click on any of the values that calculate the variance in the pivot
table and go to Home > Conditional Formatting > Icon Sets > Directional

Step Two: You will now see the Apply Formatting Rule dialog box. Select
the third option in the list and apply this formatting to every value except for
the subtotal.

The pivot table will now look this way.

Step Three: Now we need to make some edits in the Conditional Formatting
Rule in order to get the Icons right.
Go to Home > Conditional Formatting > Manage Rules > Edit Rule
Step Four: You will see the Edit Formatting Rule dialog box. Make the
following changes in the dialog box:
Value = 0
Type = Number
“Check” the Show Icon Only box and press OK to confirm the changes:
Step Five: You will now see another dialog box open, which is called the
Conditional Formatting Rules Manager. Click the ‘Apply’ button and hit
‘OK’ to confirm the changes.
You will now see that the pivot table not only has the variance amounts but
also shows the directional icons against the values in the cell.

Data Bars, Color Scales & Icon Sets

The latest versions of excel have very good conditional formatting. The
conditional formatting option includes color scales, icon sets and data bars.
Data Bars
Data bars include different forms of graphic bars that you can include in a
cell. These bars are proportional to the value in the cell. This is a good tool to
use for financial analysis.
Color Scales
Color scales allow you to add a background color to any cell. This color is
proportional to the value in the cell. This is a good option to use if you want
to generate heat maps.
Icon Sets
An icon set will allow you to show icons in a cell, and these icons also
depend on the value of the cell. If you are preparing a project management
report, you should use this option since it allows you to provide some
detailed information.
Step One: You should first select the cells where you want to apply
conditional formatting.

Step Two: Navigate to the ‘Home’ Tab and go to Conditional Formatting

Section of the tab.
You can now choose a data bar, color scale or an icon set and see how this
affects the selected range.
Chapter Four: Manipulating Data for a Pivot Table

You may have created numerous Pivot tables when you were working on
Microsoft Excel, but you may have encountered numerous problems while
you were creating them. This is probably due to the fact that a pivot table is
not as flexible as it should be or you may have had some trouble with
connecting to the right data source. There are many different options that you
can choose from when you are creating a Pivot table report. You must
understand the different setting that you can use for this purpose. This chapter
will take you through some of the issues that you may come across when you
are using pivot tables.
Issues With Getting Started Your Company may have asked you to create a
pivot table using the sales data for your company, but you are unsure of what
issues or problems you will need to consider before you work on creating it.
When you spend some time on planning, you will be able to create a pivot
table that uses the right information and also delivers the right information
that is required. You should consider the following when you plan on
creating a pivot table:
● The type of data that you will be using to create the pivot table
● The location of the file
● The necessity to share the information with others

Accessing the Data

If your company asks you to create a pivot table to analyze the sales data of
the company, you should first identify the type of information you will need
to use. You can choose the source of the data for the analysis from the
following options:
● Microsoft Excel list or database
● External data source
● Multiple consolidation ranges
● Another PivotTable report or PivotChart report
Most people choose to create a pivot table using one Excel list. Both the pivot
and the data list can be found in the same workbook. Some pivots can be
created using multiple lists or different sources like an analytical processing
cube (OLAP), a database query or using a pivot table that is present in the
same workbook. You should consider the following when you are creating a
pivot table.

Where Is The Data Stored?

If you want to create a pivot table that will provide some meaningful insights,
you should use accurate and current data. You should verify if the data being
used to create the pivot table is indeed accurate and has been updated on a
regular basis. You should identify whether the raw data is stored in another
location. If there are other people who use the pivot table to obtain some
meaningful insights, you should ensure that the pivot table is created in the
same workbook as the data source. This will allow people to update the pivot
with ease if there is a change to the data set.
How Frequently Will The Data Be Updated?
If you must update the raw data regularly you should ensure that you
schedule a job that will automatically update or refresh the pivot table when
the user opens the workbook. So, how will you notify Excel that it should
refresh the pivot if the data is stored in an external data source?
What Issues Can You Or Other Users Face When You Have To
Access Raw Data?
There are multiple issues that one can encounter when it comes to accessing
raw data.
● Does every user have the accurate location of the source data?
● Does the pivot need to be refreshed at all times?
● Should all users have access to the password if the data is protected?

Source Data Fields

When you have sourced the data you will be using, you should ensure that it
contains all the necessary fields. There are times when you may need to
report on fields that are not present in the source data that you have obtained.
For instance, if you need to analyze the sales data for your company and you
need to plot the information regarding the variance between the budget and
the plan, you must ensure that you have some information available in the
source data to help you plot that information. You may need to calculate that
information separately in the pivot table or add some additional fields to the
source data. You must also assess the effect of performing either option on
your analysis.

Shared Pivot Tables

The company may ask you to ensure that the data that you are creating is
available to every employee in your company. There are, however, a few
things that you will need to consider when you decide to share a pivot table
with multiple people.

Does Every User Require The Same Detail?

There are some users, like the management, who will only need some top-
level information. For instance, a senior executive may only want to see what
the total sales are for a specific region. Other users may want some additional
detail. A sales representative will need the data that is summed by product
number or customer while a regional director will need data that is totaled by
the district.
If the requirements vary, you will need to create numerous pivot tables where
each pivot table is focused only on the needs of a specific set of users. If you
cannot do this, you will need to create a pivot table that is simple. This will
ensure that any user can navigate across the pivot table. You can also
ascertain that the pivot table that you create can be tweaked or adapted to
cater to the needs of different user groups.

Is The Data Sensitive?

Pivot tables often use sensitive information. For instance, the data set that
you are using will contain both commission figures and sales results for every
sales representative. If you want to create a pivot using that data set, you
must know that any person who opens that workbook can view all the data
that is present in the source. This will be the case even when you protect the
worksheet or workbook. It is easy for people to crack passwords. This means
that the protection can be bypassed easily by any other user. You should read
the section ‘About worksheet and workbook protection,’ to understand more
about this. This section can be obtained in Excel’s help. This section of
information will include a warning that states that a user can retrieve, obtain
or modify the data in a workbook just by gaining some access to that data set.
You should always use a strong password when you want to protect a
workbook using a password.
When you create a pivot table using sensitive and confidential information,
you must ensure that the pivot table only uses the data that a specific user is
allowed to see. You can always create different lists in multiple workbooks
and create a pivot using that list. This will mean that you will need to spend
more time doing this, but it is an easy way to ensure data privacy. You can
use different naming conventions or macros to standardize a pivot table or the
source data. This will also minimize the work that you will need to put in to
create an individual copy of the workbook. Alternatively, you can store these
workbooks on secure network folders. This is because only authorized users
have access to these folders.
Will you share the information in an electronic or printed
format?
If you share information in the printed format you can reduce or completely
remove the security issues. You can always control the information that is
printed and given to a recipient. If you share the information electronically,
you must ensure that you do not share some sensitive or confidential
information with different users.
Will The Pivot Table Be Created In A Shared Workbook?
There are numerous features that you cannot use in a shared workbook. These
include the creation or modification of a pivot table or chart. A user can only
view a pivot table, but will not be able to rearrange these fields. The user will
not be able to select different items in the dropdown list. Once you share a
workbook with multiple users, you cannot change the protection. You also
will not be able to run a macro, make changes to the macro or re-protect the
worksheet.
Can Users Enable Macros In Your Workbook?
There are times when you will need to use a macro to improve the
functionality of a pivot table. You must assess if you want users to have the
ability to enable that macro in the workbook. There are some users who may
be unable to use a macro in some environments. You must verify if this will
have an impact on the analysis that users derive from the pivot table.

Preparing the Source Data

You must ensure that the source data that you are using is in the right format
before you create a pivot table. The most common source of data for a pivot
is a list in the workbook where the pivot table is created. You do not need to
include too many records in the list, but you can also include thousands of
records in the list. Regardless of what the size of the list is, there are some
points that you must keep in mind when you are preparing the data set.

How Should The List Be Arranged To Create A Pivot Table?

1. There should always be a heading in the first row of the data set.
2. You should remove all blanks columns and rows in the list.
3. The data or records in each data set should have the same data
type. For instance, if one column has currency, ensure that every
record within that column has the same data type. The same holds
true for other columns in the data set.
4. There are times when you may want to group data within the data
set. You must ensure that the where you want to group the data has
all the necessary fields.
5. You should always remove any calculations like totals, subtotals
and group totals from the top or bottom of the list.
6. It is a good idea to name the range to make it easier for you to
create a pivot table. There are times when the list will either
increase or shrink. Therefore, it is recommended that you create a
dynamic range.
7. If you notice that the subtotals feature has been switched on in the
worksheet, you must remove it since Excel does not allow you to
create a pivot table if the feature is on.
8. The auto filter feature does not affect the creation of a pivot table.
This is because the pivot table will be created based on all the
rows and columns within the data set regardless of whether they
are visible or hidden.
9. If a row or a column has been hidden manually, it is okay to leave
it hidden. This will not affect the creation of the pivot table for the
same reason mentioned above.
Invalid Field Names
There are times when the wizard throws an error about there being invalid
field names in the data set. This could be due to the fact that one or more
headings in the data set are missing. You should ensure that you always
select the required number of columns when you create a pivot table. As
mentioned earlier, it is okay if some rows and columns are hidden. That being
said, these hidden rows and columns can lead to some errors.
Using Filtered Data
You may have added some filters to the data set because you are looking only
for specific information. The pivot table, however, contains all the records
that are present in the data set. This is because the pivot table will include all
the variables present in the data set even if there is an auto filter setting
placed on the data set. Therefore, it is recommended that you use the auto
filter option to obtain the required information and move that information
into a different worksheet. You can then base the pivot table on the filtered
list.
Using Data With Monthly Columns
There are times when you will have monthly data available in your data set,
especially if you are using your company’s sales data. It may be difficult to
create a pivot table using this data since every month will have a field button
of its own. It will be difficult to obtain annual totals in this instance. The data
set does not include pivot field names, but includes pivot field item names.
For instance, you may not have a data set that has the column heading month,
but has a heading of its own. The data for that month is written in that
column. It is a good idea to do this if you are looking to create a summary
table. This method, however, is not useful when you create a pivot table. This
is because you will have twelve data fields (one for each month), and will
need to include another data field month that stores all the monthly data.
Therefore, you should rearrange the data into one column. This will help you
create a flexible pivot since the data is normalized.
Let us assume that you are using a simple list. This list has the product names
and the monthly sales figures. For this type of data set, follow the steps listed
below:
 1. Choose a cell in the list. Choose the option to select multiple
consolidation ranges, select PivotTable as the report and click
next.
2. Go to the ‘Data’ tab and select the ‘PivotTable and PivotChart
Report’ option. Select the option ‘I will create the page fields’ and
click next. Now, select the data set on your worksheet and choose
the add button.
3. Let the remaining settings remain as the default settings. Click
Next.
4. Now, choose the Layout button and in the dialog window that
opens, drag every field except for the Sum of Value field from the
pivot table. Click ok.
5. Now, click finish. You will see a pivot table appear in the
workbook. You will see a Pivot table field list or pane on your
screen that will contain the row, column and value field.
6. Double-click on the Grand total in the pivot, and add the
underlying data to the pivot.
7. In the resulting Pivot, rename the headers to Product, Month and
Amount.
Now, create a pivot using a normalized list where you will add product to the
row area, month to the column area and amount to the value area.
Conclusion

Thank you for purchasing the book.

If you are someone who uses Excel at work to perform data analysis, you
have come to the right place. This book will shed some light on what a pivot
table is and also help you learn more about how you can perform data
analysis using pivot tables. I hope the information in the book and the
exercises in the book will help you work better with pivots.

Finally, if you enjoyed this book, then I’d like to ask you for a favor, would
you be kind enough to leave a review for this book on Amazon? It’d be
greatly appreciated!

Thank you and good luck!

Reference:

https://www.freelancer.in/community/articles/50-possible-things-you-can-
implement-on-excel-pivot-table
https://www.excel-easy.com/data-analysis/pivot-tables.html
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-create-pivot-table-tutorial-ht
https://www.mrexcel.com/forum/excel-questions/268490-manipulating-data-
pivot-tables.html
https://webandsoftware.com/course/data-manipulation-reporting-with-pivot-
tables-in-excel/