I had an inquiry last week asking me how to create a pivot table in Excel 2007. Pivot tables are a great way to summarize a large amount of data to divulge a new meaning from it. The name is derived from being able to pivot the data in PivotTable view.
Follow the steps to learn how to create your pivot table in version 2007:
- Click your Insert tab.
- Click the PivotTable button.
- Excel will automatically select the entire range, but you can modify it, if necessary.
- Decide where you want to place your PivotTable (New Worksheet is the most common area).
- Click OK.
- Select a field.
Your PivotTable appears.
To populate your PivotTable with data fields from the list on the right:
Drag it onto the PivotTable grid, to one of the defined areas.
Repeat the process to populate the other placeholders with data fields.
Voila! You now have a PivotTable!
- To filter by a field, simply open its drop-down list.
- Select the value by which to filter.
- Click OK.
- To move a field to a different placeholder, drag it to a different section in your field list.
- Your table will now display data only for the filtered criteria.
- You may need to resize the pane to see the field in its new location.
- To reorder fields within a placeholder, drag them up or down.
- To sort by a field, open it’s drop-down list.
- Select one of the sort orders.
- To create a chart out of the data, click the PivotTable button.
- Click OK.
- Select a chart type.
To see the chart better, close the task pane.