In Excel 2007, you can create a pivot table by selecting the table tab and then clicking on the Pivot Table button. The pivot table will open in a new window. The first step in creating a pivot table is to select the data you want to pivot. You can select any of the data types that are available in Excel 2007, such as text, numbers, or tables. Next, you need to decide how you want to structure your data. You can choose to create a header row for each column or use a different layout for your data. You can also choose to have your data sorted by some other criteria, such as by date or by column name. Once you have decided on your structure, it’s time to start creating the tables that will contain your pivoted data. To do this, click on the Tables button and then click on the New Table button. The New Table dialog will open. In this dialog, you will need to provide a name for your new table and specify how many columns and rows your table will have. You can also choose whether or not you want to include any borders around your table cells. Once you have completed these steps, click on the OK button and then click on the Close button to close the New Table dialog. Now that your new table has been created, you can start pivoting your data into it using the PivotTable tool located at the bottom of the window that was opened when you created your pivot table using the New Table button in the previous step of this article.
Create a Pivot Table
First select any cell in the worksheet that contains the data you want to create the report on. Then under the Insert tab click on the PivotTable button.
The PivotTable dialog box opens and the table or data range we already selected will show in that field. You can have it placed in a new worksheet or in the existing one where you will need to select the location. For our demonstration we will put it in a new worksheet because it makes things less cluttered.
The PivotTable Field List opens up and the PivotTable tools become available.
Select the fields you want to include in the table by dragging them to the different boxes below. The table is built while dragging the fields into the boxes for Report Filter, Column Labels, Row Labels, and Values. This lets you move the data around so you can best organize it for your report.
You can arrange the view of the PivotTable Field list so it works best for you.
While building the PivotTable it’s fully functional so you can go through and test it out, like in this example where we’re filtering the months.
So now instead of having to hunt through a bunch of data in a large spreadsheet…
You can create a nice PivotTable for better organization and presentations.
Hopefully this will get you started creating your own Pivot Table. A lot of creating the table is trial and error and finding the best way to organize the data. As you progress in your use of Excel, you’ll find a lot of other customizations for more attractive layouts.
