A Beginner’s Guide to Making Pivot Tables in Excel
Pivot tables are one of the most powerful features of Microsoft Excel. They allow you to quickly easily summarize large amounts of data in a way that is easy to understanalyze. In this guide we will walk you through the basics of creating a pivot table in Excel.
Step 1: Prepare Your Data
Before you can create a pivot table you need to make sure your data is organized in a way that Excel can understand. This means that each column should contain a single type of data (e.g. names dates etc.) each row should contain a single record (e.g. a person’s name a date etc.).
Step 2: Select Your Data
Once your data is organized you can select it by clicking dragging your mouse over the cells you want to include in your pivot table. You can also select your data by using the “Ctrl” “Shift” keys on your keyboard.
Step 3: Create the Pivot Table
Once you have selected your data you can create the pivot table by clicking the “Insert” tab at the top of the Excel window then selecting “Pivot Table” from the drop-down menu.
Step 4: Add Fields to the Pivot Table
Once you have created the pivot table you can add fields to it by clicking the “Fields” tab in the Pivot Table window. You can then drag drop the fields you want to include in your pivot table.
Step 5: Customize the Pivot Table
Once you have added the fields to your pivot table you can customize it by clicking the “Options” tab in the Pivot Table window. Here you can change the way the data is displayed add filters more.
Step 6: Analyze the Data
Once you have customized your pivot table you can analyze the data by clicking the “Analyze” tab in the Pivot Table window. Here you can use the various tools to analyze the data draw conclusions.
Conclusion
Creating a pivot table in Excel is a great way to quickly easily summarize large amounts of data. By following the steps outlined in this guide you can easily create a pivot table start analyzing your data.
