Excel Pivot Tables Step by

Step Tutorial
Excel Pivot Tables Tutorial

Pivot tables in Excel are a versatile reporting tool that makes it easy to extract
information from large tables of data without the use of formulas.
Pivot tables are extremely user friendly in that by moving, or pivoting, fields of data
from one location to another using drag and drop we can look at the same data in a
number of different ways.
This tutorial covers creating and using a pivot table to extract different information
from one data sample.
The steps in this tutorial are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Enter the Pivot Table Data

Create the Pivot Table
Adding Data to the Pivot Table
Filtering the Pivot Table Data
Change the Pivot Table Data

Entering the Pivot Table Data

The first step in creating a pivot table is to enter the data into the worksheet.
When doing so, keep the following points in mind:
At least three columns of data are needed to create a pivot table.
It is important to enter data correctly. Errors, caused by incorrect data entry, are the
source of many problems related to data management.
Leave no blank rows or columns when entering the data. This includes NOT leaving
a blank row between the column headings and the first row of data.
Tutorial Steps:
Enter the following data into cells A1 to D12:
Cookie Sales by Region

SalesRep

Region

# Orders

Total Sales

Bill

West

217

$41,107

Frank

West

268

$72,707

Harry

North

224

$41,676

Janet

North

286

$87,858

Joe

South

226

$45,606

Martha

East

228

$49,017

Mary

West

234

$57,967

Ralph

East

267

$70,702

Sam

East

279

$77,738

Tom

South

261

$69,496

Creating the Pivot Table

Drag select cells A2 to D12 to highlight them.
Click on the Insert tab of the ribbon.
Click on the down arrow at the bottom of Pivot Table button to open the drop down
list.
Click on Pivot Table in the list to open the Create Pivot Table dialog box.
By pre-selecting the data range A2 to F12, the Table/Range line in the dialog box
should be filled in for us.
Choose Existing Worksheet for the location of the pivot table.
Click on the Location line in the dialog box.
Click on cell D16 in the worksheet to enter that cell reference into the location line.
Click OK.
A blank pivot table should appear on the worksheet with the top left corner of the
pivot table in cell D16.

The Pivot Table Field List panel should open on the right hand side of the Excel
window.
At the top of the Pivot Table Field List panel are the field names ( column headings ) from our data
table. The data areas at the bottom of the panel are linked to the pivot table.

Adding Data to the Pivot Table

Note: For help with these instructions see the image example above.
You have two choices when it comes to adding data to the Pivot Table:
Drag the field names from the Pivot Table Field List panel and drop them on the
Pivot Table in the worksheet.
Drag the field names to the bottom of the Pivot Table Field List panel and drop them
in the data areas.
The data areas in the Pivot Table Field List panel are linked to corresponding areas
of the pivot table. As you add the field names to the data areas, your data is added
to the pivot table.
Depending on which fields are placed in which data area, different results can be
obtained.
Tutorial Steps:
Drag the field names to these data areas:
Total Sales to the Report Filter area
Region to the Column Labels area

Sales Rep to the Row Labels area

Orders to the Values area

Once completed, the Pivot Table should have the data laid out in the same order as
the example in step 1 of this tutorial.

Filtering the Pivot Table Data

The Pivot Table has built in filtering tools that can be used to fine tune the results
shown by the Pivot Table.
Filtering data involves using specific criteria to limit what data is displayed by the
Pivot Table.
Tutorial Steps:
Click on the down arrow next to the Region heading in the Pivot Table to open the
filter's drop down list.
Click on the check box next to the Select All option to remove the check mark from
all the boxes in this list.
Click on the check boxes next to the East and North options to add check marks to
these boxes.
Click OK.
The Pivot Table should now show only the order totals for the sales reps that work in
the East and North regions.

Changing the Pivot Table Data

To change the results shown by the Pivot Table:
Rearrange the pivot table by dragging the data fields from one data area to another
in the Pivot Table Field List panel.
Apply filtering to get the desired results.
Tutorial Steps:
Drag the field names to these data areas:
Orders to the Report Filter area
Sales Rep to the Column Labels area
Region to the Row Labels area
Total Sales to the Values area
Click on the down arrow next to the Region heading in the Pivot Table to open the
filter's drop down list.
Click twice on the check box next to the Select All option to first add and then
remove the check marks from all the boxes in this list.
Click on the check box next to the West option to add a check mark to this box.
Click OK.

The Pivot Table should now show the total sales for only those sales reps that work
in the West region.