What Is a Pivot Table

For an excellent review of how and why you can use a pivot table, Matthew MacDonald’s Missing Manual series is a great resource.

What Is a Pivot Table

by Matthew MacDonald, author of Excel: The Missing Manual
08/12/2005

Pivot Table

The Pivot Tables tool is one of the most powerful yet intimidating features in Excel. Pivot tables allow you to quickly summarize and analyze large amounts of data in lists and tables–independent of the original data layout in your spreadsheet–by dragging and dropping columns to different rows, columns, or summary positions.

This article discusses the following:

1. Summary Tables Revisited
   • Life Without Pivot Tables
   • Life With Pivot Tables
2. Building Pivot Tables
   • Preparing a Pivot Table
   • Understanding Pivot Table Regions
   • Laying Out a Pivot Table
   • Rearranging a Pivot Table

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