Module 3 · From ten thousand rows to one page Lesson 8 of 15
Pivot tables in fifteen minutes
A pivot table groups rows by one field, summarises another and takes seconds. The skill is in choosing the rows, columns and values — that is the whole interface.
The concept
A pivot table answers a question by dragging fields into four boxes: Rows (the categories you compare), Values (the numbers you add), Columns (the second breakdown), Filters (the slice). Ten thousand rows become a one-page answer in about four drags.
Right-click a value and choose "Show values as" to turn a sum into a percentage of the total or a running total, and group a date field by Month to see a trend rather than a list of days. Set the number format once on the field and every figure in the table follows it.
Select the table -> Insert -> PivotTable
Rows: city
Columns: month
Values: Count of id
Filters: type
Right-click a value -> Show values as -> % of Grand Total
Group a date column: right-click -> Group -> Months
Refresh after new data: right-click -> Refresh (or Alt+F5)Common mistakes
The mistake is a pivot built on a range that will grow tomorrow, which then misses the new rows. Select the data and press Ctrl+T first to make it a Table, build the pivot on the table, and new rows are included by a simple Refresh.
Worked example
Rows = Region, Columns = Month, Values = Sum of Sales gives a month-by-month regional matrix. Dragging the same field into Filters gives you one pivot instead of twelve.
Your practice task
Build three pivots from one dataset: region by month, top ten products by revenue, and average order value per salesperson. Add a slicer to one of them.
Do this before moving on. Reading a solution teaches the shape of it; typing it teaches you.
Key takeaway
A pivot table answers a question by dragging fields into four boxes: Rows (the categories you compare), Values (the numbers you add), Columns (the second breakdown), Filters (the slice).
Keep your place in this course
A free account saves which lessons you have finished and unlocks the certificate. The lesson itself stays free to read.
Create free account or sign inCourse complete
You finished every lesson.
Your certificate is ready, and the projects you built are the proof to attach to an application.
Almost there
15 lessons left of 15
Finish every lesson to unlock the certificate. Each one ends in a practice task — do them and the final project brief writes itself.