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ADV EXCEL CLASS NOTES

Pivot Tables

A Pivot Table is one of the most powerful tools in Microsoft Excel used to summarize, analyze, and organize large amounts of data quickly. It helps users create reports without writing complex formulas.

Example: If you have 10,000 sales records, a Pivot Table can instantly show Total Sales by Product, City, Salesperson, or Year.

Why Use Pivot Tables?

Benefit Description
Summarize Data Creates summaries from large datasets.
Analyze Data Quickly identify trends and patterns.
No Formulas Needed Most calculations are automatic.
Interactive Reports Easy filtering and grouping.

Sample Sales Data

Date Salesperson Product City Amount
01-Jan-2026 Rahul Laptop Bangalore 45000
02-Jan-2026 Priya Laptop Mysore 48000
03-Jan-2026 Rahul Printer Bangalore 12000

Creating a Pivot Table

Steps

  1. Select the data range.
  2. Go to Insert Tab.
  3. Click PivotTable.
  4. Verify the table/range.
  5. Select New Worksheet.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Drag fields into Rows, Columns, Values, and Filters areas.

Pivot Table Areas

Area Purpose
Rows Displays data vertically.
Columns Displays data horizontally.
Values Performs calculations such as Sum, Count, Average.
Filters Filters the entire Pivot Table.

Example Pivot Table

Drag Salesperson to Rows and Amount to Values.

Salesperson Sum of Amount
Rahul 57000
Priya 48000
Grand Total 105000

Pivot Table Calculations

Pivot Tables can perform different types of calculations automatically.

Common Value Calculations

Calculation Purpose
Sum Adds all values.
Count Counts records.
Average Calculates average.
Maximum Highest value.
Minimum Lowest value.

Changing Calculation Type

  1. Right-click any value in the Pivot Table.
  2. Select Summarize Values By.
  3. Choose Sum, Count, Average, Max, or Min.

Show Values As

Pivot Tables can display values in different ways without changing the original data.

Option Purpose
% of Grand Total Shows contribution percentage.
Running Total Shows cumulative totals.
Difference From Shows difference between values.
% Difference From Shows percentage difference.

Slicers

Slicers are visual filter buttons used to filter Pivot Tables quickly. They make reports interactive and easy to use.

Slicers work like filter buttons but are easier to understand because users can click directly on the displayed values.

Example Slicer

City Slicer
Bangalore
Mysore
Hubli

Clicking “Bangalore” instantly filters the Pivot Table to show only Bangalore records.


Steps to Insert a Slicer

  1. Click anywhere inside the Pivot Table.
  2. Go to PivotTable Analyze tab.
  3. Click Insert Slicer.
  4. Select the field (City, Product, Salesperson, etc.).
  5. Click OK.
  6. Use the slicer buttons to filter data.

Advantages of Slicers

Feature Benefit
Easy Filtering Filter with a single click.
Interactive Reports Makes dashboards user-friendly.
Visual Filters Displays selected filters clearly.
Multiple Selections Filter multiple values together.

Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Purpose
Alt + N + V Create Pivot Table
Alt + J + T + S Insert Slicer