Advanced PivotTable Techniques

Author: David H. Ringstrom

In this course, author and Excel expert David H. Ringstrom, CPA, will lead you through a series of advanced Excel techniques. Learn the intricacies of creating Pivot Charts to effectively communicate your data, with a focus on dynamic chart titles and smart filtering. David will also address common PivotTable conflicts and teach you how to paste linked pictures of PivotTables for enhanced reporting. For Excel 2021 users, contrast using dynamic array functions, which recalculate automatically, with PivotTables, which must be refreshed. Eliminate repetitive PivotTable related tasks with a customized macro, complete with programming code and testing procedures.

David is the author of “Exploring Microsoft Excel's Hidden Treasures: Turbocharge your Excel proficiency with expert tips, automation techniques, and overlooked features”. He demonstrates every technique at least twice: first, on a PowerPoint slide with numbered steps, and second, in the subscription-based Excel for Microsoft 365. David draws your attention to any differences in Excel 2021, 2019 or 2016 during the course and in his detailed handouts. The handouts include an Excel workbook with most of the examples he uses during his demonstrations.

Excel for Microsoft 365 is a subscription-based product that receives periodic feature updates. Conversely, perpetually licensed versions have year numbers in their names and do not receive any feature updates.

Publication Date: February 2024

Designed For
Practitioners who would like to expand their knowledge of manipulating and grouping pivot table data.

Topics Covered

• Crafting self-resizing formulas with the new Spilled Range Operator in in Excel 2021 and Microsoft 365
• Altering the default sort order within PivotTable to a hierarchy of your choice with Custom Lists
• Unlocking additional filtering capabilities in PivotTables by knowing where to position one's cursor to re-enable the Filter command
• Visualizing lists of data graphically by way of Excel's PivotChart feature
• Understanding how pivot chart formatting works much like formatting other types of charts in Excel
• Scheduling automatic data refreshing with PowerPivot
• Understanding the conflicts that can arise when you position two or more PivotTables too close in proximity to each other
• Controlling information overload within pivot charts by filtering
• Creating self-updating chart titles that change automatically as you filter or slice data related to the chart
• Nesting dynamic array functions such as SORT and UNIQUE together
• Displaying two or more PivotTables close together on a single worksheet without triggering a conflict
• Creating PivotTables with PowerPivot

Learning Objectives

• Identify which menu the Field Buttons command appears on in Excel
• Explain the purpose of linked pictures within Excel spreadsheets
• State the keystroke to use in conjunction with Quick Access Toolbar shortcuts
• Identify the worksheet function that enables you to convert text-based dates into number-based dates
• Identify the feature that allows you to store a user-defined list of items that you can use in any workbook

Level
Advanced

Instructional Method
Self-Study

NASBA Field of Study
Specialized Knowledge and Applications (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
Intermediate PivotTable Techniques is recommended but not required.

Advance Preparation
None