Excel 101: Pivot Tables Basics

Author: David H. Ringstrom

In this course Excel expert David H. Ringstrom, CPA demystifies the PivotTables report-writing feature. PivotTables enable you to create interactive reports from lists that reside in a normal range of cells or within a Table. You'll see how to identify the proper types of data that can be analyzed with a PivotTable, and David will point out nuances about the feature so that you can avoid frustration and confusion. David 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: January 2024

Designed For
Professionals seeking to use Microsoft Excel more effectively.

Topics Covered

• Repositioning or removing subtotals within PivotTables
• Contrasting sorting data within worksheets to the nuances of sorting data within PivotTables
• Discovering four different ways to remove data from a PivotTable report
• Managing information overload by collapsing or expanding PivotTables, fields
• Removing the Table feature from Excel spreadsheets once it's no longer needed or simply erasing the alternate row shading
• Creating a PivotTable to transform lists of data into on-screen reports
• Identifying the ideal data for analysis with Excel's PivotTable feature
• Avoiding the dreaded PivotTable Field Name Already Exists error prompt
• Exploring the PivotTable ribbon tabs and PivotTable Field List
• Filtering data within PivotTables by way of the Slicer feature
• Contrasting Excel tables as the basis for PivotTables versus referencing normal ranges of cells
• Adding columns to a blank PivotTable to create instant reports

Learning Objectives

• State the purpose of the "PivotTable field name already exists" error prompt
• Identify the requirement that enables the Show Report Filter Pages command
• Identify the commands that enable you to expand or collapse an entire row field level within a pivot table
• Identify on which ribbon tab in Excel the PivotTable command appears on
• Identify the key that allows you to group a series of adjacent worksheets at once

Level
Basic

Instructional Method
Self-Study

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

Program Prerequisites
Must be familiar with Excel

Advance Preparation
None