Excel 2016 Pivot Table Data Crunching / Edition 1

by Bill Jelen, Michael Alexander

Overview

Excel® 2006 PIVOT TABLE DATA CRUNCHING

CRUNCH DATA FROM ANY SOURCE, QUICKLY AND EASILY, WITH EXCEL 2016 PIVOT TABLES!

Use Excel 2016 pivot tables and pivot charts to produce powerful, dynamic reports in minutes instead of hours… understand exactly what’s going on in your business… take control, and stay in control! Even if you’ve never created a pivot table before, this book will help you leverage all their amazing flexibility and analytical power. Drawing on more than 40 combined years of Excel experience, Bill Jelen and Michael Alexander offer practical “recipes” for solving real business problems, help you avoid common mistakes, and present tips and tricks you’ll find nowhere else!

• Create, customize, and change pivot tables

• Transform huge data sets into clear summary reports

• Analyze data faster with Excel 2016’s new recommended pivot tables

• Instantly highlight your most profitable customers, products, or regions

• Quickly import, clean, and shape data with Power Query vBuild geographical pivot tables with Power Map

• Use Power View dynamic dashboards to see where your business stands

• Revamp analyses on the fly by dragging and dropping fields

• Build dynamic self-service reporting systems

• Combine multiple data sources into one pivot table

• Use Auto grouping to build date/time-based pivot tables faster vCreate data mashups with Power Pivot

• Automate pivot tables with macros and VBA

About MrExcel Library

Every book in the MrExcel Library pinpoints a specific set of crucial Excel tasks and presents focused skills and examples for performing them rapidly and effectively. Selected by Bill Jelen, Microsoft Excel MVP and mastermind behind the leading Excel solutions website MrExcel.com, these books will

• Dramatically increase your productivity–saving you 50 hours a year or more

• Present proven, creative strategies for solving real-world problems

• Show you how to get great results, no matter how much data you have

• Help you avoid critical mistakes that even experienced users make

Bill Jelen is MrExcel, the world’s #1 spreadsheet wizard. Jelen hosts MrExcel.com, the premier Excel solutions site, with more than 20 million page views annually. A Microsoft MVP for Excel, his best-sellers include Excel 2016 In Depth. Michael Alexander, Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD) and Microsoft MVP, is author of several books on advanced business analysis with Excel and Access. He has more than 15 years of experience developing Office solutions.

CATEGORY: Spreadsheets

COVERS: Microsoft Excel 2016

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780789756299
Publisher:	Pearson Education
Publication date:	11/05/2015
Series:	MrExcel Library Series
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	1,102,026
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Bill Jelen, Excel MVP and the host of MrExcel.com, has been using spreadsheets since 1985, and he launched the MrExcel.com website in 1998. Bill was a regular guest on Call for Help with Leo Laporte and has produced more than 1,900 episodes of his daily video podcast, Learn Excel from MrExcel. He is the author of 49 books about Microsoft Excel and writes the monthly Excel column for Strategic Finance magazine. Before founding MrExcel.com, Bill Jelen spent 12 years in the trenches, working as a financial analyst for the finance, marketing, accounting, and operations departments of a $500 million public company. He lives in Merritt Island, Florida, with his wife, Mary Ellen.

Mike Alexander is a Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD) and author of several books on advanced business analysis with Microsoft Access and Excel. He has more than 15 years of experience consulting and developing Office solutions. Mike has been named a Microsoft MVP for his ongoing contributions to the Excel community. In his spare time, he runs a free tutorial site, www.datapigtechnologies.com, where he shares basic Access and Excel tips to the Office community.

Table of Contents

Introduction

What You Will Learn from This Book .................................................................1
What Is New in Excel 2016’s Pivot Tables ...............................................................2
Skills Required to Use This Book .........................................................................3
Invention of the Pivot Table........................................................................4
Sample Files Used in This Book ...........................................................6
Conventions Used in This Book ............................................................6


Referring to Versions ..............................................................................7


Referring to Ribbon Commands.................................................7


Special Elements .....................................................................7

1 Pivot Table Fundamentals ............................................ 9
Defining a Pivot Table .................................................................9
Why You Should Use a Pivot Table .............................................10


Advantages of Using a Pivot Table .........................................11
When to Use a Pivot Table ......................................................12
Anatomy of a Pivot Table .........................................................12


Values Area ...........................................................................12


Rows Area........................................................................................13


Columns Area ...................................................................14


Filters Area ........................................................................14
Pivot Tables Behind the Scenes ..........................................14
Pivot Table Backward Compatibility .................................................15


A Word About Compatibility .................................................16
Next Steps............................................................................17

2 Creating a Basic Pivot Table ........................................19
Preparing Data for Pivot Table Reporting ..............................................19


Ensuring That Data Is in a Tabular Layout..........................................20


Avoiding Storing Data in Section Headings ...................................20


Avoiding Repeating Groups as Columns .............................................21


Eliminating Gaps and Blank Cells in the Data Source ...............................22


Applying Appropriate Type Formatting to Fields .......................................22


Summary of Good Data Source Design ........................................22
How to Create a Basic Pivot Table ......................................................24


Adding Fields to a Report .......................................................26


Fundamentals of Laying Out a Pivot Table Report ........................................27


Adding Layers to a Pivot Table ...........................................................28


Rearranging a Pivot Table ...........................................................29


Creating a Report Filter.......................................................31
Understanding the Recommended Pivot Table Feature...........................31
Using Slicers ......................................................................................33


Creating a Standard Slicer ............................................................33


Creating a Timeline Slicer ...............................................................36
Keeping Up with Changes in the Data Source .............................................39


Dealing with Changes Made to the Existing Data Source ............................39


Dealing with an Expanded Data Source Range Due to the Addition of Rows or Columns ..............39
Sharing the Pivot Cache .........................................40
Saving Time with New Pivot Table Tools ............................................41


Deferring Layout Updates ......................................................41


Starting Over with One Click ..................................................42


Relocating a Pivot Table .................................................43
Next Steps.......................................................................43

3 Customizing a Pivot Table ................................................45
Making Common Cosmetic Changes .................................................46


Applying a Table Style to Restore Gridlines ............................................47


Changing the Number Format to Add Thousands Separators ....................................48


Replacing Blanks with Zeros .........................................49


Changing a Field Name .....................................................51
Making Report Layout Changes ..........................................52


Using the Compact Layout .............................................52


Using the Outline Layout ...................................................54


Using the Traditional Tabular Layout ...........................................55


Controlling Blank Lines, Grand Totals, and Other Settings ....................................57
Customizing a Pivot Table’s Appearance with Styles and Themes ......................................60


Customizing a Style .................................................................61


Modifying Styles with Document Themes ........................................62
Changing Summary Calculations ....................................................63


Understanding Why One Blank Cell Causes a Count ..............................63


Using Functions Other Than Count or Sum ...............................65
Adding and Removing Subtotals ....................................................65


Suppressing Subtotals with Many Row Fields ...........................................66


Adding Multiple Subtotals for One Field .......................................67
Changing the Calculation in a Value Field .......................................67


Showing Percentage of Total .........................................................70


Using % Of to Compare One Line to Another Line ......................................71


Showing Rank ..........................................................................71


Tracking Running Total and Percentage of Running Total .............................72


Displaying a Change from a Previous Field ..........................................................73


Tracking the Percentage of a Parent Item ..............................................73


Tracking Relative Importance with the Index Option ...................................74
Next Steps...............................................................75

4 Grouping, Sorting, and Filtering Pivot Data ..........................77
Automatically Grouping Dates ...................................................77


Undoing Automatic Grouping ...........................................78


Understanding How Excel 2016 Decides What to Group ...................................78


Grouping Date Fields Manually ....................................................79


Including Years When Grouping by Months ....................................80


Grouping Date Fields by Week ...............................................81


Grouping Numeric Fields ............................................82
Using the PivotTable Fields List ..............................................85


Docking and Undocking the PivotTable Fields List ................................87


Rearranging the PivotTable Fields List...................................87


Using the Areas Section Drop-Downs ..................................88
Sorting in a Pivot Table ................................................89


Sorting Customers into High-to-Low Sequence Based on Revenue ..................89


Using a Manual Sort Sequence ..............................................92


Using a Custom List for Sorting ..................................................93
Filtering a Pivot Table: An Overview ...................................................95
Using Filters for Row and Column Fields .........................................96


Filtering Using the Check Boxes ..................................................96


Filtering Using the Search Box ......................................................97


Filtering Using the Label Filters Option ......................................98


Filtering a Label Column Using Information in a Values Column ..........................99


Creating a Top-Five Report Using the Top 10 Filter ...........................................101


Filtering Using the Date Filters in the Label Drop-down .........................................103
Filtering Using the Filters Area ................................104


Adding Fields to the Filters Area .............................................104


Choosing One Item from a Filter ...................................................105


Choosing Multiple Items from a Filter ....................................................105


Replicating a Pivot Table Report for Each Item in a Filter ............................................105


Filtering Using Slicers and Timelines .........................................107


Using Timelines to Filter by Date .....................................................109


Driving Multiple Pivot Tables from One Set of Slicers .......................................110
Next Steps......................................................................................112

5 Performing Calculations in Pivot Tables ...........................113
Introducing Calculated Fields and Calculated Items ............................................113


Method 1: Manually Add a Calculated Field to the Data Source ..........................114


Method 2: Use a Formula Outside a Pivot Table to Create a Calculated Field .............................115


Method 3: Insert a Calculated Field Directly into a Pivot Table ............................116
Creating a Calculated Field ...................................116
Creating a Calculated Item ...........................................124
Understanding the Rules and Shortcomings of Pivot Table Calculations ..................127


Remembering the Order of Operator Precedence ......................................128


Using Cell References and Named Ranges ...........................................129


Using Worksheet Functions ....................................................................129


Using Constants ...........................................................................129


Referencing Totals ..........................................................................129


Rules Specific to Calculated Fields ......................................................129


Rules Specific to Calculated Items ...........................................................131
Managing and Maintaining Pivot Table Calculations ......................................131


Editing and Deleting Pivot Table Calculations ......................................131


Changing the Solve Order of Calculated Items .........................................132


Documenting Formulas ........................................................133
Next Steps............................................................................134

6 Using Pivot Charts and Other Visualizations .........................135
What Is a Pivot Chart...Really? ..........................................................135
Creating a Pivot Chart ..........................................................136


Understanding Pivot Field Buttons ..............................................138
Keeping Pivot Chart Rules in Mind ....................................................139


Changes in the Underlying Pivot Table Affect a Pivot Chart .................................139


Placement of Data Fields in a Pivot Table Might Not Be Best Suited for a Pivot Chart .....................139


A Few Formatting Limitations Still Exist in Excel 2016 ..................................141
Examining Alternatives to Using Pivot Charts .......................................................145


Method 1: Turn the Pivot Table into Hard Values ...................................145


Method 2: Delete the Underlying Pivot Table ..........................................146


Method 3: Distribute a Picture of the Pivot Chart ....................................146


Method 4: Use Cells Linked Back to the Pivot Table as the Source Data for the Chart .............147
Using Conditional Formatting with Pivot Tables ...............................................149


An Example of Using Conditional Formatting ...........................................149


Preprogrammed Scenarios for Condition Levels ........................................151
Creating Custom Conditional Formatting Rules .............................................152
Next Steps...................................................................................................156

7 Analyzing Disparate Data Sources with Pivot Tables ................................157
Using the Internal Data Model ..................................................158


Building Out Your First Data Model ............................................................158


Managing Relationships in the Data Model ......................................162


Adding a New Table to the Data Model .................................................163


Removing a Table from the Data Model ...................................................165


Creating a New Pivot Table Using the Data Model ........................................166


Limitations of the Internal Data Model ...............................................................167
Building a Pivot Table Using External Data Sources .............................................168


Building a Pivot Table with Microsoft Access Data....................................................169


Building a Pivot Table with SQL Server Data ......................................................171
Leveraging Power Query to Extract and Transform Data .............................................174


Power Query Basics..................................................................175


Understanding Query Steps ..........................................................181


Refreshing Power Query Data ....................................................183


Managing Existing Queries ................................................................183


Understanding Column-Level Actions ............................................185


Understanding Table Actions ..........................................................187


Power Query Connection Types ......................................................188
Next Steps..........................................................................................192

8 Sharing Pivot Tables with Others ........................................193
Designing a Workbook as an Interactive Web Page .......................................................193
Sharing a Link to a Web Workbook ................................................................196
Sharing with Power BI ...............................................................................196


Preparing Data for Power BI ...........................................................197


Importing Data to Power BI .........................................................................197


Building a Report in Power BI ...................................................199


Using Q&A to Query Data ........................................................200


Sharing Your Dashboard ..............................................................202
Next Steps........................................................................202

9 Working with and Analyzing OLAP Data ..........................203
Introduction to OLAP .............................................................................203
Connecting to an OLAP Cube .....................................................204
Understanding the Structure of an OLAP Cube ...................................................207
Understanding the Limitations of OLAP Pivot Tables .........................................208
Creating an Offline Cube ...................................................209
Breaking Out of the Pivot Table Mold with Cube Functions ................................211


Exploring Cube Functions ............................................................212
Adding Calculations to OLAP Pivot Tables .....................................................213


Creating Calculated Measures ............................................................214


Creating Calculated Members ..................................................217


Managing OLAP Calculations ............................................................220


Performing What-If Analysis with OLAP Data .....................................220
Next Steps...............................................................................222

10 Mashing Up Data with Power Pivot ...................................223
Understanding the Benefits and Drawbacks of Power Pivot and the Data Model ............223


Merging Data from Multiple Tables Without Using VLOOKUP ..................................223


Importing 100 Million Rows into a Workbook .....................................................224


Creating Better Calculations Using the DAX Formula Language ...........................224


Other Benefits of the Power Pivot Data Model in All Editions of Excel .........................224


Benefits of the Full Power Pivot Add-in with Excel Pro Plus ...................................225


Understanding the Limitations of the Data Model .................................225
Joining Multiple Tables Using the Data Model in Regular Excel 2016 ..............................226


Preparing Data for Use in the Data Model ..................................227


Adding the First Table to the Data Model ...................................................228


Adding the Second Table and Defining a Relationship ......................................229


Tell Me Again–Why Is This Better Than Doing a VLOOKUP? ..............................230


Creating a New Pivot Table from an Existing Data Model ....................................232


Getting a Distinct Count ...........................................................232
Using the Power Pivot Add-in Excel 2016 Pro Plus .....................................234


Enabling Power Pivot ....................................................................234


Importing a Text File Using Power Query ............................................235


Adding Excel Data by Linking ..................................................................236


Defining Relationships ...........................................................................236


Adding Calculated Columns Using DAX ......................................................237


Building a Pivot Table ....................................................................237
Understanding Differences Between Power Pivot and Regular Pivot Tables ............................238
Using DAX Calculations .............................................................239


Using DAX Calculations for Calculated Columns ................................................239


Using DAX to Create a Calculated Field in a Pivot Table ...........................240


Filtering with DAX Calculated Fields ...............................................240


Defining a DAX Calculated Field ..................................................240


Using Time Intelligence .............................................................242
Next Steps.....................................................................................243

11 Dashboarding with Power View and 3D Map ..........................245
Preparing Data for Power View ....................................................245
Creating a Power View Dashboard .............................................................247


Every New Dashboard Element Starts as a Table ................................................249


Subtlety Should Be Power View’s Middle Name .........................................249


Converting a Table to a Chart .............................................................250


Adding Drill-down to a Chart ........................................251


Beginning a New Element by Dragging a Field to a Blank Spot on the Canvas ..............252


Filtering One Chart with Another One ...............................................252


Adding a Real Slicer ..............................................................................253


Understanding the Filters Pane ..................................................................254


Using Tile Boxes to Filter a Chart or a Group of Charts .....................................255
Replicating Charts Using Multiples .................................................256
Showing Data on a Map......................................................257
Using Images ..........................................................................258
Changing a Calculation ..........................................................................259
Animating a Scatter Chart over Time .............................................259
Some Closing Tips on Power View ......................................................261
Analyzing Geographic Data with 3D Map ................................................261


Preparing Data for 3D Map ............................................261


Geocoding Data .........................................................................262


Building a Column Chart in 3D Map ...............................................264


Navigating Through the Map.......................................................264


Labeling Individual Points ....................................................................266


Building Pie or Bubble Charts on a Map............................266


Using Heat Maps and Region Maps ........................................266


Exploring 3D Map Settings ............................................................267


Fine-Tuning 3D Map .....................................................................268


Animating Data over Time ........................................................269


Building a Tour ................................................................................270


Creating a Video from 3D Map...................................................271
Next Steps.........................................................................274

12 Enhancing Pivot Table Reports with Macros ................275
Why Use Macros with Pivot Table Reports ................................275
Recording a Macro ..................................................................276
Creating a User Interface with Form Controls .................................278
Altering a Recorded Macro to Add Functionality.................................280


Inserting a Scrollbar Form Control ............................................281
Next Steps......................................................288

13 Using VBA to Create Pivot Tables.................................289
Enabling VBA in Your Copy of Excel .....................................289
Using a File Format That Enables Macros ..................................290
Visual Basic Editor .................................................................291
Visual Basic Tools .........................................................291
The Macro Recorder ..................................................................292
Understanding Object-Oriented Code ................................................292
Learning Tricks of the Trade ........................................................293


Writing Code to Handle a Data Range of Any Size ..............................293


Using Super-Variables: Object Variables .................................................294


Using With and End With to Shorten Code ................................................295
Understanding Versions .....................................................................295
Building a Pivot Table in Excel VBA ......................................296


Adding Fields to the Data Area ..............................................................298


Formatting the Pivot Table ..........................................................299
Dealing with Limitations of Pivot Tables .................................................301


Filling Blank Cells in the Data Area ....................................................301


Filling Blank Cells in the Row Area ............................................302


Preventing Errors from Inserting or Deleting Cells ...............................302


Controlling Totals ................................................................302


Converting a Pivot Table to Values .................................................304
Pivot Table 201: Creating a Report Showing Revenue by Category ..............307


Ensuring That Tabular Layout Is Utilized....................................309


Rolling Daily Dates Up to Years ........................................309


Eliminating Blank Cells .............................................................311


Controlling the Sort Order with AutoSort .........................................312


Changing the Default Number Format ................................................312


Suppressing Subtotals for Multiple Row Fields ...............................313


Handling Final Formatting .............................................................................315


Adding Subtotals to Get Page Breaks ..............................................315


Putting It All Together .........................................................317
Calculating with a Pivot Table .............................................................................319


Addressing Issues with Two or More Data Fields ..................................319


Using Calculations Other Than Sum ............................................................321


Using Calculated Data Fields ......................................................323


Using Calculated Items .................................................................324


Calculating Groups ..........................................................................326


Using Show Values As to Perform Other Calculations ...................................327
Using Advanced Pivot Table Techniques .......................................329


Using AutoShow to Produce Executive Overviews .........................................329


Using ShowDetail to Filter a Recordset ..............................................332


Creating Reports for Each Region or Model ................................................334


Manually Filtering Two or More Items in a Pivot Field .....................................338


Using the Conceptual Filters .................................................339


Using the Search Filter .....................................................................342


Setting Up Slicers to Filter a Pivot Table .............................................343
Using the Data Model in Excel 2016 ...................................................345


Adding Both Tables to the Data Model ..................................................346


Creating a Relationship Between the Two Tables ............................................346


Defining the Pivot Cache and Building the Pivot Table ........................................347


Adding Model Fields to the Pivot Table ........................................................348


Adding Numeric Fields to the Values Area ......................................348


Putting It All Together ......................................................349
Next Steps....................................................................351

14 Advanced Pivot Table Tips and Techniques .....................353
Tip 1: Force Pivot Tables to Refresh Automatically........................................353
Tip 2: Refresh All Pivot Tables in a Workbook at the Same Time ...................................354
Tip 3: Sort Data Items in a Unique Order, Not Ascending or Descending ....................355
Tip 4: Turn Pivot Tables into Hard Data .............................................355
Tip 5: Fill the Empty Cells Left by Row Fields .........................................356


Option 1: Implement the Repeat All Data Items Feature ..................................356


Option 2: Use Excel’s Go To Special Functionality ..............................357
Tip 6: Add a Rank Number Field to a Pivot Table ...........................359
Tip 7: Reduce the Size of Pivot Table Reports .........................360


Delete the Source Data Worksheet ......................................360
Tip 8: Create an Automatically Expanding Data Range .................................361
Tip 9: Compare Tables Using a Pivot Table ..........................361
Tip 10: AutoFilter a Pivot Table .............................................363
Tip 11: Force Two Number Formats in a Pivot Table ..................................364
Tip 12: Create a Frequency Distribution with a Pivot Table ..................................366
Tip 13: Use a Pivot Table to Explode a Data Set to Different Tabs .................... 367

Tip 14: Apply Restrictions on Pivot Tables and Pivot Fields .........................................368


Pivot Table Restrictions ......................................................368


Pivot Field Restrictions ...................................................370
Tip 15: Use a Pivot Table to Explode a Data Set to Different Workbooks .....................372
Next Steps..................................................................373

15 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. GetPivotData ...................................................375
Avoiding the Evil GetPivotData Problem ..........................................................376


Preventing GetPivotData by Typing the Formula..................................379


Simply Turning Off GetPivotData ..................................................379


Speculating on Why Microsoft Forced GetPivotData on Us ............................380
Using GetPivotData to Solve Pivot Table Annoyances .........................381


Building an Ugly Pivot Table .............................................382


Building the Shell Report ..............................................................385


Using GetPivotData to Populate the Shell Report ..........................387


Updating the Report in Future Months ..................................390
Conclusion .................................................................391

Index .......................................393