What is a pivot table in Microsoft Excel?

Asked by: Mr. Wayne Kuhn  |  Last update: February 21, 2026
Score: 4.8/5 (53 votes)

A PivotTable is an interactive way to quickly summarize large amounts of data. You can use a PivotTable to analyze numerical data in detail, and answer unanticipated questions about your data. A PivotTable is especially designed for: Querying large amounts of data in many user-friendly ways.

What is a PivotTable in Excel used for?

A PivotTable is a powerful tool to calculate, summarize, and analyze data that lets you see comparisons, patterns, and trends in your data. PivotTables work a little bit differently depending on what platform you are using to run Excel.

What is the difference between a regular Excel table and a PivotTable?

As you can see, the pivot table presents the data in a much more condensed way. Compared to the regular table, the number of rows has been halved and the number of columns is three instead of five.

How do I do a pivot table in Excel?

Select the cells you want to create a PivotTable from. Select Insert > PivotTable. Under Choose the data that you want to analyze, select Select a table or range. In Table/Range, verify the cell range.

What is the function with PivotTable?

To summarize values in a PivotTable in Excel for the web, you can use summary functions like Sum, Count, and Average. The Sum function is used by default for numeric values in value fields. You can view and edit a PivotTable based on an OLAP data source, but you can't create one in Excel for the web.

Create a PivotTable in Microsoft Excel

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Why would you use a PivotTable?

A PivotTable is an interactive way to quickly summarize large amounts of data. You can use a PivotTable to analyze numerical data in detail, and answer unanticipated questions about your data. A PivotTable is especially designed for: Querying large amounts of data in many user-friendly ways.

What should you remove before making a PivotTable?

All the columns should have headings. The headings are used to name the fields in the PivotTable. Each column contains the same type of data, for example, text in one column and currency in another, and there should be no blank rows or columns.

Are pivot tables easy in Excel?

Pivot tables' mastery might seem rather hard. However, with a few basic principles, you can understand it very well. You can easily get up to speed with your colleagues who are more advanced in this area. And of course you will bring your value on the job market a bit higher.

How do I turn a PivotTable into a spreadsheet?

Convert the entire PivotTable

Select the Convert Report Filters check box. This converts all cells to worksheet formulas and deletes the entire PivotTable.

What is a good thing to do prior to creating a PivotTable?

Explanation: When preparing data for a Pivot Table in Excel, the better organized and clean your data is, the more efficient the Pivot Table will be. In the student's given options, option A) Delete any blank rows or columns is an advisable step prior to creating a Pivot Table.

What are the disadvantages of pivot tables in Excel?

Disadvantages of Using Pivot Tables
  • Mastering pivot tables takes time – Sure, creating a pivot table requires a few clicks inside Excel but truly mastering the tool takes time. ...
  • Can be time-consuming to use – Depending on how you would like to use your data within the pivot table, using it can actually take some time.

What is the difference between vlookup and pivot table?

Pivot tables allow the user to create contingency tables to sort the data and explore relationships. The =VLOOKUP function allows the user to search and retrieve data in a quick and efficient manner, rather than manually searching large datasets.

What is VLOOKUP in simple words?

VLOOKUP stands for 'Vertical Lookup'. It is a function that makes Excel search for a certain value in a column (the so-called 'table array'), in order to return a value from a different column in the same row.

How to summarize data in Excel?

Calculate SUM: Click on the Autosum icon on the Home tab of Microsoft Office to activate the Sum function of Excel. Then select the data range of the column you want to summarize. Here's an example: Calculate COUNT: Click on the drop-down icon on the Autosum button on the Home tab of Microsoft Excel.

What does the '$' symbol signify in an Excel formula?

The dollar sign in an Excel cell reference affects just one thing - it instructs Excel how to treat the reference when the formula is moved or copied to other cells. In a nutshell, using the $ sign before the row and column coordinates makes an absolute cell reference that won't change.

How to create a PivotTable in Excel step by step?

Click any cell in the range of cells or table. Click INSERT > Recommended PivotTables. In the Recommended PivotTables dialog box, click any PivotTable layout to get a preview, and then pick the one that shows the data the way you want, and click OK.

How do you show a PivotTable as a normal table?

To flatten a pivot table, click on the pivot table to activate the PivotTable Tools menu, select the “Design” tab, choose “Report Layout,” and then select “Show in Tabular Form.

How to flatten Excel data?

Step 1: Select the cells with formulas you want to flatten. Step 2: Copy the cells. Right-click the first cell and pick 'Paste Values'. Or, press Ctrl + Alt + V (Command + Option + V on a Mac), choose 'Values', and click 'OK'.

What is the main advantage of using PivotTable?

One of the main advantages of Excel's PivotTables is the ability to quickly and easily summarize large sets of data. Instead of manually sifting through data and calculating totals, averages, and other metrics, pivot tables allow users to do all of this with just a few clicks.

How to use Excel step by step?

Enter your data
  1. Click an empty cell. For example, cell A1 on a new sheet. Cells are referenced by their location in the row and column on the sheet, so cell A1 is in the first row of column A.
  2. Type text or a number in the cell.
  3. Press Enter or Tab to move to the next cell.

Are pivot tables necessary?

Excel pivot tables are dynamic, interactive tables in Microsoft Excel. They allow admins to summarize, analyze, and visualize complex data sets efficiently. Pivot tables can be a game changer for efficiency and productivity: Simplifying large data sets.

How do I clean data from a PivotTable?

To remove all report filters, labels, values, and formatting from a PivotTable, and to start designing the layout all over again, use the Clear All command. Click the PivotTable or PivotChart. On the Analyze tab, in the Actions group, click Clear, and then click Clear All.

What is the shortcut for PivotTable in Excel?

Keyboard shortcuts for pivot tables
  1. Create pivot table on a new worksheet: F11 or Fn+F11.
  2. Create pivot table on an existing worksheet: Alt+F1.
  3. Group pivot table items: Alt+Shift+→ or ⌘+⇧+K.
  4. Ungroup pivot table items: Alt+Shift+ or ⌘+⇧+J.
  5. Hide pivot table item: Ctrl+-
  6. Open pivot table wizard: Alt+D+P or ⌘+⌥+P.