Microsoft Excel Advanced

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Lesson 2.5: Advanced PivotTable Tasks

If you can create a PivotTable, format it the way you want, and pivot the table data intelligently,
then you have the skills to take your data analysis and report presentation to the next level.
None the less, PivotTables are such a valuable tool that examination of a few more advanced
topics is well worth the effort. In this lesson, we will explore how to create a PivotTable based
on external data and how to use two new tools: PowerPivot and Slicers.

Creating a PivotTable Based on External Data

PivotTables are only as good as the source data that they are based on. In most cases your
PivotTables will be based on data in the same workbook, but it is not unusual for a situation to
arise where you must base your PivotTable on data from an external source.

The most direct way to create a PivotTable from external data is to select the “Use an external
data source” radio button in the Create PivotTable dialog:

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If this radio button is selected, the “Choose Connection” option becomes available. If you click
this button, you will be able to select a data source from a list of existing connections (if there
are any available) via the Existing Connections dialog:

In this dialog, simply click an item in the list to select it, and then click the Open button. (It goes
without saying that you should choose a connection that leads to underlying data suitable for a
PivotTable.)
If you cannot find a connection that is suitable, click the Browse for More button. Then, a
standard navigation dialog will appear so that you can navigate to an external data source of
your choice:

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Select the data source in the navigation dialog and then click Open. Now the Existing
Connections dialog will close leaving the Create PivotTable dialog. In the dialog, you will now
see a “Connection name” indicating your selection.

Now it is just a matter of selecting the location for the PivotTable and clicking OK. If the
connection is valid and is suitable for a PivotTable, you should see an empty PivotTable frame
and Field List appear in the location that you specified in the dialog:

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Now it is just a matter of dragging and dropping fields from the list to the row, column, and
value areas at the bottom to build the table.

Another way to create a PivotTable from external data is to choose Data → Existing
Connections:

Next, select an appropriate data source from the dialog box that appears and click Open:

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Then you will see the Import Data dialog:

With the options in this dialog, you can specify a table, a PivotTable Report (this is what you
should select to create a PivotTable), or a PivotChart and PivotTable report. You can also specify
a new or existing worksheet for your PivotTable.

Once you are finished making your selections, click OK to create your PivotTable frame and
PivotTable Field List from the external data source.

If you do not have any existing connections, you can create a new one, just as long as you have
access to an external data source. To do this, choose Data → From Other Sources:

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In the resulting menu, you can create a connection to an SQL server, an Analysis Services cube,
an XML file, or a Microsoft Query:

You may have to seek advice from your IT personnel or network administrator with regard to
what type of data source is appropriate. Once you have created a connection to an external
data source, you can create your PivotTable by following the same procedures as described
previously for an existing connection.

It is also possible to create a connection to external data in an Access database by choosing
Data → From Access:

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When you click this button, a Select Data Source dialog box will appear, allowing you to
navigate to a Microsoft Access database on your computer or on a network drive:

When you find and select a database, click the Open button in the lower right of the Select Data
Source dialog. You will see the now familiar Import Data dialog:

Once again, you can use the options in the Import Data dialog to specify the type and location
of the table you want to build from the imported data. Remember, for a PivotTable choose
PivotTable Report.

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Here is an example Access database table containing source data:

The following image shows the resulting PivotTable frame and Field List in Excel:

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It may be the case that a regular Excel table that is based on data from an external source exists
in your workbook.

If this is the case, you can just select the range in the table and choose Insert → PivotTable to
create a PivotTable based on that data. The Create PivotTable dialog will appear and you can
proceed to create your table as you normally would, just as if the source data originated in
current Excel workbook.

You should note that in this case, even though the underlying data is from an external source,
the range that the PivotTable is based on already exists in the workbook. There is no need to
choose the “Use external data source” radio button.

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Refreshing External Data

Once you build a PivotTable using external data, you can refresh the table by clicking Data →
Refresh.

At this point, you may see a security notice:

This notice is reminding you that using external data can be dangerous and that you should
know and trust the source. If you do know that the data source can be trusted, click OK and the
data will be refreshed.
You can also refresh the PivotTable by right-clicking a cell in the table and clicking Refresh:

Don’t forget the Refresh button on the PivotTable Tools – Options tab!
Using any of these refresh options will update the PivotTable with changes made to the data in
the underlying external source. Of course, if the PivotTable is based on external data it is a good
idea to refresh it periodically to make sure your data remains current.

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Creating a Slicer

Slicers are a new tool in Excel 2010, and they can be a great help when working with PivotTable
data. The main purpose of PivotTables is to help you analyze information and find patterns or
trends that might be difficult to spot in a large volume of raw data. The Slicer tools take this
idea to the next level!

To create a Slicer, first click anywhere in the PivotTable to display the PivotTable Tools tabs.
Next, choose Options → Insert Slicer:

Now you will see the Insert Slicers dialog with all of the fields from your PivotTable. Place
checkmarks to select the fields that you want to use as slicers and click OK:

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When the Slicers first appear, they will be stacked as shown below:

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The Slicers will be easier to use if you can see each one distinctly. To do this, click and drag its
title area. Once you have the Slicers arranged so you can clearly see all of the field labels that
they contain, you can start using them. For an example, have a good look at the following image
showing the Salesman, Region, and Product Slicers.

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Now, to see what is going on with a particular field, just click on that Slicer. For example to see
what is happening with salesman A Smith, just click on “A Smith” in the Salesman Slicer:

When you click on a label, you will see that some labels in the Slicers will have their original
shading, while others will be shaded differently than they were before:

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The items that have their original shading (East, North, and Northeast regions, and Type 1, Type
3, and Type 5 products) are items that are associated with A. Smith. This means that A Smith
sold products only in the East, North, and Northeast regions, and only sold product types 1, 3,
and 5.

Moreover, the PivotTable itself has changed after clicking salesman A. Smith and shows only
the data for A. Smith, with respect to the East, North, and Northeast region. This corresponds
to the selections made with the Slicers.

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Compare this to the PivotTable before the Slicers were used:

As you can see, Slicers are a great way to cut through volumes of data and find specific details
with respect to a selected element.
To clear the Slicers, click on the filter symbol in the upper right of the Slicer box that you
originally clicked:

Now both the Slicers and the corresponding PivotTable will return to their original form.

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If you want, you can select more than one field label from a given Slicer. To do this, click to
select the first one, and then hold the Ctrl key as you click more labels. Suppose we wanted to
know what was going on in the East and North regions. First we would click “East” and then we
would hold Ctrl and click “North” in the same Slicer. Here are the results:

Now we see the active salesmen and the products sold across both regions. The following
image shows the resulting PivotTable:

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Using the Slicer Tools Tab
To see the Slicer Tools tab, click in a blank area of a Slicer:

On the far left of the tab, you will see a Slicer Settings button. If you click this button, a Slicer
Settings dialog will appear:

Here you can change the name of the Slicer or the caption that is displayed in the Slicer header.
You can also choose how the items (labels) in the Slicer are sorted, and you can specify how
items with no data or items that have been deleted from the data source are displayed. To
commit to the settings you choose, click OK in the dialog.
The next button on the Slicer Tools tab is PivotTable Connections:

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When you click this button, a PivotTable Connections dialog will open, where you can specify
what PivotTable your Slicer is associated with. (This is useful if you have more than one
PivotTable in the workbook.)

In this dialog, place a checkmark next to the PivotTable(s) that you want to change in response
to the choices you make with your Slicer. To disassociate the Slicer from a given table, clear the
checkmark for the appropriate item. When you have made your selections, click OK to
implement them.
The next section on the options tab is the Slicer Styles gallery:

This gallery works just like the PivotTable Styles gallery. To apply a style to a Slicer, just click on
a thumbnail in the preview menu. The corresponding style will be applied to the active Slicer.

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It is a good idea to apply styles to your Slicers (especially if you have several) to help
differentiate between them.

Sometimes, if you are using several Slicers, there will not be enough room on your screen to
arrange them all without any overlaps. Here’s an example:

The Arrange group is for dealing with stacked Slicers. To move a Slicer in the stack, click to
select it and then choose the appropriate button from the Arrange group. For example, based
on the image above, if we wanted to move the orange Slicer to the top, we would click on it to
select it and then choose Bring Forward:

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The following image shows the result:

If you click the Selection Pane command:

A pane that lists all of your Slicers will appear on the right of the screen:

This pane can help you find a Slicer that you need in a cluttered screen. To make a given Slicer
active, just click it in the list. If you click on the eye icon next to a Slicer name, that Slicer will be
hidden.

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To see it again, just click the box:

The final two groups (Buttons and Size) can be used to alter the size the Slicer buttons and the
size of the Slicer box itself:

You can alter the settings for any of these size attributes by clicking the small arrows provided
in the text boxes to change the settings in small increments. Alternatively, you can enter a value
directly into a text box to change the corresponding size attribute.

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Lesson 2.6: Using PowerPivot

PowerPivot is an Excel add-on that is available for free for Excel 2010. You may remember our
discussion of Excel add-ins from Lesson 1.3. The PowerPivot add-on can be thought of in the
same way: it is additional software that is not installed with Excel, but instead is added on later
if required. Once installed, this additional software extends the functionality of Excel even
more.

PowerPivot has special compression and processing algorithms that allow you to work
efficiently with immense amounts of data. PowerPivot also facilitates the integration of data
from multiple sources, and has been designed with extra features and flexibility for
environments that rely on Microsoft SharePoint and or Microsoft SQL servers.

System Requirements

To get started with PowerPivot, you must first download and install it. For PowerPivot to work
properly, your system must meet a few minimum requirements. These are:

 Windows XP with Service Pack 3, Windows Vista with Service Pack 2, Windows 7, or
Windows Server 2008 or higher

 .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 may be required if you are not running Windows 7
 Excel 2010
 3.5 gigabytes of free hard disk space
 1 gigabyte of RAM (2 gigabytes or more is recommended)
 500 MHz processor or higher

Downloading and Installing PowerPivot

Once you have determined that your system is capable, download the PowerPivot add-on from
Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads). Search for “powerpivot” at the top of the
page. Remember to download the version (32 or 64 bit) that corresponds to your installation of
Office 2010.

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Here is what the PowerPivot download site looked like at the time of publication:

We simply clicked the first Download button to save the file to our computer.

Once the PowerPivot file has finished downloading, check that the Publisher is “Microsoft
Corporation” and run the file.

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Now, follow the installation directions to install PowerPivot:

When you start Excel for the first time after this installation, you may see a dialog asking you if
you want to install PowerPivot in Excel:

Click Install to complete the PowerPivot installation.

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Importing Access Data
When PowerPivot is fully installed in Excel you will see a PowerPivot tab:

To get a feel for what PowerPivot can do, let’s have a look at an example. First, look at the
following Access database table:

Here we have a simple list of the salesmen that work for a company. The data includes an ID
number, the balance for each salesman’s expense account, and the miles that they traveled to
sell the company’s products.

Now, have a look at the following Excel worksheet:

Here we have a table listing the salesmen for the company with accompanying data about the
regions they work in, the products they sell, the sales (in units), the customers they sold to, and
the profit they generated.

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Ideally, it would be nice to integrate all of this data in some way. This kind of data integration
can be performed with relative ease by using PowerPivot.

To analyze the data from these different sources, we will open Excel 2010 and click PowerPivot
→ PowerPivot Window:

The PowerPivot window will now open. We’ll click From Database → From Access on the Home
tab to obtain the data from the external database:

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In the Table Import Wizard that appears, we will click the Browse button to choose the
database that we want. Then, it will be reflected in the wizard:

If a username and password are required to access the database they can be entered at this
point.
Once everything is ready, we’ll click the Next button at the bottom of the Table Import Wizard
to proceed.
Next we must choose how to import the data:

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Since this database is very basic, the simplest route is to choose the first radio button, so we
can select our data from a list of tables in the database. When we click the “Next” button in the
wizard, a list of the available database tables is displayed. Since there is only one table in this
database, our choice is simple.

We will make sure there is a checkmark next to the Sales Accounts table and then click the
Finish button at the bottom of the wizard.

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When we see that the data has been successfully imported, we can close the Table Import
Wizard:

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When the wizard closes, the imported data will be visible in the PowerPivot window.

Importing Excel Data
Next, we will click the small can icon to find data from our Excel workbook:

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This action will display the Table Import Wizard again, but this time, a scrolling list of other
potential data source types will be available. To get the data from our Excel workbook, we will
scroll down until we see the Excel File option. We’ll click it to select it and then click Next:

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As before, we can browse to the file we need and choose it as our data source.

We will now make sure that the path to the file is correct and we will select the “Use first row
as column headers” option. (This will ensure that our imported data will have column labels.)
Once we are ready, we will click the “Next” button at the bottom of the wizard.

Now we will choose which worksheet to import from (Sheet1 has our data):

To continue, we’ll click the “Finish” button at the bottom of the wizard.

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When we see the success message and the number of rows transferred, we can click the Close
button to close the wizard.

When the wizard closes, the imported data will be visible in the PowerPivot window:

Remember, we already imported data from an Access database into PowerPivot. You can get to
this data you want to see by choosing the appropriate tab at the bottom of the PowerPivot
window, just like you would with Excel worksheets.

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Integrating Data with Relationships

Now that we have data from two separate external sources, the next step is to integrate the
sources in PowerPivot. To do this, we should create a relationship between the two data
sources. If we look at the data for imported from the Excel workbook (Sheet1) on the tab, we
see that there is a Salesman ID column.

This ID number uniquely identifies each salesman.

Similarly, if we click on the tab at the bottom of the PowerPivot window to see the data
imported from the Access database (Sales Accounts), we again see a Salesman ID column:

Since the Salesman ID fields in each data source uniquely identify the same salesmen, this is the
column (field) we should use to integrate our data. To do this, choose Design → Create
Relationship in the PowerPivot window:

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In the Create Relationships dialog, we will make sure that both data sources use the same
column (Salesman ID) for the relationship. Then we’ll click Create:

Creating a PivotTable with PowerPivot Data
Once the relationship between the data has been created, you can create a PivotTable. Simply
click the PivotTable button at on the Home tab in the PowerPivot window:

You will see a Create PivotTable dialog:

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We will choose the New Worksheet radio button and click OK.

This will place the PivotTable frame and Field List in a new worksheet in Excel. You will see two
sets of fields: one for the external Access database data and one for the external Excel
workbook data.

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Now we can drag and drop fields to build a PivotTable just as we did before. The amazing thing
is that this PivotTable will combine and integrate data from two separate external data sources:

In the PivotTable above, we can see the Expense Account Balance from the Access database for
each salesman, as well as the Sales and Profit values from the Excel workbook.

This PivotTable can be modified using any of the tools we have already discussed. You can, just
as before, easily pivot the data by dragging and dropping fields. Or, you can apply a style to the
PivotTable with the PivotTable Tools – Design tab. You can even use slicers to analyze the data.

As an example, here is a formatted version of the table, with the salesmen’s mileage added.

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Here is the Field List for the above table:

As you can see, the table combines and integrates data from both sources. You can save this
Excel workbook like any other, and when you open it again, all of the data will still be available.
After opening the workbook, you can see the data simply by displaying the PowerPivot window
again (PowerPivot → PowerPivot Window):

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If the data in the external sources has changed, you can refresh the data by choosing Home →
Refresh in the PowerPivot window:

You will then need to refresh the PivotTable as well (back in Excel).

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Section 2: Review Questions

1. To pivot data means…
A. To change data from a row orientation to a column orientation
B. To change the justification of data in a selected range
C. To move data using Paste Special
D. To rearrange data fields in a table or chart in such a way as to change the
perspective on relationships between the data

2. Which of the following statements is true?
A. A PivotTable is not different from a standard Excel table
B. A PivotTable is also known as a flat table
C. A PivotTable is like several tables rolled into one
D. A good PivotTable must be based on an external data source

3. Why is the order that you place checkmarks next to fields in a PivotTable Field List
important?

A. It affects the layout of the table
B. It determines the order in which field labels will appear in the table
C. Both of the above
D. This is a trick question; the order does not matter

4. How can you pivot data by dragging fields directly onto a table?
A. Drag the fields from the boxes in the bottom of the Field List to the table
B. First, clear all checkmarks from the Field List
C. Create a Classic PivotTable frame
D. This is not possible in Excel 2010

5. PowerPivot is a great tool to use if you want to….
A. Get data from external sources
B. Combine and integrate data from several different sources
C. Import and organize immense amounts of data
D. All of the above

6. Which of the following statements is true?
A. PowerPivot comes installed with Office 2010
B. PowerPivot can be purchased from the PowerPivot Web site
C. PowerPivot is part of the Analysis ToolPak add-in group
D. None of the above

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7. A field in a PivotTable corresponds to a _______ in a regular table.
A. Function
B. Absolute reference
C. Column heading
D. Numeric data type

8. In a PivotTable, labels can be described as….
A. Instances of a particular field
B. A name for the PivotTable
C. A text representation of numerical data
D. Any data that can be sub-totaled

9. If non-numerical data is placed in the Values area of a PivotTable….
A. The data will show up as zeros
B. Excel will display a warning informing you that the data is illegal
C. The data will be averaged
D. The data will appear as counts

10. Can you create Slicers for a standard data table?
A. Yes
B. No
C. Only for tables that have corresponding charts

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Section 3: Charting Pivoted Data

In this section you will learn how to:
 Create a PivotChart from scratch or from an existing PivotTable
 Add data to a PivotChart
 Pivot chart data
 Use the PivotChart contextual tabs (Design, Layout, Format, and Analyze)
 Rename fields
 Change the chart type
 Apply a style to a chart
 Manually format chart elements
 Change the layout of chart elements
 Create a PivotChart based on external data
 Create a slicer for a PivotChart
 Create a scenario-based PivotTable and PivotChart
 Create a PivotChart with PowerPivot data

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Lesson 3.1: Getting Started with PivotCharts

In the previous section, we looked at PivotTables at length and learned how PivotTables can
enhance data analysis. Even though PivotTables are powerful and informative tools, they still
display data in a two dimensional table format, consisting of rows and columns of descriptive
text and numerical values.

Just as standard Excel charts can provide a more graphical or visually intuitive view of regular
tables of data, a PivotChart can provide a graphical representation of data in a PivotTable:

In this lesson you will learn how to create a PivotChart, add data to a PivotChart, and pivot
charted data.

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Creating a PivotChart from Scratch

In Excel 2010, you can create a Pivot chart from scratch, or you can create a PivotChart based
on an existing PivotTable.

To create a PivotChart from scratch, choose Insert → PivotTable → PivotChart:

When the Create PivotTable with PivotChart dialog box appears, select the range of data for the
chart with your mouse (or enter it manually into the Table/Range text box) and then choose the
location (new worksheet or existing worksheet) for the chart.

(Notice that this is almost the same as the process used to create a PivotTable.) Once you are
ready, click OK.

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At this point, you will see a PivotTable area, a Field List, and a PivotChart area:

Creating a PivotChart from Existing Data

To create a chart based on an existing PivotTable, simply click inside the PivotTable, and then
click a chart type from the Charts group on the Insert tab:

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In this example, Column has been selected as a chart type. Next, we will click a type from the
menu that appears:

The PivotChart will now appear in the same worksheet that contains the PivotTable that it is
based on:

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Adding Data to your Chart

The methods for adding data to a PivotChart are a lot like the methods for adding data to a
PivotTable. Let’s start with an empty PivotChart (created from scratch):

To add data to the chart, we can simply place checkmarks to select the fields we want to
include from the Field List:

Here we have selected the Month field, the Salesman field, and the Units Sold field, to add
them to the PivotChart. It is important to note that just as with PivotTables, the order that you
select fields in the Field List will determine the order that the corresponding fields are arranged
in the chart.

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If you want more control over how the data is arranged in the chart, you can drag fields down
to the Axis Fields, Legend Fields, Report Filter, and Values area boxes at the bottom of the Field
List.

The Axis Fields area is where you place fields that you would like to appear on the X axis of the
chart.

The Legend Fields area is where you would place the fields that you want to analyze using the
Axis fields. The labels associated with these fields will form the legend (color coded) area of the
PivotChart.

The Values area is where you place your numerical data. This is the data that will be measured
and charted in the PivotChart in the form of columns, bars, or lines (depending on the chart
type).

Finally, the Report Filter area box is where you place fields that you would like to use to filter
your views of the data.

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Look at the following PivotChart and the mapping of the different chart areas to the
corresponding area boxes in the Field List:

Your reasoning as to the arrangement of various fields will be very similar to your approach to a
regular PivotTable. It all depends on what aspects of your data you want to analyze.

Remember, you can clear data out of your PivotChart by clearing the checkboxes in the Field
List, just the same as you would with a PivotTable.

Pivoting Data

Pivoting data in a PivotChart is pretty much the same as with a PivotTable. How you pivot the
data depends on the relationships or perspectives that you want to explore.

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