Information Technology Services
Computer Training
Newsletter
June 2005
Issue 50
ITS Training offers a wide range of computing courses throughout the year. This monthly newsletter provides details
of upcoming courses and highlights some of the services provided by the ITS Training Department. For further details
and Application Forms contact:
ITS Reception, telephone: (03) 479 8559, email: its.reception@stonebow.otago.ac.nz or check out our WWW pages:
http://www.otago.ac.nz/ITS/training
Condense Excel data - use Pivot Tables
If you have vast amounts of information in your Excel spreadsheet the
pivot table is a great tool to use to group and summarise certain areas of
your data.
Your pivot table can sort and sum independent of the original data layout
in your spreadsheet.
Pivot Tables have the ability to be manipulated via ‘Trial-and-Error’ and immediately show the
result. If it is not what you want, simply have another go or use the Undo feature. Remember
you are not changing the structure of your original table in anyway at all, so no harm can be
done!
Pivot Table reports are organised into fields and items. Fields are the rows or columns of data;
items are the specific entries within a field.
•
Page fields display one data item by which all table values are filtered.
•
Column fields display the column categories for the table.
•
Row fields display the items shown in individual rows.
•
Data fields display the values and calculations.
The Pivot Table and Pivot Chart Wizard will help you to get started.
The wizard guides you through the steps
required:
1. How is your data set-up and do you
also want a Pivot Chart?
2. Where is your data stored, eg, range
in the same Workbook, a database, or
another Workbook?
3. Which column of data is going into
which Field i.e. the optional Page field,
Row field, Column field and the
mandatory Data field?
4. Where do you want to put your Pivot
Table, eg, new Worksheet or existing
one?
See Page 4 for upcoming Pivot Table courses!!
When you click the finish button on the wizard