Summarizing Data with PivotTables

A PivotTable turns a long, raw list of data into a quick summary — total sales per region, attendance per month, expenses per category — without writing a single formula.

• Select your data range → Insert → PivotTable. Drag fields into Rows, Columns, and Values to build the summary.
• Change how values are summarized (Sum, Average, Count) by clicking the field in the Values area and choosing "Value Field Settings."
• A PivotChart can be created directly from a PivotTable to visualize the same summary.
• Refresh a PivotTable after changing the source data with Right-click → Refresh, or it will show outdated numbers.

Practical Skill: From a raw list of sales transactions (date, region, product, amount), build a PivotTable showing total sales by region and by month, then add a PivotChart.

=== RAW DATA (before) ===Date        Region    Product      Amount2026-01-05  North     Notebooks    45,0002026-01-06  South     Pens         12,0002026-01-07  North     Pens         9,000... (hundreds of rows) ... === PIVOTTABLE SETUP ===Rows:    RegionColumns: Month (grouped from Date)Values:  Sum of Amount === RESULT (after) ===Region     Jan        Feb        TotalNorth      54,000     61,000     115,000South      12,000     18,500     30,500 [ ] Select the full raw data range including headers[ ] Insert -> PivotTable -> New Worksheet[ ] Drag "Region" to Rows, "Date" to Columns (group by Month)[ ] Drag "Amount" to Values -> confirm it shows "Sum of Amount"[ ] Insert -> PivotChart to visualize the same summary