Pivot Table Data Crunching for Microsoft® Office Excel® 2007

Chapter 2. Creating a Basic Pivot Table

<feature><title>In This Chapter</title>

• Preparing Your Data for Pivot Table Reporting 21

• Case Study: Cleaning Up Data for Pivot Table Analysis 25

• Creating a Basic Pivot Table 26

• Case Study: Analyzing Activity by Market 35

• Keeping Up with Changes in Your Data Source 39

• Sharing the Pivot Cache 41

• Saving Time with New Pivot Table Tools 42

• Next Steps 44

</feature>

Preparing Your Data for Pivot Table Reporting

When you have a family portrait taken, the photographer takes time to make sure that the lighting is right, the poses are natural, and everyone smiles his or her best smile. This preparation ensures that the resulting photo is effective in its purpose.

When you create a pivot table report, you’re the photographer, ...