Excel Tips for Compensation Practitioners Weeks 23-28 Pivot Tables Week 23 Creating a Pivot Table Pivot tables are one of the most amazing and powerful tools in Excel, but many users do not know how to create them, or are not aware of some of the incredible features that are available in the pivot table. In the next six weeks I will cover how to draw up a pivot table, how to change the layout of or fields in the pivot, how to group and ungroup data, refresh data, edit field settings, show pages (a remarkable feature with wide applications), sort data in the pivot, show source data in a pivot table category and create a pivot chart. To begin, what are pivot tables? They are interactive tables that enable you to summarise and analyse data in a multitude of ways. They take seconds to create, no matter how large the size of your database, and are enormously flexible. Simply by dragging headings from row to column to page area, and by dragging fields in or out of the table, you can in an instant change the complete layout and look of your data. To demonstrate creating a pivot table, let s use the following data and assume that we wish to analyse total basic cash costs and average basic cash by division and grade. The data for the pivot must always be in a table with a single row of headings at the top.
To create the pivot, first select the data in the table. Next, in Excel 2007, click Insert, Pivot Table, and in the screen below click OK. This will create an empty pivot table. In Excel 2003 click Data, Pivot Table and Pivot Chart Report, Next, Next - this will take you to the screen shot below. At this stage, you can either select Layout or you can click Finish, which will create an empty pivot table, as in Excel 2007, and you can do the layout in the empty table. We will work first with selecting Layout at this point, and then work with doing the layout in an empty pivot table. Select Click the Layout button. Then, as per the screen shot below, drag the Grade box into Row. Drag the Division box into Column. Drag the Basic Cash box into Data.
Click OK. Leave the default option to place the pivot table in a new worksheet. Click Finish. If you had created an empty pivot table, you would do exactly the same actions in this table, dragging Grade from the Pivot Table Field List to where it says Drop Row Fields Here, Division to where it says Drop Column Fields Here and Basic Cash into where it says Drop Data Items Here. Using either of these methods, you will create a pivot table giving you the sum of basic cash by division and grade. The pivot table should look like the screen shot below.
If you decided that you preferred to have division in the row area and grade in the column area, you can simply drag the word Division to where Grade is, and Grade to where Division is. The pivot table will change to look like this. This provides truly amazing flexibility! Simply by double clicking on the word Sum of Basic Cash in the top left corner of the pivot, you can change the pivot to a Count, Average, Max, Min, Product etc. as per the screen shot below. You can choose the number of decimal places by clicking Number in this screen, (Number Format in 2007), then Number again, and specifying the decimal places.
You can also have more than one field in the row, column, page or data area at one time. The fields will be shown next to each other or below each other. Next week we will look at the use of the page area in the pivot table, i.e. what happens when you drag a field to where it says Drop Page Fields Here. We will explore how to show pages, i.e. how to get the pivot to create one sheet for every category in the page field, and how to ensure that each sheet is in a consistent format.
Week 24 Using the Page Area and Show Pages function in the Pivot Table Last week we showed how to create a pivot table, analysing basic cash by division and grade using the row and column areas of the table. This week we will explore how to use the page area of the pivot table, and how to use the show pages function. Using the same set of data as last week, create a pivot table by clicking Data, Pivot Table and Pivot Chart Report, Next, Next, Finish in Excel 2003, or Insert, Pivot Table, OK in Excel 2007. In the empty pivot table created, see screen shot below, do the following layout. Drag Division from the Pivot Table Field List to where it says Drop Page Fields Here, Grade to where it says Drop Row Fields Here and Basic Cash into where it says Drop Data Items Here.. You will now have created a pivot table giving you the sum of basic cash by grade for all divisions. The pivot table should look like the screen shot below.
When a field is in the page area, it enables you to see all the fields combined, or to see one of the fields at a time. If, in this pivot table, you click on the down arrow to the right of Division (All), you will be able to see the sum of basic cash for each division at a time. For example, if you click on Human Resources, OK, your pivot table will change to look like this. Once a field is in the page area, you can use an immensely powerful function called Show Pages. This creates one sheet for each field in your page area. To use this function, in Excel 2003 click on the down arrow next to Pivot Table in your Pivot Table toolbar and select Show Pages as per the screen shot below. The Pivot Table toolbar should open automatically when you create a pivot table, but if you have accidentally closed it, open it up again by clicking View, Toolbars, Pivot Table. You need to select a cell inside the pivot table for this toolbar to be active. If you select a cell outside of the pivot table, the icons in the toolbar will be recessed.
In Excel 2007, click in the pivot table. Then select Options from the top menu, and in the Pivot Table category on the left of the toolbar, click the down arrow next to Options, and click Show Report Filter Pages as per the screen shot below. After selecting Show Pages or Show Report Filter Pages, you will be given an option of choosing any fields that are in the page area. In this example, you only have one field, Division in the page area, see below, so just click OK. Excel will now create 7 sheets, each with the name of a division and containing a pivot table for that division.
Where there is no data, for example, in Human Resources, there is no data for Grades 1, 2 and 7, the pivot will only show the fields for which there is data. However, if you would like all the pivot tables to have a consistent layout, and include fields even where there is no data, this can be easily done. In your original pivot table, point at Grade, right click and select Field Settings in Excel 2003, or, Field Settings, then Layout & Print in Excel 2007. Check the box which says Show items with no data, as per the screen shots below, the first for Excel 2003, the second for Excel 2007. Click OK.
Then again follow the procedure for Show Pages or Show Report Filter Pages, as outlined above. You will now have a pivot table sheet per Division, but each one will have a consistent layout and show grades, even where there is no data, as per the example below.
The Show Pages function is immensely powerful, as it can be used as a time saving measure, even when you are not wanting to create pivot tables. For example, say you need to produce a separate sheet of data for 20 different departments. Instead of inserting and naming each sheet with the name of the department, use a pivot table and the Show Pages function to create them. Then select all 20 sheets, by selecting the first sheet, holding down the Shift key and selecting the last sheet. Select the whole sheet by clicking Control A or clicking in the top left hand corner. Convert the pivot tables to values by clicking copy, paste values, and then delete them. If you do not convert to values first, you will not be able to delete them. You will now have 20 blank but named sheets, and you can then copy your table or graph into each sheet and edit it as needed. This is much quicker than creating and naming each sheet separately. You can also create a heading in all 20 sheets at once, using the name of the sheet, by doing the following. Select all 20 sheets. Then use the ASAP-Utilities menu, menu option 4, then 5, (see Week 5 for this add in menu option) to put the sheet name into a specific cell in each sheet, say cell E1. Then create a heading in each sheet, say in cell B1, that reads something like = Table of Data for &E1. Each sheet will then have a heading saying Table of Data for Human Resources, Table of Data for Marketing etc.
Week 25 Field Settings Options in the Pivot Table In pivot tables, you often want to compare data across different areas, e.g. average salary for a grade or job category across functions, divisions or regions, and you can do this by using a variety of field setting options. To demonstrate this, using the same set of data as in the first two weeks, create a pivot table by clicking Data, Pivot Table and Pivot Chart Report, Next, Next, Finish in Excel 2003 or Insert, Pivot Table, OK in Excel 2007. In the empty pivot table created, drag Division from the Pivot Table Field List to where it says Drop Column Fields Here, Grade to where it says Drop Row Fields Here and Basic Cash into where it says Drop Data Items Here. Your pivot table should look like the one below. Either double click on Sum of Basic Cash, or point anywhere inside the pivot table, right click, and select Field Settings in Excel 2003 or Value Field Settings in Excel 2007. In Excel 2003 select Average, click on Options >>, then under where it says Show data as:, select % of column as per the screen shot below.
In Excel 2007, select Average, click the Show values as tab, and under where it says Show values as, select % of column as per the screen shot below. Click on Number in Excel 2003, or Number Format in Excel 2007, change the decimal places from 2 to 0, then click OK, OK. You will now have a pivot table that looks like this.
This pivot shows the average basic cash for each grade/ division as a % of the average for the whole grade. The table is a little clouded though by the 0% s where there is no data. To not view the zeros, in Excel 2003 click Tools, Options, View. Uncheck the Zero values box, to not show zero values see below. In Excel 2007, click the Microsoft Office Button,, click Excel Options, and then the Advanced category on the left. Scroll down and, under Display options, uncheck the box for Show a zero in cells that have zero value see below.
The pivot table will now look like this. You can now see quite clearly that Info Technology basic salaries are 9% to 14% above the average at each grade, while Sales basic salaries are 11% to 25% below the average, because they exclude commission. Dependent on how your pivot table is set up, you could instead choose to look at averages as a % of the row, of the total, as a % of a specific field or as the difference from another field, as per the options below. You can combine this with conditional formatting, which we will cover in a later column, to highlight anomalies. This provides an immensely powerful tool for presenting comparative data across regions, functions, divisions or any other category in your organisation.
Week 26 Refreshing and grouping data in the pivot table Refreshing data in the pivot table Once you have created a pivot table, your original data may change, and you then want to update the pivot table. Note that this update does not happen automatically. To update the pivot, simply click anywhere in the pivot table, right click and click Refresh data (Excel 2003) or Refresh (Excel 2007). Alternatively, in Excel 2003, click the red exclamation mark in the pivot table toolbar see below. All pivot tables in that workbook will then update with the new data. You can also choose to automatically refresh the pivot table each time you open the workbook. To do this in Excel 2003, point anywhere inside the pivot table, right click and select Table Options. Check the bottom box that says Refresh on open. See below. To do this in Excel 2007, point anywhere inside the pivot table, right click and select Pivot Table Options. Click the Data tab. Check the box that says Refresh data when opening the file. See below.
Grouping data in the pivot table You might want to group data in your pivot table into broader categories. Let s say for example that you wished to group grades 1 to 4 in the pivot table below into Non Exempt, and grades 5 to 7 into Exempt. (I apologise if this grouping does not make sense - we do not use these categories in SA, so am surmising!) Select the row headings 1 to 4. Right click. Select Group and Show Detail, Group in Excel 2003, or just Group in Excel 2007. This will create a new heading above 1 to 4 headed Group 1. Edit this to say Non Exempt. Next select the row headings 5 to 7. Right click. Select Group and Show Detail, Group in Excel 2003, or just Group in Excel 2007. This will create a new heading above 5 to 7 headed Group 2. Edit this to say Exempt. Your data should look like the pivot table below.
To collapse the categories, double click on the word Non Exempt, and on the word Exempt or in Excel 2007, click on the minus sign to the left of the words. Your pivot will then look like the one below, and you will have a summary of the data by Exempt and Non Exempt categories. To open them up again, simply double click on the words Non Exempt and / or Exempt, or in Excel 2007, click on the plus signs to the left of the words.
Week 27 Sorting data and selecting specific fields in the pivot table Sorting data in the pivot table Once you have created a pivot table, the default sort order in the pivot is ascending, but allows a manual over ride. You can change this sort order by simply dragging field categories to a different place. For example, in the pivot table below, you could drag the word Finance after Human Resources, or the word Sales before Marketing, to change the order. You can also change the default sort order by doing the following. In Excel 2003 point at the field name in the row or column area, for example, Division. Right click and select Field Settings. In the screen as per the one below, click Advanced Check the box for the desired sort order, Ascending or Descending, and choose which field you wish to sort by, in this case Division or Sum of Basic Cash, as per the screen shot below.
If you chose Descending by Sum of Basic Cash, the pivot table would change to look as follows. The division order would be based on which division had the highest sum of basic cash. You would therefore be able to clearly see which division was costing the most in basic cash salaries. You can do a similar operation in Excel 2007. Point at the field name in the row or column area, for example, Division. Right click and select Sort. You can choose to sort A to Z or Z to A on that field, or choose More Sort Options. In this screen you could choose the same option as above, Descending by Sum of Basic Cash, see screen shot below.
Selecting specific fields in the pivot table Once you have created a pivot table, the default will be to show all categories in each field in the row, column or page areas. You can however choose to omit some fields in the row or column areas if you wish. For example, in the table above, you might wish to exclude Technical and Logistics, because you are looking only at the cost of head office support staff. To do this, click on the down arrow next to Division, and uncheck the boxes for the categories that you do not want as per the screen shot below. Click OK. Your pivot table will now exclude those categories.
Week 28 Showing source data in a pivot table category and creating pivot charts Showing the source data in a pivot table category Let us assume we have created the following pivot table, and wish to know which employees are making up the total cash cost in Technical Exempt, as this amount is very high. Just double click on the number 285410 next to Technical and under Exempt in the pivot. A new spreadsheet will be created showing the source data (in this case employees) in this category see below. The fields that are shown in this sheet, in this case, Grade, Division, Name, Job Title and Basic Cash, will be the ones that were selected when the pivot table was created. For this reason it is a good idea when creating a pivot table to select all the fields in the table, not only those that you wish to put into the page, column, row and data areas.
Creating pivot charts Once you have created a pivot table, you can also if you wish, create a pivot chart. To do this, in Excel 2007, click on the pivot table, then select Options from the top menu, and click on the Pivot Chart icon in the Tools category. In Excel 2003, click on the pivot table, then click on the chart icon in the pivot toolbar see below or the chart icon in the standard toolbar. In Excel 2007, you will be given a choice of chart types when you click on the pivot chart icon. In Excel 2003, the pivot chart automatically creates a stacked column chart, but you can change the chart type afterwards by clicking Chart, Chart type and choosing a different chart type. Let s assume your pivot table looks like the one shown at the beginning of the column with Exempt and Non Exempt data by Division. From this table Excel 2003 will create the following pivot chart. You can edit the pivot chart in exactly the same manner as the pivot table. In Excel 2003, you can drag fields in or out, and move them from the row to the column to the page area. You can also click on the down arrow next to the field name, for example, Division, to exclude certain categories in that field. In Excel 2007, you can do the same, but not in the chart itself, you do the editing in the Pivot Table Field List and Pivot Chart Filter Pane outside of the chart. See example below
Note that whatever you do to the chart will alter the layout of the original table from which the chart is created. You can also edit the chart using your normal chart editing options. In Excel 2003 you can close the pivot table field list and the pivot toolbar to improve the look of the chart. To get them back again, click View, Toolbars, Pivot Table. Then, in the toolbar click the last icon on the right, Show Field List. To conclude on pivot tables, although I have devoted 6 columns to them, and have demonstrated the most important features, I have still not shown all the options that are available. The best way to discover these is to experiment with the Pivot Table Options and the Field Settings, and to explore the many additional features. Most of what I have learnt about pivot tables has come from wondering if something can be done in a pivot, and experimenting to find out!