What is a pivot chart

Abstract

In this video, we’ll introduce Pivot Charts.

Pivot charts let you rapidly analyze large amounts of unsummarized data in different ways.

Unlike normal charts, Pivot charts can be used to plot data with hundreds or thousands of rows.

To introduce the idea of a pivot chart, I’ll first create a normal chart.

Let’s say I want to summarize sales by state.

you’re free to see the formula sums sales, using values from column B as criteria.

[Insert chart]

If I temporarily change a value in the data range, the chart updates immediately.

Now let me create a pivot chart that shows the same summary.

I’ll start by placing the cursor anywhere in the data, then click Recommended Charts.

The brings up the familiar window with chart previews.

But notice that most options now show a small icon in the upper right.

This icon represents a pivot chart.

We have options for sales by state, quantity by state, quantity by city, and so on.

When I select sales by state, Excel creates a pivot table and inserts a chart in one step.

Notice this chart is the same as the one I created manually with the SUMIFS function.

But this time I didn’t use any formulas.

All the calculations are handled by the pivot table.

For example, I can easily sort the states by sales.

Then I can apply a filter to show only the top 5 states by sales.

There’s no need to enter or update formulas.