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Pivot tables are the number one tool in Excel when it comes to analyzing data.

So if you do a job role that requires you to analyze data on a regular basis, you're going to need

to know how pivot tables work.

So what is a pivot table?

Well, it allows you to take a large dataset like the one we have open right now and extract meaning

from it, because data when it's organized in this way in a series of columns and rows is orderly.

But it's quite hard for us to see precise information.

For example, in Column A, I have a list of countries.

What if I just want to see what the gross sales are for each of those countries currently looking at

my table?

That's really hard for me to see.

However, if I was to put this information into a pivot table, I can organize it in such a way that

I can have the countries in one column and I can see the sum of the gross sales.

And the cool thing about pivot tables is that they are completely dynamic.

So if I finished analyzing this piece of data and I decide that I want to analyze my data in a different

way, I can simply switch the fields around.

So maybe I don't want to see this breakdown by country, but instead of by product.

So it's a simple case of replacing the fields.

So now I have my products listed out here and also the sum of gross sales.

What about if I want to see this data by country and by product?

Well, again, very straightforward.

I can put country down into columns and I can summarize my data in an entirely different way.

So pivot tables give you the flexibility by moving these fields around to really extract the information

that you're interested in.

And throughout this section, I'm going to show you how you can put together a pivot table.

I'm going to give you some useful tips and tricks when you're constructing your pivot tables.

And of course, we're going to delve deeper into the process of pivoting fields, formatting pivot table

data and also sorting and filtering it using Slack.