Getting the most out of your data with pivot tables

The Power of the Pivot

© Lead Image © vectordivider, 123RF.com

© Lead Image © vectordivider, 123RF.com

Article from Issue 282/2024
Author(s):

Pivot tables let you sort, rearrange, group, and perform calculations on your spreadsheet data. We help you get started with this powerful tool.

Almost everyone today works with spreadsheets from time to time. While most users are familiar with spreadsheet formulas, not everyone is familiar with another power feature, the pivot table. In this article, I show what a pivot table looks like in LibreOffice Calc and then explain what they do. Even if you are just a basic spreadsheet user, you won't regret learning about pivot tables.

A pivot table lets you automatically process the raw data from a spreadsheet (or part of it). It groups all the data in one column according to the values in another column or columns and then makes a calculation on each group and presents the data in the most compact way possible. As an example, take the simple spreadsheet in Figure 1; it has three columns: Area, Year, and Contacts. The pivot table in Figure 2 is created by grouping all the data from the Contacts column according to the values in the Areas column.

The Pivot Table Wizard

LibreOffice Calc provides a handy wizard for creating pivot tables (Figure 3). To get started, you first need to select the data from the spreadsheet around which you are going to pivot. If the cluster of cells that you want to use is recognizable without ambiguities because it is surrounded by empty columns and rows, or because there are simply no other data in the spreadsheet, you can click on any of those cells to start creating the pivot table. Otherwise, you will have to select all the cells that must be processed. Once you've selected the cell or cells you want to process, open the wizard by clicking on either Insert | Pivot Table or Data | Pivot Table | Insert or Edit… in the main menu.

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • Workspace: wikiCalc

    wikiCalc is a unique tool that offers a combination of spreadsheet functionality and wiki features. This may sound like a strange pairing, but wikiCalc provides a refreshingly new approach to the spreadsheet concept.

  • LibreOffice Office Suite

    The LibreOffice Writer word processing tool offers all the basic functionality you expect, along with a couple of features that really make it stand out. We also look at the other LibreOffice components: Calc, Impress, and Base.

  • Gnumeric

    OpenOffice Calc is fine for most spreadsheet applications, but if you’re looking for better performance and a smaller footprint, try Calc’s lean competitor, Gnumeric.

  • KNIME

    They say data is "the new oil," but all that data you collect is only valuable if it leads to new insights. An open source analysis tool called KNIME lets you analyze data through graphical workflows – without the need for programming or complex spreadsheet manipulation.

  • LibreOffice Music Database

    LibreOffice Calc and Base are all you need to create a simple database for organizing the songs in your music collection.

comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News