Become a savvy Microsoft Excel user. Pivot tables are a great feature in Excel that help you organize and analyze data, but not many Excel users know how to use pivot tables. Pivot Table Data Crunching offers a comprehensive review of all the functionalities of Pivot Tables from author Bill Jelen, otherwise known as Mr. Excel from www.mrexcel.com, and Michael Alexander, a Microsoft Certified Application Developer. The authors' practical scenarios and real-world advice demonstrate the benefits of Pivot Tables and how to avoid the common pitfalls of every day data crunching. Each solution presented in the book can be accomplished with resources available in the Excel interface, making Pivot Table Data Crunching a beneficial resource for all levels of Excel users.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 27 Ratings

Excellent for a relative newcomer - 2009-06-30
Reviewer Rating:
I have developed pivot tables on my own for about a year, but this book answered many questions that I couldn't answer on my own. Very clear. A good reference.

Use it as a Workbook! - 2009-05-09
Reviewer Rating:
I am very experienced programmer. However, I am not at all proficient in Excel. It is my habit to try to find books that will aid my learning curve. I found exactly what I was seeking in Pivot Table Data Crunching.

I went to the Que Publishing Site (url on the back cover) and downloaded the sample data provided there. I made my personal copies of those provided sample workbooks. By following along with every chapter, I made a worksheet that contained almost all of the quite extensive figures used in illustration in the book. I put each figure on its own worksheet and named that sheet with the same name as the illustration (Figure N.NN, etc.) The sample data is quite sufficient for this purpose. In most cases, the illustration proceed logically from one to the next so a copy of the worksheet from the previous illustration can be used as the basis for the transformation to the next illustration.

The above method of use of the work is not explicitly recommended by the authors in the text. It should be in my opinion. A thoughtful work through of Pivot Table Data Crunching using this method lead me toward a working understanding the extensive power of the pivot table reporting feature in Excel.

My time is valuable to me. I most enthusiastically and highly recommend Pivot Table Data crunching to those who wish to explore Excel's pivot tables with a view toward understanding pivot table capabilities and with a view toward directed practice in understanding pivot table mechanics including their sometimes non-intuitive features.

Pivot Table Data Crunching - 2009-03-03
Reviewer Rating:
The book arrived in great conditon for a used book. It was actually brand new for a fifth of what a new one cost. I have taken it to work to share. Thanks Lov'in it

All you Need to Know to Support Pivot Tables - 2008-03-17
Reviewer Rating:
The hardest aspect of supporting Excel users is finding answers for what Pivot Table users need to know for their creations. Well, this is the best and most essential book you could possibly get. I knew it was the most ideal when the trainers in the area I work wanted to use this book, and amalgamate material, well no way. This, coupled together with GUERILLA DATA ANALYSIS and many other Bill Jelen "Master Class" works make for the ideal source material; I can always say, if I don't know it, I can find it in one of the Bill Jelen/Mr Excel books.
For First time Pivot Table users who want to make the best of Office 2007 and its power, this book is the first and last stop. Your Work will be great, and your Web files will never be better.

Thorough, comprehensive, and well done - 2008-02-20
Reviewer Rating:
Weighing in a just under a pound, this book is worth it's weight in gold (currently trading at around $800 an ounce). Those new to pivot tables and those wanting a comprehensive understanding of the power of PTs (and the logic behind them) would do well to buy this book. Laid out in 11 chapters (the 12th is devoted to writing VB code, which is really an ancillary topic) it takes you from scratch: from an introduction to the origin of PTs to creating charts from your PTs to customizing PTs with macros.

Each chapter has a case study (all downloadable with ease from the website; no CD with this book), which nicely gives you a hands-on application of what you've just read. I found them all very useful and easy to use.

Those who want a basic mastery of PTs can read just the first seven chapers (about 125 pages), which took me 30 hours (including downloading the necessary work files from the book's website). Finishing to chapter eleven takes another 12 hours. Chapter 12 is another matter in itself: it really requires some understanding of code writing to get through it and my only quibble with the book is this: it plunges into VB code and, if you have no background in code, you'll get lost immediately and never find your way. It took me 12 hours to get through the chapter (I have a background in SQL) and the downloadable files don't help much here as they're all driven by pre-written macros.

If you want to advance your way up the career ladder with more sophisticated use of Excel, this is the place to start.

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