PIVOT TABLE

How to Make and Use Pivot Table in LibreOffice Calc

Step-By-Step Guide
Pivot tables are powerful tools in LibreOffice Calc that allow you to summarize and analyze large
amounts of data. They can be used for a variety of purposes, including summarizing data, analyzing data,
and creating reports.

To create a pivot table in LibreOffice Calc, select the range of cells that contains the source data for your
pivot table and then click on the Insert menu and select Pivot Table. This will open the Pivot Table Wizard
dialog box, which will walk you through the process of creating your pivot table.
Once you have created your pivot table, you can rearrange the fields and add functions to summarize
and analyze your data. You can also format your pivot table to make it easier to read and understand.
Pivot tables are a powerful tool that can help you to make better decisions based on your data.

Part 2: Why do you need a pivot table?

Pivot tables are important because they allow you to quickly and easily summarize and analyze large
amounts of data. They are a powerful tool for extracting insights from your data and making better
decisions.

Here are some of the benefits of using pivot tables:

• Summarize data quickly and easily: Pivot tables can be used to calculate summary statistics for
your data, such as counts, sums, averages, and medians. This can be useful for getting a quick overview
of your data or for identifying trends and patterns.
• Analyze data: Pivot tables can be used to analyze your data by comparing different groups of
data or by looking at data over time. This can be useful for identifying areas of improvement or for
making predictions.
• Create reports: Pivot tables can be used to create reports that summarize and analyze your data
concisely. These reports can be shared with others or used to make decisions.
• Improve data accuracy: Pivot tables can help to improve the accuracy of your data by identifying
errors and inconsistencies.
• Save time: Pivot tables can save you a lot of time when working with large amounts of data. By
using pivot tables, you can quickly and easily get the insights you need from your data without having to
manually calculate summary statistics or create reports.

Part 3: Steps to create a pivot table in LibreOffice Calc

Step 1: Select the source data range.

Step 2: Click Insert >

Pivot Table.

Step 3: In the Pivot Table Wizard dialog box,

drag the fields to the Rows, Columns, and Values
areas.

Step 4: Click Finish to create the pivot table.

 Using scenarios
Scenarios are saved, named cell ranges that you can use to answer “what-if” questions about your data. You can
create multiple scenarios for the same calculation set, then quickly swap between them to view the outcomes of
each. This feature is useful if you need to test the effects of different conditions on your calculations, but do not
want to deal with repetitive manual data entry. For example, if you wanted to test different interest rates for an
investment, you could create scenarios for each rate, then switch between them to find out which rates work the
best for you.
To use the Scenarios tool, select Tools > Scenarios from the Menu bar to open the Create Scenario dialog

Creating scenarios To create a new scenario:

1) Select the cells that contain the values that will change between scenarios. To select multiple ranges, hold down
the Ctrl key as you click. You must select at least two cells.
2) Choose Tools > Scenarios from the Menu bar to open the Create Scenario dialog.
3) Enter a name for the new scenario in the Name of Scenario field.
4) Optionally, add information to the Comment field. The example in Figure 12 shows the default comment.
5) Click OK to close the dialog. The new scenario is automatically activated upon creation.
6) Repeat steps 1 to 5 to create additional scenarios. Select the same cell range that you used for the first scenario to
have multiple scenarios for the same calculations.
 Using Goal Seek
In addition to scenarios and the Multiple Operations tool, Calc has a third “what-if” analysis tool: Goal Seek.
Usually, you use a formula to calculate a result from existing values. In contrast, with Goal Seek, you work
backwards from a result to discover what values produce it. This feature is useful if you already know the outcome
you want, but need to answer questions such as how to reach it or how it could be changed if you altered
conditions. To use this tool, select Tools > Goal Seek from the Menu bar to open the Goal Seek dialog

Goal Seek example

To illustrate how to use Goal Seek, suppose that we want to calculate the annual interest return for an account.
To calculate annual interest (I), we must create a table with values for the capital (C), the interest period length in
years (n), and the interest rate
(i). The formula is I = C*n*i. Suppose that the interest rate i = 7.5% (cell B3 of a worksheet) and the period length
n = 1 (B2) remain constant. We want to know how much investment capital C is needed to achieve a return of I =
$15,000. Assume that our initial capital estimate is C = $100,000 (B1). To calculate the return:
1) Enter the return formula (=B1*B2*B3) into B4 and select the cell with the mouse.
2) Select Tools > Goal Seek from the Menu bar to open the Goal Seek dialog.
3) B4 should already be entered in the Formula cell field. However, if you want to select a different cell, use the
associated Shrink / Expand button to minimize the dialog while you select the required cell.
4) Click on the Variable cell field, then type a reference to cell B1 or select it with the mouse to make the capital the
variable in the current Goal Seek.
5) Enter the desired formula result in the Target value field. In this example, the value is 15000.
6) Click OK. A dialog appears informing you that the goal seek was successful

7) Click Yes to enter the goal value into the variable cell. The result is shown in Figure 27, indicating that a capital
requirement of $200,000 is needed to achieve a $15,000 return.