How to Create a Pivot Table in Google Sheets, by Cody Baldwin on YouTube. 2 min 45 s.
- Video length
- 2 min 45 s
- Time to do it
- 10 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Open your spreadsheet in Google Sheets and click any cell inside your data table. Make sure the first row holds column headers like Product, Region and Sales.
Click Insert in the top menu, then choose Pivot table. Sheets selects your data range automatically.
In the dialog, pick New sheet or Existing sheet for where the pivot table goes, then click Create.
The Pivot table editor opens on the right. Under Rows, click Add and choose the field you want to group by, such as Product.
Under Values, click Add and pick a number field like Sales. Check that Summarize by is set to SUM so the totals add up.
To count orders instead, add the same field under Values again and set Summarize by to COUNTA or COUNT.
Under Columns, click Add and choose a second field such as Region to compare products across areas side by side.
Use the Filter section to limit the table to one product or date range. Change any setting in the editor and the table updates at once.
Rename the pivot sheet tab, then share or download the file with File, then Download.
Tips and common mistakes
Keep your source data in one clean table with no merged cells or blank rows, or the pivot table may miss records.
If totals look wrong, check the Summarize by setting under Values, since COUNT and SUM give very different results.
Refresh the pivot table by changing any editor setting after you edit the source data.
Questions
Do I need formulas to build a pivot table?
No. The pivot table editor does the grouping and totaling for you, so you never type a SUM or COUNTIF formula.
Why does my pivot table show blank or wrong totals?
The usual cause is blank rows, merged cells or text stored as numbers in the source data. Clean the table and rebuild the pivot table.
Can I change the pivot table after creating it?
Yes. Open the Pivot table editor on the right and add, remove or reorder fields. The table updates immediately.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
