Talk:Pivot table

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Archive 1

Execucom's FPS

Execucom's Financial Planning System had this feature for main frames many years before Improv. I will try and get back here with more details. Laughingskeptic (talk) 07:19, 13 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Please explain the concept with examples

This article currently doe not live up the the Wikipedia standard. I am not familiar with pivot tables. I came here to learn what it is, but I still do not understand what it is after reading the article. Could a knowleadgeable person please rewrite the article to be concise, and add some examples? Also, I find it irrelevant that the name is a trademark of Micro$oft Corporation. -- PeterThoeny - talk - 2007-02-17

The example now makes it clear. Thanks for making this article accessible! -- PeterThoeny - 06:18, 2 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The text under the second sample table seems to confuse rows and columns: " pivot table usually consists of row, column, and data (or fact) fields. In this case, the row is Region, the column is Ship Date, and the data we would like to see is Units. " My understanding (since VisiCalc in the 1980s) is that a row is horizontal and a column is vertical. In the table being described, the Region is a column header and the Ship Date is a row header. Am I thinking backwards or is the example presented backwards? 65.82.126.100 (talk) 20:43, 23 April 2008 (UTC) Cajun Charlie - 23 Apr 08[reply]

It seems backwards to me too; I'm not familiar enough with the tables to just change it though. arafel2 - 12:01, 13 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Regarding above complaints

I've since fixed up this article, and would like to clean up the discussion page. I'm not sure if I have to archive anything or just delete it. Could someone verify the issues have been addressed, and clean up the discussion page? Wikidan829 14:04, 8 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Archived. -- Avi 14:32, 8 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Fair use rationale for Image:Pivottable-Flatdata.PNG

Image:Pivottable-Flatdata.PNG is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 21:57, 5 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Fair use rationale for Image:Pivottable-Pivoted.PNG

Image:Pivottable-Pivoted.PNG is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 21:57, 5 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Fair use rationale for Image:Pivottable-Flatdata.PNG

Image:Pivottable-Flatdata.PNG is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 05:52, 19 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Consolidation

I was under the impression the act was called data consolidation and the button to press on excel was pivot table. if they differ please specify. thanks --Squidonius (talk) 20:42, 7 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Squidonius. Data consolidation appears to be more relevant to combining two or more datasources together, not the same as aggregating data from a single datasource. Wikidan829 (talk) 17:08, 21 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ambiguous in the wild

This might be good for an end user of excel but it doesn't speak much of the pivot table -- also for data -- that is reference by the postgres 8.3 docs. It appears as if that pivot table simply turns row oriented data into column oriented data. EvanCarroll (talk) 17:46, 7 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

NPOV?

The comment about Google Docs assumes that Excel is the standard Gordon Findlay (talk) 23:15, 1 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

USE MATLAB INSTEAD OF MICROSOFT PRODUCTS —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.159.118.122 (talk) 23:21, 30 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Databases

The concept of a "pivot table" apparently means something entirely different for databases; see [1]. The article should be updated with this detail (and I'll do that when I have time, if someone else hasn't first). - Brian Kendig (talk) 19:07, 9 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

/!\ Page is BUSTED /!\

I reverted the last edit. Not sure what it was about the last edit that broke the page. By the diffs, the last edit was minor.Fotoguzzi (talk) 03:25, 22 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

History clarification

Does a pivot table do something that accountants haven't been doing since the first ruled page? I'm not an accountant, but wouldn't they do something like run through a large list of receipts add each to a separate account book for, e. g., a particular department? If so, could a realistic example be included in the history section?Fotoguzzi (talk) 03:24, 22 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

NPOV: someone associated with "ZK" is clearly using Wikipedia for free advertising.

"...but as of 2011 it provides limited functionality and is extremely slow with large amounts of data. ZK, an Ajax framework, also allows to embed pivot tables in Web applications. Demo here."

Yeah, very neutral. Oh, and what an Excellent Explanation of Pivot Tables.

I came for an explanation of pivot tables. I stayed for the subtle marketing strategy.

66.90.152.153 (talk) 04:49, 6 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Software section is not neutral

As of now, the software section is not written neutrally and overemphasizes some products. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.50.96.36 (talk) 13:19, 28 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

numberGo?

Is numberGo Publisher really a prominent enough product to be mentioned between Excel and Calc? That and the following paragraph about their 2.0 release seem like product placement.

Also, why are Excel and Publisher simply listed, with Calc relegated to "competing software" providing "similar functionality". Perhaps I'm splitting hairs, but this reads like bias. Are not Excel and Publisher also competitors? Is the pivot table functionality in Excel and Publisher somehow different or better than that in Calc? Jasongetsdown (talk) 01:47, 23 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It's not. I added that as a product that I have personally used and in hindsight realize that it was probably inappropriate. I think if you look before my original edits to this article that you will find I've drastically improved it overall. The majority of my rewrite still exists. Sorry it took so long but I haven't actually logged on in years. Wikidan829 (talk) 05:32, 10 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]