Google Docs is undoubtedly a powerful tool. They were the flag-bearer in the online document creation and editing genre, and though their absolute dominance may not be permanent (at the very least Office 365 and all its online utilities will be giving it a run for its money), Google Docs continues to be an innovator in online capabilities. One of the major capabilities that has just been added is “pivot tables,” a term that should be familiar to advanced Microsoft Excel users.
For those who need a little more background, pivot tables provide a specific way to analyze different types of data within a large batch of data. You can easily get summaries of any field provided in the spreadsheet itself, or get totals for a specific response within spreadsheet (e.g., if you had a spreadsheet that outlined your company employees by age, you could get a total for how many people were 27).
Creating a pivot table can be done by selecting all the data that should be included and going to Data > Pivot Table Report. This will load a new window that allows users to choose what information should be displayed and summarize. Users can even drag and drop the different spreadsheet fields in this window to adjust the display order. This information can then easily be moved into a chart (with a single button click, in fact), giving you a visual summary of your customized data.
This change started rolling out today (Tuesday the 17th), and will be available for all Docs and Google Apps users in the short future.
[via the Google Docs Blog]
