How to use Excel Data Model & Relationships

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Have you ever been in a VLOOKUP hell?

Its what happens when you have to write a lot of vlookup formulas before you can start analyzing your data. Every day, millions of analysts and managers enter VLOOKUP hell and suffer. They connect table 1 with table 2 so that all the data needed for making that pivot report is on one place. If you are one of those, then you are going to love Excel’s data model & relationships feature.

Table relationships & Data model feature of Excel - cartoon

In simple words, this feature helps you connect one set of data with another set of data so that you can create combined pivot reports.

Practical Example – V(X)LOOKUP hell vs. Data Model heaven

Lets say you are looking sales data for your company. You have transaction data like below.

Example data

And you want to find out how many units you are selling by product category and customer’s gender.

Unfortunately, you only have product ID & customer ID.

With VLOOKUP Hell,

  1. You first fetch all the customer and product data and place them in separate ranges.
  2. Then write a vlookup formula to fetch product category, another to fetch customer gender.
  3. Then fill down the formulas for entire list of transactions.
  4. Now make a pivot table.

Assuming you have 30,000 transactions, you have to write 60,000 VLOOKUP formulas to create this one report!!!

With Data Model heaven,

  1. Create relationships between Sales, Products & Customer tables
  2. Create a pivot table

Creating a relationship in Excel – Step by Step tutorial

  1. Relationship feature in Excel 2013 data ribbon tab
    First set up your data as tables. To create a table, select any cell in range and press CTRL+T. Specify a name for your table from design tab. Read introduction to Excel tables to understand more.
  2. Now, go to data ribbon & click on relationships button.
  3. Click New to create a new relationship.
  4. Select Source table & column name. Map it to target table & column name. It does not matter which order you use here. Excel is smart enough to adjust the relationship.
    Creating a new relationship in Excel 2013 - how to?
  5. Add more relationships as needed.

Using relationships in Pivot reports & analysis

  1. Select any table and insert a pivot table (Insert > Pivot table, more on Pivot tables).
  2. Make sure you check the “Add this data to data model” check box.
    Adding a pivot table with data model in Excel 2013
  3. In your pivot table field list, check “ALL” instead of “ACTIVE” to see all table names.
  4. Select fields from various tables to create a combined pivot report or pivot chart

Example: Category & Gender Sales Report

  1. Add category to row labels
  2. Add gender to column labels
  3. Add quantity to values
  4. and your report is ready!
Example Pivot report made with Excel data model

Things to keep in mind when you using relationships

  • Same data types in both columns: Columns that you are connecting in both tables should have same data type (ie both numbers or dates or text etc.)
  • One to one or One to many relationships only: Excel 2013 supports only one to many or one to one relationships. That means one of the tables must have no duplicate values on the column you are linking to. (for example products table should not have duplicate product IDs).
  • You can add slicers too: You can slice these pivot tables on any field you want (just like normal pivot tables). For example, you can further slice the above report on customer’s profession or product’s SKU size.

Benefits of Data Model based Pivot Tables

Once you have a data model in spreadsheet, you will enjoy several benefits (apart from multi-table pivots that is). They are,

  • Distinct counts: This simple but often tricky to calculate number is easy to get once you have data model based pivot. Just go to value field settings and change the summary type to “Distinct count”. Here is a tip explaining how to get distinct counts in Excel pivots.
  • Measures & DAX: Once you have a Data Model, you can unleash the full Power Pivot features on your workbook. You can create measures (using DAX language) and calculate things that are otherwise impossible with regular Excel. Here is an example of percentage of something calculation with DAX & Data Model, to get started.
  • Pivots from data in other files & databases: You can combine data model with the abilities of Power Query to create pivots from data in other places. For example, you can make a pivot from sales data in SAP with customer data in CRM system. Here is an overview of what is Power Query?
  • Pivots from more than 1mn rows of data: You can connect to very large datasets and make pivots from them with the help of data model. Here is a demo of how to set up data model for 1+mn rows of data.
  • Convert Pivot Tables to formulas: Once you have a data model based pivot table, you can turn it in to a set of formulas. You can access this feature from “Analyze” ribbon. This will replace your pivot with a bunch of CUBE formulas. Here is an overview of CUBE formulas.

Drawbacks of Data Model:

Of course, its not all cup cakes and coffee with Data Model. There are a few drawbacks of data model based pivot tables.

  • Compatibility: Data model & relationship feature is available only in Excel 2013 or above. This means, you cannot create or share such pivot reports with people using older versions of Excel.
  • Not able to group data: In regular Pivot Tables, you can group numeric, data or text fields. But with data model pivot tables, you can no longer group data. You must create another table with the group mapping and use it as a relationship.

Download Example File

Click here to download Excel data model demo file. It contains 3 different tables and a combined pivot report (with slicer) to show you what is possible.

Do you use relationships?

Ever since discovering PowerPivot, I kind of stopped using VLOOKUP (or XLOOKUP) for most of my own analysis. Now that relationships are part of main Excel functionality, I am using them even more.

What about you? Are you using relationships & data model in Excel? What cool things are you doing with it? Share your tips with us using comments.

Want even more? Try PowerPivot

If you want even more out of your reports, then try PowerPivot. It is a new feature in Excel 2013 (available as add-in in Excel 2010) that can let you do lots of powerful analysis on massive amounts of data. Here is an introduction to PowerPivot.

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65 Responses to “Make Dynamic Dashboards using Pivot Tables & Slicers [Video & Download]”

  1. claudia says:

    WOW, is all I can say.

    I could not have imagined a dynamic dashboard without getting approved software budget and a team of people involved to create it. Given that I am a relative newbie to excel and actually got here by looking for pivit table help, I imagine that i would not be able to make anything myself. But armed with the demo excel sheet I will press buttons (and I will report back how that went;-)

    Claudia

  2. winston says:

    Good stuff Chandoo, thanks
    The slicer buttons take up quite a bit of room on the dashboard
    Is there a way to make the buttons smaller so we can have more room for charts, tables, and commentary?

    Kind regards,
    Winston

    • Jova says:

      You can resize the slicers! When you click the slicers you can change the height and width of columns and slicers. You can also, under slicer style click "New slicer style" where you can define your own style, which enables you to change most things, including font size.

  3. Gregory says:

    I hadn't seen the Group Option used as you did for the Duration PivotTable. And thanks for showing how to remove the Field Buttons on a PivotChart, I loathe them with all my heart.

    Fantastic design and a great dashboard.

  4. Chandoo says:

    @Claudia.. I am glad you like it. Do let us know how your adventures go.

    @Winston: You can resize slicers or increase the number of columns inside. Unfortunately, we can not readjust the font sizes in slicers. So when you resize, you will see partial text.

    @Gregory: Thank you. I am happy you like it 🙂

    • kris says:

      Hi Chandoo, your dashboards are really professional and simple. I do have some question, if I have the following scenario, could you help to advise : -different data sources eg monthly
      -calculations percentile
      -%difference between financial year

      Thank you so much!

  5. Divya says:

    Hi,

    Thanks for your great information.It has helped me a lot.
    Now,I can build my excel addin for Excel 2010 better with your tips.

  6. Istiyak says:

    Hi chandoo i am new reader for ur site.and really found good stuff and temp. But i suggest u 2 put a guidance step sheet in temp so anyone can understand easily.and also help me to become awesome as ur noume.

  7. Stevros says:

    Chandoo, Wow these are very powerful reports. I will be implementing them straight away. It will save me hours of work. Thankyou so much.

  8. Paul Avenell says:

    Hi Chandoo,

    I love the Slicer, but how do I link a slicer for different data sheets e.g.: Client data on one tab and products on another tab, as I find that as long as you use pivot tables off the same data you can link the Pivot tables using Slicer connections.

    Regards
    Paul

  9. Vivek says:

    I appreciate the work you have posted on your website - very informative and easy to understand. I just wanted to inform you that you can make selections within the slicer too by using Ctrl and selecting the fields you want to group and use as filter.

    I had a question regarding the data used in pivot tables. Is there a way to update the data (eg. a new customer entry) and have the pivot tables and the linked charts in dashboard automatically update? I will search for the answer in other posts so ignore if you have covered it elsewhere.

    Thanks again and keep up the good work.

    -Vivek

  10. Brij Arora says:

    Dear All,

    Me too is a die hard fan of Slicer. it's requirement was arise when management is feeling it difficult to juggle with filters for sales of a particular location, Product Category in Pivot Table.

    Got very positive response when introduced to tackle the above situation. furthermore in slicer setting there would be option to enable or disable deleted data is handy for particular scenario.

    These are eye catching color themes would be like icing on the cake.

    There is one more feature of excel 2010 which proves to be tool for great time saving is "Repeat Labels" in Pivot Tables.

  11. Katherine says:

    This is fantastic!! Your steps were super to easy follow. I can't wait to show my new dashboard off to the boss. Thank you so much!

  12. Van says:

    This might be a little unrelated but I'd like to know which software was used to record your on screen actions? I'd like to use it for tutorials on models that I build for my customers. Thanks!

  13. DV says:

    The slicers are coming in a sorted order... How can i get it in the way it appears in my original data.... The settings show to sort them A to Z or the other way round but they are option boxes and can not be unchecked... What are my options????

  14. Duncan Williamson says:

    I watched the video and then worked through an example of my own, also telephone costs by coincidence. It took me about 30 minutes to do everything. Once you've understood the basics of pivot tables and slicers, all that limits you is your imagination!

    The only thing missing from the video is now to change the number of columns in a slicer: Right click a slicer then Size and Properties, Position and Layout, Layout, Number of Columns ...

    Good page and video.

    Duncan 

  15. soycharnichart says:

    How do you insert 'Year' in the Pivot Table Field List if it doesnt exist in the Master table???

    Thanks 

  16. Manu says:

    Hi,

    Can I disable the multi-selection of the slicer to only allow one selection at a time?

    Thanks in Advance    

    • Chandoo says:

      @Manu.. as of Excel 2013, this is not supported yet. But you can remove slicer heading, clear filter button and style it so that it looks like a single selection. You can also use Macros to ignore previous selection upon multiple selection, but I would not recommend it.

      For an example on styling see - Interactive Pivot Calendar

  17. Devin says:

    Awesome guide!  The dashboard I made blew people away.  I do have one question.  I want the chart title to match what I have selected.  How can I do this without writing macros?

    • Hui... says:

      @Devin
      Lets say what you have selected in in A1
      Select the Chart then Select the Title
      Click in the Formula Bar and type =A1
      enter or click the small arrow to the left of the Formula Bar
      Enjoy

  18. Johnny says:

    Love the slicers and use them often in my dashboards.  Question about the data (specifically the date)  I see the "date of call" column but was wondering how were you able to filter on slicers by year and month when there is only a date of call entered into the data?

    Thanks for your help! 

  19. Jet Copeland says:

    Thanks for taking the time to create this interesting and very useful tutorial!
    I was able to create a similar dashboard in a short time after watching your tutorial. The problem I am having now is how to update the pivot tables and dashboard graphs when a change is made in the raw data. I tried two methods; Change data Source and Refresh. When I used Change Data Source (Options-> Change data source) the values in the pivot tables didn't update. When I tried refresh the values in the pivot tables disappeared as well as the information in the graphs, since the data in the pivot tables no longer existed.
    I have been searching for a solution for a while now but I have unfortunately not been able to solve this problem yet. Any help someone can provide is GREATLY appreciated.
    All the best 

  20. Nigel says:

    Hi, looks great, but how valuable is power view when it comes to financial data? I've been having trouble trying to visualize how I would use power view to report of financial data.

  21. Snooky says:

    Hi Chandoo, you are awesome! Thanks for the good work!

  22. beth says:

    there is duplication for my slicer, probably cause i choose date, time as my options. i changed it to date but still theres a duplication of the same date

  23. Alex Cardoso says:

    Just Great! Thank you for the time to put this together and teach us.

    Alex Cardoso from Indaiatuba, Brazil.

  24. jose says:

    First of all I would like to thank you guys for this post I used this amazing tool with the help of your tutorial to create a dashboard for one single account and my regional manager said "good job, it looks very profesional" she was so impresed that now she wants one daschboard with all the acounts and services she is going to replace her KPI reports with my report !! I smell a promotion!! My demand was a new laptop with MS 2010 and it was granted. now I have allot of work and many many questions to post .. kudos

  25. krishna prasad says:

    Hi Chandoo

    I want to say thanks first because i loved ur tutorials

    i have a small doubt how to insert slicer from external connections

    i searched every where could you please explain how to insert a slicer from external source

  26. Jyothi says:

    Hello Chandoo,

    How to get rid of the > items in Months slicer?

    They are appearing when there is a grouping on the date field in pivot

    Thanks

  27. Emma says:

    Hi Chandoo,

    One problem always bothers me when i use slicer. I have no idea aobut how to change the number format in slicer. Want to display number in slicer as general format, but it always displays other number format such as date.
    I check my source data and it doesn't effect the number format.

    Look forward you or any EXPERTS to solve it. Thanks very much!

    In the end, This website is awesome!!!

    • Sunil says:

      Hi Emma,

      Were you able to resolve your query? I have a similar problem. I use Excel 2013 and the field I'm dropping into the slicer is a currency field ($1.00, $1.05, $1.10 etc.) representing the exchange rates that the user can choose from. The items in the slicer revert back to general format (1, 1.05, 1.1, etc.) although the source field is formatted as currency field. Is there a way to fix this?

      • Chandoo says:

        @Sunil & Emma: You can create a new column in your raw data which has currency as text, using the TEXT formula like this =TEXT(currency_val, "$#,##.00"). Use this column to create the slicer.

        • Sunil says:

          Thanks for the response Chandoo. It works as you suggested. However, if the users were to pick more than one item in the window I'd like to know what is the max value and utilise that value in a DAX formula.
          Also... there is no issue if I were to throw a slicer over a normal pivot. The trouble comes when I choose the 'Add this data to the Data Model' option which I need for the PowerPivot.

  28. Jonas says:

    Hi Chandoo (Or others)

    Is there a way to make the color change, when the value changing after the use of a slicer?

    Lets say the value is 4,5, when i press the slicer, and the value change to 3,5 i would like the color to change. Can anyone help?

    Thank you.

  29. Burendei says:

    Hi Chandoo,

    It was very useful video for me. Thanks.
    But I have one question to ask.
    How can I connect data which is growing in size (rows, records) by time (daily, monthly etc.) to this kind of dashboard?
    Or it is only on select number of data?

    Thank you.

  30. Angela says:

    Chandoo zindabad!

  31. Angela says:

    Hi Chandoo,
    I have been able to create something similar quite easily. The problem that I am facing is that I want to keep the Top 10 filters permanently. If I select one option and then clear the filter, the chart removes the Top 10 filter; I want it to go back to Top 10 filter.

    Is there a solution to this problem?
    Regards

    • Federico says:

      Thanks a lot for the tutorial and for the demo file!
      I have the same problem of Angela: after clearing the filter applyed on P1, the filter on P1 shows all the customers without filtering top 10 (as it was before).
      Thanks!

      Federico

      • Justin says:

        Go to your pivot table, right-click and choose "pivot table options." On the "Totals & Filters" tab check "Allow multiple filters per field."

        • Federico says:

          Justin, thank you so much!
          now after clearing the filter applyed on P1, the filter on P1 shows again top 10 customers.

  32. Roger says:

    Chandoo!
    Just find out your website, I´ll follow your tutorials from now, very useful!
    Great thanks from Brazil!!!

  33. Priya Ranjan says:

    Very useful. Learned a new skill today. Thanks a ton!

  34. Manav says:

    Hi Chandoo,

    This is fantastic! It's going to really help me with some operational reports I develop regularly. Two questions I'm hoping you can answer for me:

    1. How can I use one slicer to manipulate two different pivot charts that came from two different pivot tables?
    2. If I have a slicer in an excel and share that with someone who is on older versions of Excel - what will it look like to them?

    thanks!

  35. Elisa says:

    Hello Chandoo!
    I love the dashboards and have been able to make quite a few, my puzzle is when I am connecting the pivot charts to the slicers, I have to do each individual one and check every single slicer (usually I have about 12, so I end up having to check the 12 check boxes 12 times to connect everything) am I missing something? Is there an easier way to do this?

    Thanks!
    elisa

  36. Hama says:

    Hello Chandoo,

    You make my life easier, am in love withe the slicers!

    I greatly appreciate

    Thanx

    Hama

  37. […] Slicers.  Easy for me to do, but not as easy to explain how I did it.  Fortunately, Chandoo has a Make Dynamic Dashboards using Pivot Tables & Slicers video and download that will do the job nicely.  Suffice it to say it took me <3 minutes to put […]

  38. @jitkumar56 says:

    thank you very much..... 🙂

  39. Jimbo says:

    You are a legend!! Thank you so much - very clear, very helpful indeed.

  40. Shahid says:

    nice player...

    i like to play like chandoo sir.

    i learn somthing about slicer by watching posts.

    it was too difficult to watch and easy to prepare..

    thank you boss.

    God Bless You

  41. MFAC93 says:

    Hi,

    I've built a dashboard on Excel 2010 using Pivot tables and slicers.

    What I would like to do now is duplicate the dashboard on another tab, having it extract from another data source (format is identical to the 1st data source).

    I'm extracting the same metrics, but each data sources measure different product lines.

    Could anyone help me out?

    Thanks in advance,
    M

  42. Vicky says:

    Thank you so much. I learned so much about the slicer because of the video. Just got a quick question. Say I got 100+ Customer name bottons in one of the slicer, and it is time consuming to scroll up and down to find the one to select. Is there anyway I can set in the slicer setting that when I type "E", it automatically take the selectionto to where all the "E" starts? Thanks

  43. TL says:

    Hi there,

    This looks great - is there a way I can use it to compare vs budget, forecast? Is it just a case of renaming one of the field Comparison with the data being "Actual, Budget, Forecast"?

    Thanks!

  44. an irany says:

    hello master!
    please help me.
    i am looking for many file example for Dashboard, but because my English is weak i couldnt fint it in hear.
    please help me.
    thankyou so much.

  45. Ikram Siddiqui says:

    Dear Excel Guru,

    Hope everything is fine with you?

    Can you please help in this Logic, it is a thought only to increase my knowledge SIR?

    Please note that I have been working in Excel file contains two times of our teammates who claims overtime an each calendar month

    My excel file as like this :-

    ROW 1 Days of Month
    ROW 2 Date of Month

    Cell -1 [Time IN(06:00Hrs)], cell -2 [Time OUT(15:30Hrs)] no break in our factory and anything after Eight hours assume as overtime as standard in all across.

    Appreciate if you could help me in providing the best an Exclusive Excel formula to calculate each day overtime excluding staff eight hours regular duty and Friday consider as full day overtime.

    Kindly help me at the earliest convenience.

    awaiting for your expertise.............

    Best Regards / Ikram Siddiqui

  46. Lav Mishra says:

    Thank you for video , will you please provide pivot table with header and sub header like year main header and under that three sub header. How to make dashboard for that.

  47. Praful Patil says:

    Dear Sir,

    How to seperate amount, mention in remarks.

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