Most advanced Excel users know that slicers are cool. Today, let’s learn how to use slicers to create an awesome selection mechanism for your dashboards and forms.
First see a quick demo
Looks slick, eh? Read on.
Slicers as selection mechanism – step by step tutorial
Just follow below steps to create your own slicer selection tool.
- Enter running numbers (say 1 to 10) in a range, with the header numbers
- Select the range and create a pivot table from it.
- Select numbers from field list and add it as a slicer. We get this.
- Select the slicer, go to Options ribbon and set up,
- Slicer columns as 10
- Height & width as small numbers (0.3 cm or 0.1 inch)
- Disable slicer header. Right click on the slicer and go to slicer settings. Uncheck Display Header option.
- At this stage, your slicer selection tool is almost ready. I say almost because it will still have a border and default style.
- Duplicate any of the slicer styles and set up your own style by disabling slicer border and changing the colors. And your slicer selection tool is ready.
Download the example workbook
Click here to download the slicer selection example workbook. Examine the settings and styles. Play with it to learn more.
Slicer like a ninja, check out below tutorials
Slicers are a must have in any advanced Excel user’s tool kit. Check out below tutorials to learn awesome ways to use them.
- A very comprehensive introduction to slicers
- Using slicer as scenario manager
- Slicer in play – tax burden over the years
- Slicers in play – narrating story of change
- Slicers in play – dynamic dashboard in Excel
Share your slicer inspiration…
Ever since learning about slicers in Excel 2010, I have been using them in all my dashboards and training programs. I like the simplicity and possibilities they offer.
What about you? How do you use slicers in your line of work? Please share your proudest slicer moments, tips and tricks in the comments section.
13 Responses to “Using pivot tables to find out non performing customers”
To avoid the helper column and the macro, I would transpose the data into the format shown above (Name, Year, Sales). Now I can show more than one year, I can summarize - I can do many more things with it. ASAP Utilities (http://www.asap-utilities.com) has a new experimental feature that can easily transpose the table into the correct format. Much easier in my opinion.
David
Of course with alternative data structure, we can easily setup a slicer based solution so that everything works like clockwork with even less work.
David, I was just about to post the same!
In Contextures site, I remember there's a post on how to do that. Clearly, the way data is layed out on the very beginning is critical to get the best results, and even you may thinkg the original layout is the best way, it is clearly not. And that kind of mistakes are the ones I love ! because it teaches and trains you to avoid them, and how to think on the data structure the next time.
Eventually, you get to that place when you "see" the structure on the moment the client tells you the request, and then, you realized you had an ephiphany, that glorious moment when data is no longer a mistery to you!!!
Rgds,
Chandoo,
If the goal is to see the list of customers who have not business from yearX, I would change the helper column formula to :
=IF(selYear="all",sum(C4:M4),sum(offset(C4:M4,,selyear-2002,1,columns(C4:M4)-selyear+2002)))This formula will sum the sales from Selected Year to 2012.
JMarc
If you are already using a helper column and the combox box runs a macro after it changes, why not just adjust the macro and filter the source data?
Regards
I gotta say, it seems like you are giving 10 answers to 10 questions when your client REALLY wants to know is: "What is the last year "this" customer row had a non-zero Sales QTY?... You're missing the forest for the trees...
Change the helper column to:
=IFERROR(INDEX(tblSales[[#Headers],[Customer name]:[Sales 2012]],0,MATCH(9.99999999999999E+307,tblSales[[#This Row],[Customer name]:[Sales 2012]],1)),"NO SALES")
And yes, since I'm matching off of them for value, I would change the headers to straight "2002" instead of "Sales 2002" but you sort the table on the helper column and then and there you can answer all of your questions.
Hi thanks for this. Just can't figure out how you get the combo box to control the pivot table. Can you please advise?
Cheers
@Kevin.. You are welcome. To insert a combo box, go to Developer ribbon > Insert > form controls > combo box.
For more on various form controls and how to use them, please read this: http://chandoo.org/wp/2011/03/30/form-controls/
Thanks Chandoo. But I know how to insert a combobox, I was more referring to how does in control the year in the pivot table? Or is this obvious? I note that if I select the Selected Year from the PivotTable Field List it says "the field has no itens" whereas this would normally allow you to change the year??
Thanks again
worked it out thanks...
when =data!Q2 changes it changes the value in column N:N and then when you do a refreshall the pivottable vlaues get updated
Still not sure why PivotTable Field List says “the field has no itens"?? I created my own pivot table and could not repeat that.
Hi, I put the sales data in range(F5:P19) and added a column D with the title 'Last sales in year'. After that, in column D for each customer, the simple formula
=2000+MATCH(1000000,E5:P5)
will provide the last year in which that particular customer had any sales, which can than easily be managed by autofilter.
Somewhat longer but perhaps a bit more solid (with the column titles in row 4):
=RIGHT(INDEX($F$4:$P$19,1,MATCH(1000000,F5:P5)),4)
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