65.

Overview

After completing this chapter, you will be able to:

• Build a PivotTable.

• Manipulate fields and items in a PivotTable.

• Use online Help topics to learn about Excel objects.

Since the turn of the century, one of the mainstays of medical technology has been X-ray photography. One of the problems with an X-ray photograph, however, is that it shows you only the angle at which it was taken. If the bones or organs aren't properly aligned, the photograph might not reveal the problem. In 1974, the British company EMI Ltd. used the money it had made selling Beatles records to develop computerized axial tomography (CAT) scan technology. A CAT scan isn't limited by blind spots the way that conventional X-rays are.

A database report is like an X-ray photograph. It's an image, but it's a static image. If the rows and columns aren't properly defined, the person reviewing the report might miss important relationships. A PivotTable, in contrast, is like a CAT scan. It's a multidimensional view of the data that enables you to find the most meaningful perspective.

 On the CD   This chapter uses the practice file  Orders.dbf that you installed from the book's CD-ROM. For details about installing the practice files, see 'Using the Book's CD-ROM' at the beginning of this book.