Power Pivot is a data modeling technology that lets you create data models, establish relationships, and create calculations. With Power Pivot you can work with large data sets, build extensive relationships, and create complex (or simple) calculations, all in a high-performance environment, and all within the familiar experience of Excel.
Power Pivot is one of three data analysis tools available in Excel:
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Power Pivot
Power Pivot Resources
The following links and information can get you going with Power Pivot, including how to enable Power Query in Excel, how to get started using Power Pivot, then tutorials, and community connections.
How do I get Power Pivot?
Power Pivot is available as an add-in for Excel, which you can enable by following a few simple steps. The underlying modeling technology found in Power Pivot is also found in the Power BI Designer, which is part of the Power BI service offered from Microsoft.
Getting Started with Power Pivot
When the Power Pivot add-on is enabled, the Power Pivot tab in the ribbon is available, as shown in the following image.
From the Power Pivot ribbon tab, select Manage from the Data Model section.
When you select Manage, the Power Pivot window appears, which is where you can view and manage the data model, add calculations, establish relationships, and see elements of your Power Pivot data model. A data model is a collection of tables or other data, often with established relationships among them. The following image shows the Power Pivot window with a table displayed.
The Power Pivot window can also establish, and graphically represent, relationships between the data included in the model. By selecting the Diagram view icon from the bottom right side of the Power Pivot window, you can see the existing relationships in the Power Pivot data model. The following image shows the Power Pivot window in Diagram view.
For a short tutorial about how to use Power Pivot, take a look at the following resource:
In addition to that tutorial, the following link provides an extensive set of links, resources, and additional information on Power Pivot:
In the following sections, you’ll find additional resources and tutorials that go into detail about how to use Power Pivot, and how it can be combined with Power Query and Power View to perform powerful, intuitive self-service business intelligence tasks in Excel.
Power Pivot Tutorials
Seeing Power Pivot in action can help you learn how to use it, and provide helpful use cases that demonstrate the power of Power Pivot. The following tutorials can help you get started:
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Create a Data Model in Excel (starts with a basic data model, refines with Power Pivot)
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Import Data into Excel, and Create a Data Model (first in a six-part end-to-end tutorial series)
Additional information on Power Pivot
Power Pivot can be simple to use and fast to execute. It also can create powerful and complex calculations, indicators, and formulas. Take a look at the following links to get oriented to the many things you can do with Power Pivot.
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Create a memory-efficient Data Model using Excel and the Power Pivot add-in
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Power Pivot: Powerful data analysis and data modeling in Excel (data model comparison)
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Workbook Size Optimizer (download)
For an extensive set of links and helpful information, take a look (again) at the following link:
Forums and Related Links
There are all sorts of people using Power Query, and they like to share what they’ve learned. Take a look at the following resources to get involved with others in the Power Query community.
