How to Use an Access Pivot Table

1. Click 'Start,' 'All Programs,' 'Microsoft Office' and then select 'Microsoft Access 2010.'
2. Click 'File' and then 'Open' and browse to the Microsoft Access database you want to analyze.
3. Click 'View' and then select 'PivotTable View' and this displays the 'PivotTable Field List.'
4. Select a numerical field from the 'PivotTable Field List,' then drag and drop this field in the 'Drop Totals or Detail Fields Here' section of the pivot table view. For example, if you want to know how many orders you have in a store database, the order quantity field is the numerical field you select, since it represents the number of orders. A simple pivot table view is displayed showing the summarized list of the order quantities.
5. Select the field representing the store's product identifier from the 'PivotTable Field List,' then drag and drop it in the pivot table view section labeled 'Drop Row Fields Here.' Now the pivot table view is displayed listing the order quantities for each store product. The grouping of information by store product identifier makes the pivot table summary more meaningful for analysis.
6. Right-click the numerical field column name in the pivot table view and select 'AutoCalc' and then select 'Sum' and now you have a meaningful pivot table that summarizes the order quantity for every store product in your database.