A Quick Guide to Copying Pivot Table Data in Excel

Pivot tables are a powerful feature in Excel. They put flexibility and analytical power in your hands. You use pivot tables to extract information from large data tables without using formulas. 

This article includes the instructions for copying the sample data shown below into an Excel worksheet. The data accompanies the Step by Step Excel Pivot Table Tutorial.

How to Copy the Tutorial Text

Before you begin the tutorial, follow these steps to copy the sample data into your own Excel file:

1. Highlight the data in the table below. Be sure to select from the title "Cookie Sales by Region" to the number "$69,496" at the bottom of the table.
2. Choose Edit > Copy from the menu in your web browser.
3. Click on cell A1 in an unpopulated Excel worksheet to make it the active cell.
4. Click on the Home tab.
5. Click on the down arrow next to the Paste clipboard on the ribbon to open a drop-down menu.
6. Choose Paste Special from the menu to open the Paste Special dialog box.
7. Choose Paste and Text from the options in the dialog box.

Each piece of data is pasted into a separate cell in the worksheet. The data should fill the range A1 to D12.

Data for Step by Step Excel Pivot Table Tutorial

Now you are ready to work through the Pivot Table Tutorial.