.A PivotTable form is an interactive table that performs the calculations you choose, such as sums (the default for numeric fields) and counts (the default for text fields), based on how the data is arranged in the PivotTable form. For example, a PivotTable form can display a field's values horizontally or vertically, and then calculate the total of the row or column. It can also use a field's values as row or column headings, calculating individual amounts at the intersection of each row and column heading, and then calculating subtotals and grand totals. For example, to analyze sales by product category for each employee, you can list employee names as column headings across the top of the PivotTable form, product categories as row headings down the side of the PivotTable form, and the sales amount calculated by product category for each employee at the intersection of each row and column.
You can limit the records that the PivotTable form uses by designating a field as a page field — which becomes a drop-down list that works as a filter above the PivotTable form. The value you select from the list determines which records are displayed in the PivotTable form. For example, you could use the City field from the Employees table as a page field to view the sales performance by product category of just the sales representatives in London. The Sales Analysis form in the Northwind sample database has an example of a PivotTable form. To view this PivotTable form, open the Northwind database in your Office folder’s Samples subfolder, and then open the Sales Analysis form in Design view.
PivotTable forms are so named because you can dynamically change their layouts to analyze the data in different ways. You can rearrange row headings, column headings, and page fields until you achieve the desired layout. Each time you change the layout, the PivotTable form immediately recalculates the data based on the new arrangement. In addition, as source data changes, you can update the PivotTable form.
You create a PivotTable form in Microsoft Access by using the PivotTable Wizard. The wizard uses Microsoft Excel to create the PivotTable object and Microsoft Access to create a form in which it embeds the PivotTable object. For information on using the wizard, click .
Each time you open a PivotTable form, the PivotTable form shows you the data that was current the last time you activated the PivotTable form. To display the most current data in the PivotTable form, you need to update the data. For more information, click .