So if you have read my first post in this series on Powerpivot, and you are thinking about exploring it a bit more here are some resources to check out.
Installing Powerpivot
There are two versions one for 32 bit machines and the other for 64 bit machines. You can check what you have via your Control Panel (Windows 7 – Control Panel – Systems and Security – System – check the System type). You can download it here. Of course you should note that the 32-bit version is 1033\x86\PowerPivot_for_Excel_x86.msi whereas the 64 bit version is 1033\x64\PowerPivot_for_Excel_amd64.msi
Once you have downloaded it, follow the instructions. Alas, though this may not be the end of your installation problems and I’ve touched on one of the main installation issues in the first of this series of Powerpivot blog posts but you can read a more comprehensive listing of them here.
Useful data sources
The data source that most Powerpivot authors are using is the fictitious Adventure Works one but you can find an excellent listing here
Useful books
If you are new to Powerpivot, I’m going to suggest just two books. Again, I have used both these books and found them an excel-lent (groan..I know…) introduction to Powerpivot
PowerPivot for the Data Analyst: Microsoft Excel 2010 (MrExcel Library) by Bill Jelen
DAX Formulas for PowerPivot: A Simple Guide to the Excel Revolution by Rob Collie
Useful courses
I have taken this course and highly recommend it.
Chandoo.org
As always if you have any comments or suggestions I would love to hear them..
Excel Products for Sale
Here are products from some of my favourite Excel authors and bloggers. Please note these are affiliate links so I do earn a small commission from every sale.
MrExcel.com
Mr. Excel (aka Bill Jelen) is one of the Excel gurus. I love his stuff. He also has a slightly bonkers delivery (What! Excel! Fun!) that I thoroughly enjoy. And of course anyone who calls his Excel publishing book company Holy Macro! gets my vote.
MyExcelOnline.com
Xtreme Pivot Tables course
This is a very comprehensive course on pivot tables. It includes videos and workbooks. There are over 200 hours of videos on it and it takes you from having no knowledge of pivot tables to being a power user. If you know everything in this course, you know an awful lot about pivot tables. John explains the concepts in bite size chunks so they are easy to follow and even provides a tutorial spreadsheet so you can track your progress. This would be money well spent. If you would like to become the go-to person in your organisation for pivot tables, this would be an excellent starting point.
He also has a useful Pivot Table webinar…
This is also a useful chart helper.
Debra Dalgleish – Contextures.com
Master 30 Excel functions in 30 days –This is a rather brilliant e-book which covers 30 functions including Vlookup,Match, offset. It includes an Excel file, e-book and links to videos that shows you how to do it – all for the princely sum of $10. What I particularly like about it are her descriptions, explanations and what the limitation of each function is. Highly recommended. If you want to upgrade your Excel skills this is a very worthwhile investment.
Excel UserForms for Data Entry
The Excel UserForms for Data Entry ebook kit will take you through the steps to build a UserForm that stores data on a hidden worksheet. No programming skills are required — everything is explained in simple steps, with written instructions, screen shots, videos and workbooks.
PivotPowerPremiumRibbon
The PivotPower Premium add-in saves you time and effort, when working with Excel pivot tables. For example, you can quickly:
-save and apply default pivot table settings
-clear old items from an Excel pivot table
-change all the data fields from the Count function to the Sum function
Chandoo.org
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