24.2 Enabling Power Pivot

Once you’ve imported data, you can create relationships between that heterogeneous data. Power Pivot allows us to create calculated columns utilizing data fields included in the imported data as well as create PivotTables and PivotCharts.

The Power Pivot add-in is not installed by default in Excel. There are two ways to install it. The first way is by going to the Developer tab and selecting COM Add-ins. Check the box next to Microsoft Power Pivot for Excel and click OK. The second method is by going to File, Options, then selecting Add-ins. A selection box next to Manage is located at the bottom of this section. By selecting COM Add-ins, you can then check the box next to Microsoft Power Pivot for Excel.

You should now see a Power Pivot tab in your toolbar in Excel. Within this tab, we can interact with the data we import from various sources.

Let’s explore the Data Model by clicking on Manage. This opens an entirely different window in the worksheet. This is where we import data, create relationships, and so on. This data model sits behind our worksheet. If our workbook is ever shared, the data model is included. The video will provide a brief overview of the Power Pivot tool in preparation for importing data in the next section.