Google Sheets improves creating and modifying Pivot Tables

A pivot table is a very popular type of statistical tool that may be used to produce reports that summarize and reorganize chosen columns and rows of data contained within a database or spreadsheet. The spreadsheet or database structure is not altered in any way by the tool but rather helps you visualize the connections between various data points.

The usage of pivot tables becomes extremely beneficial when dealing with enormous volumes of data, which would take too long or take too much effort to calculate manually. Even though this tool was made popular by Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets have included this functionality for years, which is invaluable to those who like to arrange their data in a way that is easy to understand and that attracts attention to the most important values. However, there was one request that Sheets users had been asking to be implemented into the feature – and Google has now granted it.

We are referring to the ability to change the size of the side panel that serves as the editor for pivot tables. This side panel could become very large, limiting screen real estate and affecting those with smaller screens, such as those working out of a laptop. Now, when creating or modifying a pivot table, you will be able to adjust this panel, and thus excessively long columns and field names will not be an issue anymore.

This update is part of Google Workspace’s weekly improvements to the productivity suite and its efforts to compete as a full-blown solution for both personal and corporate use. The use of complex Pivot Tables has long been a reason why some companies cannot migrate their Microsoft Excel users to Google Sheets, so I am happy to see Google adding more functionality and hopefully reaching feature parity.