If you work with large lists of data, Microsoft Excel PivotTable® reports can help you organize and analyze facts and figures. For example, you can summarize data to get a "big picture" overview, and then quickly rearrange the data for a different perspective on relationships and trends.

Want an easier-to-scan format?

You might prefer to display a PivotTable report in a more readable format if the report is long or if you plan to print it. With a few mouse clicks, you can switch to an indented format (similar to a database banded report or formatted report). In an indented-format PivotTable report, the data for each row field is indented, similar to a text outline. Also, all the summary figures for a data field are displayed in a single column.

What other readability options can you set?

Once you've switched to an indented format for your PivotTable report, you might want to fine-tune its layout. For example, you can highlight subtotals by displaying them at the top of a group of items. Or you can separate groups of items by inserting blank rows between them.

Plan to print the PivotTable report?

When you print a multipage PivotTable report, you can control its printed appearance. For example, to make it easier to follow a PivotTable report from one page to the next, you can automatically reprint labels at the top of each page. You can also insert automatic page breaks to ensure that a logical chunk of the PivotTable report is printed on each page.

The following parts of this article show you how to:

• Step 1: Create an indented-format PivotTable report
• Step 2: Fine-tune an indented-format PivotTable report
• Step 3: Print an indented-format PivotTable report