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How to Add Power Pivot to Excel

Cody Schneider•

If you've ever watched Excel grind to a halt while trying to analyze a massive dataset, you've probably wished for a better way. That solution is likely already on your computer, hiding in plain sight. It’s called Power Pivot, and this article will show you exactly how to turn it on and start using its powerful features.

What Exactly is Power Pivot (and Why Bother?)

Think of Power Pivot as a high-performance engine for your Excel data. While a standard Excel worksheet has its limits (just over a million rows), Power Pivot is built to handle millions, even hundreds of millions, of rows without breaking a sweat. It’s an integrated 'add-in' that transforms Excel from a spreadsheet application into a legitimate business intelligence tool.

But it's not just about handling more data. Power Pivot’s true strength lies in its ability to build a Data Model. Instead of resorting to complex and fragile VLOOKUPs to connect different data tables, you can load all your data into Power Pivot and create direct relationships between them.

Imagine you have three separate spreadsheets:

  • One with sales transactions.

  • One with customer information.

  • One with product details.

With a standard PivotTable, analyzing these together requires painstaking effort to merge them into one giant, unwieldy table. With Power Pivot, you simply build relationships between the tables (e.g., connect CustomerID in the sales table to CustomerID in the customer table). Then, you can build a single PivotTable that elegantly pulls fields from all three sources at once, as if they were always one data table.

Its third superpower is a formula language called DAX (Data Analysis Expressions). DAX lets you create incredibly sophisticated calculations, far beyond what's possible in standard Excel formulas or PivotTable calculated fields. You can build advanced metrics like year-over-year growth, customer lifetime value, or sales for the same period last year.

How to Check if Your Version of Excel Includes Power Pivot

Before you go looking for it, it’s good to confirm your version of Excel actually includes the Power Pivot add-in. Not all versions do, which can be a source of frustration if you're searching fruitlessly.

Generally, you will find Power Pivot in the following versions of Excel for Windows:

  • Microsoft 365 (All plans)

  • Office Professional 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013

  • Excel 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013 Standalone

Versions that typically do not include Power Pivot are:

  • Most Office Home & Student editions

  • Office Professional Plus 2013 (some older SKUs)

It's also important to note that Power Pivot is not available for Excel on Mac. If you’re a Mac user, you’ll need to use Parallels or a similar solution to run the Windows version of Excel to access it.

How to Add Power Pivot to Excel: A Step-by-Step Guide

Convinced? Let's get it enabled. By default, Excel keeps powerful add-ins like this turned off to make the program run faster for everyday users. Activating it only takes a minute. Here’s how:

Step 1: Open Excel Options

First, open any new or existing Excel workbook. Click on File in the top-left corner. This will open the main menu. From there, click on Options at the very bottom of the left-hand navigation pane.

Step 2: Navigate to Add-ins

The ‘Excel Options’ window will pop up. In the list on the left side of this window, click on Add-ins. This section shows you all the active and inactive features that can be added to Excel.

Step 3: Manage COM Add-ins

At the very bottom of the Add-ins window, you'll see a dropdown menu labeled Manage. Click this dropdown, select COM Add-ins from the list, and then click the Go... button right next to it.

COM Add-ins are external programs that extend Excel's functionality, and this is where you'll find Power Pivot living.

Step 4: Enable the Power Pivot Add-in

A new, smaller 'COM Add-ins' dialog box will appear. You'll see a list of available add-ins. Look for the one named Microsoft Power Pivot for Excel and check the box next to it.

Once you've checked the box, click OK.

Step 5: Verify the "Power Pivot" Tab

You’ll be taken back to your main Excel window. Now, look at the ribbon menu at the top of Excel (where you see File, Home, Insert, etc.). You should now see a brand-new tab called Power Pivot! This confirms that the add-in is active and ready to use.

A Quick Tour of Your New Power Pivot Tab

Now that you have the tab, what do all the new buttons do? Here’s a quick rundown of the most important starting points:

  • Manage: This is the big kahuna. Clicking this opens the Power Pivot window, which functions as the command center for your Data Model. It’s where you will import data, view your tables, create relationships, and write DAX measures.

  • Measures: This is a shortcut for creating DAX formulas. A “measure” is just another name for a calculation you create with DAX, like Total Sales or Average Profit Per Order.

  • Add to Data Model: This button takes any table of data currently in your Excel worksheets (formatted as an Excel Table) and adds it directly to your Power Pivot Data Model. It's an easy way to get started.

  • Detect: An interesting feature that can automatically analyze your Data Model and find relationships that you might have missed. It can be a great time-saver.

Your First Task: Linking Two Data Tables

Let's do a very simple exercise to see the magic in action. Let's say you have two tables: Sales and Products.

  1. Create Your Tables in Excel: On one sheet, create a small table of sales with columns Product_ID, Units_Sold, Sale_Date. Name it SalesData. On another sheet, create the table ProductInfo with columns Product_ID and ProductName. Important: Format both ranges as formal Excel Tables by selecting each one and pressing CTRL + T.

  2. Add them to the Data Model: Clicking within the SalesData table, go to your Power Pivot tab, and click Add to Data Model. Do the same with the ProductInfo table.

  3. Create a Relationship: In the Power Pivot window, click on Manage. This opens the Data Model window where you can organize tables. Connect the Product_ID in your Sales table to the Product_ID in the Product table. You've made a real relationship!

  4. Create a PivotTable: Close the Power Pivot window, go to your Insert tab on the main Excel ribbon, and select PivotTable. In the pop-up window, choose Use This Workbook’s Data Model. Drag the fields from both tables to your PivotTable and see the magic unfold!

Final Thoughts

Power Pivot is a powerful tool for Excel users that turns a simple spreadsheet into a mighty BI platform. It is especially useful for anyone dealing with large datasets, as it allows more efficient data manipulation without crashing your computer. By creating relationships between tables and using DAX, you can generate insightful reports and make data-driven decisions with ease.

If you haven’t tried it yet, now's the perfect time to discover how Power Pivot can transform your data analysis process. To explore more about data tools and techniques that enhance productivity, check out our platform, Graphed, designed to take your data management capabilities to the next level.