To learn more about designing a PivotTable list, first choose a design program to work in. You can start in any of the supported design programs, and then later work on the same PivotTable list in a different design program if you need different design features. For example, if you have designed a PivotTable report in Microsoft Excel, you can use Excel to save or publish the report to a PivotTable list on a Web page. If you want to customize the resulting PivotTable list to change the default settings, or if you want to add other controls to the page, you can then open and modify the Web page in Microsoft FrontPage.
You can use the following design programs to create PivotTable lists.
FrontPage is the recommended design program for modifying PivotTable lists saved or published from Microsoft Excel. In FrontPage, you can create PivotTable lists on Web pages, modify PivotTable lists that were designed in other programs, and then use the features of FrontPage to construct and manage your Web site.
Access provides specialized features for creating Web pages that operate on and display data from Microsoft Access and Microsoft SQL Server databases. For example, you can use the field list to locate data and drag it onto a PivotTable list. You can establish links between PivotTable lists and other controls that display and manipulate data from databases on a Web page.
Excel is an excellent design environment if you want to try different layouts and adjust the source data that you make available for your PivotTable list. You can access external data within Excel and create an Excel PivotTable report. From Excel, you save or publish a PivotTable report to a PivotTable list on a Web page. (A PivotTable report is the Excel version of a PivotTable list.) The source data you specified in Excel is automatically attached to the PivotTable list, and most Excel PivotTable report features are included when you publish the PivotTable list.
You might want to format the PivotTable list and make adjustments to its size and appearance in another design program.
Microsoft Visual Basic or a scripting language
If you are a programmer, you can write programs or scripts to create a PivotTable list. Both Microsoft FrontPage and Microsoft Access allow you to write scripts. If you want to design a PivotTable list for use in a custom solution instead of a Web browser, you can use a programming environment such as Visual Basic.
Microsoft Word is not a suitable design program for PivotTable lists.
When you create or activate a PivotTable list in a design program such as Microsoft FrontPage or Microsoft Access, the Commands and Options dialog box provides additional properties and commands that you can use to customize how the PivotTable list can be used in the browser. The design program may also provide its own commands and features for preparing source data and attaching it to a PivotTable list.
While you are working in a design program, you can get design help for a PivotTable list in either of two ways:
For information about the commands and features available in the design program to work with PivotTable lists, see Help in the design program. For example, in Microsoft Access, click the Office Assistant, or click Microsoft Access Help
.
Microsoft Excel provides both general Help about saving and publishing Excel data for use on Web pages and specific information about preparing data for use in a PivotTable report and then publishing the PivotTable report as a PivotTable list on a Web page. To access this Help in Excel, click the Office Assistant, or click Microsoft Excel Help
.
In a PivotTable list that you have created or activated in a design program, click Help
on the PivotTable list's toolbar. This method displays design Help topics about the properties and commands you can use within the PivotTable list in the design program. This design Help is not the same as the Help in the browser (that is, the Help topics you are currently viewing).
Writing scripts and programs for PivotTable lists
You can use scripts and programs to automate PivotTable lists, or you can use PivotTable lists in run-time programs other than Web browsers, programs that you develop in a programming environment such as Microsoft Visual Basic.
Writing scripts
Microsoft Office 2003 programs provide the Microsoft Script Editor to help you write scripts. For example, when working with data access pages in Microsoft Access, you can use the Script Editor in Design view to customize a PivotTable list. For information about running the Script Editor, see Help in your Microsoft Office design program. In the Script Editor, you can display additional Help about using its features and writing scripts.
Object model Help
For help developing a program or script to work with a PivotTable list, you can use the Microsoft Office Web Components Visual Basic Reference to display information about the object model, properties, and methods specific to PivotTable lists. This object model Help is installed when you install the Office Web Components, of which the PivotTable Component is one. Depending on the design program you're using, you can get this Help in either of two ways:
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Help in Microsoft Visual Basic In Visual Basic or Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), you can create a reference to the Microsoft Office Web Components library. You can then get Help in the object browser or by selecting a keyword and pressing F1. For information about creating references and using object model Help, see Help in Visual Basic or VBA.
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Help in other environments If you are using another development environment, locate and double-click the Help file Owcvba10.chm.