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Hire Microsoft for $5.00 Per Month: Office 365 & SharePoint

As a Sr. Systems Analyst, a big part of my job has been to recommend business tools to national and international enterprises as well as government organizations. This article provides technology recommendations to help entrepreneurs, home businesses and small businesses gain a competitive edge to perform like a big business.

There are three key areas that big businesses care about: saving moving (through efficiency), delivering quality customer service, and adopting business tools that bring the best value. Over the past couple of years big organizations like Home Depot, ABM Industries, Lockheed Martin, Turner Broadcasting, Dell, Northrop Grumman, SAIC, Sun Trust Banks, Ernst & Young, Sogeti USA, Hewlett Packard, General Dynamics, Federal Aviation Agency, the Department of Defense, and many others have paid well over $1,000,000.00 to implement Microsoft Office SharePoint Server Online, which is part of Office 365. And, there is a product package available for entrepreneurs, home businesses and small businesses. The cheapest package is $5.00-a-month. The most expensive package is $15.00-a-month.

And, one of the most interesting aspects is this price includes access to Microsoft's support and system administration team. Yes, you read right! If you run into a problem, you contact Microsoft and one of their support persons will help you troubleshoot the issue. The following paragraphs provide additional information about Microsoft's Office 365, which includes access to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server and other office applications hosted in the Cloud.

Intranets & Extranets

Probably the most valued capability is the ability to easily create websites that meet a specific business objective. For example, entrepreneurs or small businesses that want to effectively manage customer problems can easily build a website customers can log into to submit a complaint. The organization can assign statuses to the complaint so the customer can monitor the organization's progress towards resolving the stated problem. As the solution is implemented the status is changed to keep the customer informed through notifications. Or, entrepreneurs or small businesses may want to keep customers informed. Whenever a website is created SharePoint, which is a content management system, automatically creates a mobile version of the site. And, with two clicks content is syndicated and made available as an RSS feed to which users can subscribe. Create a virtual meeting room website to host virtual meetings. Add Microsoft Office Lync Online to gain instant messaging (IM), the ability to make phone calls through your computer (with the appropriate hardware). And, moderate or join audio, video and web meetings with people you invite. You can give an online presentation by sharing your desktop.

Or, if working with a customer to finalize a proposal give the upload the document to the meeting room so the customer can access the document and make changes. SharePoint can notify you when the customer has completed his or her revisions. Speaking of sharing documents users can upload, organize and manage Microsoft Office documents using SharePoint's shared documents feature. Access those documents from any location using your laptop or hand-held device such as a mobile phone or tablet. Manage your calendar and messages. You can also manage photographs by uploading them to SharePoint online, which means they can be accessed from anywhere. You can learn more about Office 365; or even test drive it by visiting: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/business/office-365-small-business-small-business-software-FX103887194.aspx
Posted by Pamela Langford at 7:56 PM Labels: business solutions , Cloud , document libraries , entrepreneur , home business , Microsoft Office SharePoint Server , MOSS , Office 365 , SharePoint , SharePoint Server , SharePoint Workflows , small business


Create a YouTube Video That Is Accessible From ANY Device

One of the most frustrating things, to me, is to navigate to YouTube from my phone, select a video only to get the message "the owner has not made this video available to mobile users". That might not be the exact message; but it's something like that. This post provides instructions on one method that can be used to make a YouTube video available to any device.

The tools I cover in this article is Adobe Premiere and Adobe Media Encoder.  In the near future I will also create a post like this for Final Cut Pro. But for this post I will discuss how to make a YouTube video available for any device using Premiere.

My first step was to use Premiere to create a new project--ensuring the HDV option was selected, as shown below. Next I imported my audio, still photographs and videos. I created a master sequence and nested sequences to develop my video. I used nested sequences (shown as green video clips below) for two reasons: 1. It would be easier to manage and  work with clips overall because my project would, in a sense, include multiple smaller sequences used to create one main sequence. This approach would make it less cumbersome to make changes. For example, if I wanted to shorten or change the transition duration for a nested clip--I would be able to simply go to the sequence that includes the video and make the change. Adobe Premiere would then make the necessary adjustments so I would not have to slide clips closer together or push them further away to avoid black gaps or other problems.  The change would then automatically show up in my master sequence. 2. I looked at the video clips I had to create the video. I noticed some clips were shaky. Using nested sequences would enable me to apply the Warped Stabilizer (highlighted using a red box in the picture below) to these clips so they would play more smoothly. Once everything was in place and the video played the way I wanted it to I was ready to export it. I selected File -> Export -> Media to select the options that would enable me to convert my Premiere project to an MPEG-4 file that all devices could access. After I selected File -> Export -> Media, the Export Settings page, shown below, displayed.The selections made on this page drive the size and quality of the video as well as the format. The option that drives whether or not all devices can access the video is the Format option. If you locate the Format option below you will see H.264 beside it. H.264 is one of several video compression standards. It is commonly referred to as MPEG-4 Part 10 OR MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding (AVC). Both H.264 and AVC are MPEG-4 codecs that produce MPEG-4 files that contain video and audio clips. If you want your video to playback on not only computers and laptops; but also handheld devices you will want to select H.264 as the Format option, as highlighted by a red box in the following picture. Adobe Media Encoder is the component within Adobe Premier that provides access to the formats used to convert the project to the H.264 or other format. However, you don't have to use Adobe Premiere to convert a video to the H.264 format. As previously mentioned, Adobe Media Encoder is available as a standalone application. It also comes included not only with Adobe Premiere Pro but also After Effects, Flash Professional, Soundbooth, and Encore.

Note that you can access a free trial of Adobe Premiere by visiting: https://creative.adobe.com/products/premiere. And you can try Adobe Media Encoder free by visiting http://www.adobe.com/products/mediaencoder.html.

So far I have tested the video using my Android and it played nicely. If you have an iPhone, Blackberry, tablet or other device pull it out and check out the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkS1O-K3AFA, click the like button if you like it or leave a comment--all feedback is appreciated.

Posted by Pamela Langford at 10:09 AM Labels: Adobe Media Encoder , Adobe Premiere , H.264 format , HDV , MPEG-4 , videos youtube , YouTube , YouTube Video


Unity Engine - Building Games for Facebook, Playstation, XBox 360, etc. (Overview)

I know I'm not the only one intrigued by gaming, which is one reason I like to write about building games. So far I have written articles that include information on building games for Android and Kindle Fire. This article provides an overview to the basics of Unity 4.

Unity is a game engine that provides the ability to build games that can run on a variety of platforms including XBox, PlayStation, Windows Phone, Android , Blackberry, Webplayer, PC/Unix/Mac standalone and more, as shown in the following picture. I think it's exciting to be able to build a game once and distribute it to multiple platforms because that means developers can distribute a game more widely, which equals a much larger audience and, ultimately, more money.

Unity Development Environment

Unity's core user interface includes the Project, Assets, Inspector, Hierarchy, Scene and Game windows. The following paragraphs discuss these windows in greater detail.


In Unity you create a project to build a game. When a new project is created, you select a package to import. When you import a package the assets associated with the package are automatically included as part of the project when Unity opens. Sharing assets, such as audio files, 3D buildings, player avatars (humanoids) and other files decrease development time since some GameObjects are already completed. Developers then place and use the GameObjects the way they want to within their game.  For example, if you create a new project and import the Stealth package; all of the assets associated with the Stealth project will import into your new project including the 3D buildings, a 3D bus, humanoids, and more . Developers can then create a new game using one or more of the existing Stealth game assets; or even modify some of the assets before using them. Developer can then create new assets and incorporate them into the game. In Unity, assets are files included in a project. Assets are available from the Project Browser. Unity has an Assets window that provides a way to view the assets within a folder displayed by the Project Browser window. Note that assets may or may not be physically added to a scene. Although GameObjects are usually added to a scene. For example, audio files are assets and scripts are assets. Scripts reference GameObjects but you would not drop a script onto a game scene and expect to see the script do something.

Assets can be shared across multiple games because they are included in the game from a file that resides on your computer. Developers can buy assets, sell assets or even download free assets. Assets are available from the Asset Store at https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/. And, developers can learn more about selling Unity assets by navigating to http://unity3d.com/asset-store/sell-assets.

GameObjects, Components & the Inspector Window

The Inspector Window provides a way to manipulate GameObjects by providing access to the GameObject's components. Notice the scene window below shows a GameObject selected  (a red arrow points to the GameObject). Notice the Inspector window, which is highlighted with a red box, shown in the picture below. The Inspector window shows the components and related properties that can be manipulated to achieve a desired result. The Inspector window includes a Transform component used to indicate the position of the GameObject. The Transform component of the GameObject can also be used to scale or rotate the GameObject, as can be seen by viewing the Transform properties shown in the above picture. The following picture shows script components associated with the GameObject. Also notice a sound clip (named weapon_sciFiGun_fire) is part of the Done Enemy Shooting component and is used to bring shooting to life in the game. In the example below, the script components were written using C#. However, developers can also use JavaScript to program games in Unity. To learn more about GameObjects read the documentation titled "GameObject" at http://docs.unity3d.com/Documentation/Manual/GameObjects.html.


The Hierarchy window includes a list of gameobjects used to create a scene. For example, let's say you downloaded the Stealth game for Unity (https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/#/content/7677). If you add the completed Stealth scene (called DoneStealth as shown in the following picture) to the Scene View, the Hierarchy shows all of the GameObjects used to complete the scene. It also shows parent/child relationships (as applicable) between objects. You can then click on each GameObject to view its related components in the Inspector window. In addition, the Hierarchy window also includes a Create option. Developers use the Create menu to create GameObjects that display in a Scene. For example, a camera is added to a scene by selecting Create -> Camera.The camera is the GameObject through which players view the world built by the developer. One or more camera's are added to a scene so that players may view the entire world that makes up a scene.

In addition to Cameras additional GameObjects can be added such as spotlights, area lights, terrain, trees, or even cubes (that may be manipulated to serve as the ground a player walks on). The following picture shows the Create menu on the Hierarchy window. When a player plays a game, the game environment is delivered as a Scene. In Unity the Scene tab provides access to the Scene View. Through the Scene View developers can build what the user will see and the GameObjects with which the user will interact. The toolbar (shown above) provides the tools developers use to manipulate and navigate to GameObjects. The hand tool enables developers to move around in the scene. The Translate tool (second from the left) provides a way to select GameObjects and drag them or enter values to place the object in a specific location. Developers can rotate GameObjects using the Rotate tool (third from the left); and, they can resize GameObject using the Scale tool (fourth from the left).

If you have downloaded the Stealth game for Unity you can see the Scene View in action by creating a new project (File -> New Project from within Unity) that includes the Stealth assets you downloaded. To view the GameObjects and even the scripts used to build the game, navigate to the Done folder and locate the DoneScenes folder. Drag and drop the completed Stealth scene onto the Unity Scene view, as shown in the following picture. You can then play the game to see how it works. You can then use the Game View to run and test games in Unity. To begin you must click on the Game tab, as shown by a red circle below. You then click the Play button, as highlighted by the red arrow in the following picture, to run the game. When the game is running it behaves as it would behave if it were built and distributed to a platform. As a developer, you can use the Game View to perform all of the actions you have programmed the game to perform. You can learn more about the Game View by reading the article located at http://docs.unity3d.com/Documentation/Manual/GameView40.html.

Using Unity to Build Facebook Games

Developers can download the Facebook SDK to use Unity to create games for Facebook. For more information about the Facebook SDK for Unity view the Unity - Facebook Developers article at https://developers.facebook.com/docs/unity/

To learn more about the Unity game engine visit http://unity3d.com/unity.
Posted by Pamela Langford at 10:23 PM Labels: game engine , Games , PlayStation , Unity , Unity Engine , Unity Engine 2D , Unity Engine 3D , Unity Engine Download , Unity Engine Free , Xbox


Business Intelligence With Excel PivotTable, PivotChart & PowerPivot (Part 2)

This is part two of my previous article titled, "Business Intelligence With Excel PivotTable, PivotChart & PowerPivot (Part 1)" In this article I will discuss more advanced PowerPivot features for Excel.

PowerPivot offers features that provide a way for business users to access and analyze business intelligence data more easily. For example, users can use PowerPivot to create hierarchies that provide complex data-grouping capabilities. Also, advanced PowerPivot users can create Perspectives that make it easier to work with large tables. These are just two of several features that make PowerPivot a powerful tool for business intelligence professionals and Excel users.

Accessing Data From Within PowerPivot

PowerPrivot provides a way to access business intelligence data from a variety of sources, as discussed in my previous article "Business Intelligence With Excel PivotTable, PivotChart & PowerPivot (Part 1)".  However, for the purpose of this article I am going to discuss using PowerPivot to access a data warehouse in SQL Server. In this example I use PowerPivot to create a connection to AdventureWorksDW. I also create a SQL Server connection and select the following tables to access the same data I used in Part 1 of this article:  DimProductSubcategory, DimProduct, DimSalesTerritory, FactInternetSales, DimPromotion, DimTime.

SQL Server Connection

When you first access PowerPivot you are presented with a blank window that has a menu. To begin you select File and use any of the "Get External Data" options that meet your needs. For the purpose of this article I selected  "Get External Data From Database" and then I selected "From SQL Server" as the data source.

As you step through PowerPivot's Table Import (or other) Wizard you are presented with options that help you build a connection that would, otherwise, require technical skills.  If you connect to a data warehouse in SQL Server PowerPivot provides the ability to select the tables you want to work with. In addition, you can specify the table columns that contain the data you need. This is useful because you don't have to import all columns into PowerPivot. Instead, you can specify the columns for a table while using the Select Tables and Views window shown below. To begin you select a table and then click the Preview & Filter button to access a window that lets you specify that table columns to include. The Preview Selected Table window, shown below, displays all of the columns for the selected table. By default all columns that makeup the table are selected. You can deselect ALL table columns by clicking the button highlighted below with an arrow. You can then select the desired table columns. This approach is useful for tables that may have numerous columns; but you only want to select two or three columns. Note that if all table columns are deselected you can click the button, shown below, to select all columns. When you work with a SQL Server database there are four types of Key columns you will encounter:

As previously mentioned two of the tables I use are DimProductSubcategory and DimProduct. The DimProduct table maintains a list of products. The DimProductSubcategory table includes a list of subcategories for the products. To relate the DimProduct table and the DimProductSubcategory table the Primary Key from the DimProductSubcategory table is added to the DimProduct table. The ProductSubCategoryID is a Foreign Key column, in the DimProduct table, because it belongs to the DimProductSubcategory table. But, it is is placed in the DimProduct table to relate the DimProduct table to the DimProductSubCategory table; and, ultimately relate each product to a subcategory. As the database displays a product the Foreign Key column, in this example, allows the database to also display the Subcategory for each product.

Once the desired tables (and columns) have been selected users can click the OK button to close the Preview Selected Table window. The Select Tables and Views window becomes visible again. Note that when you select the columns you want to work with keep in my that you will need to maintain the relationship between tables when you work with data stored in multiple related tables. If you select the Primary and Foreign Key columns, PowerPivot will create the relationships (between tables) for you. When you click the Finish button on the Select Tables and Views window, PowerPivot processes the tables and columns. When the processing is completed a "Success" message is displayed. You can click the Details link (shown above) to see additional information about the actions PowerPivot has performed based on the columns you selected. In my example, I selected the Primary Keys and Foreign Keys to ensure PowerPivot built a relationship between my selected tables (as shown in the Details window below). Once PowerPivot displays the "Success" message you can close the Table Import Wizard and start to work with the data. You can then use PowerPivot to prepare you data for analysis.

Just one quick note. If you did not select the Primary (or Alternate) Key columns and Foreign Key columns when you selected the tables you can still create relationships among the tables. From within PowerPivot select Table -> Relationships -> Create Relationships to access the Create Relationship window (shown below). You can then select the tables and Key columns used to relate the tables. Also you can select Table -> Relationships -> Manage Relationships to open the Manage Relationships window. The Manage Relationships window shows a list of table relationships that exist. To edit a relationship select a relationship and then click the Edit button to display the Edit Relationship window (which looks like the Create Relationship window shown above). You can then edit relationships between tables by selecting a different Primary (or Alternate) Key column and/or Foreign Key column.

In PowerPivot for Excel the Primary (or Alternate) Key is called Column. The Foreign Key is referred to as the Related Lookup Column.

Working With Measures & Calculated Fields

PowerPivot provides a way to create measures from standard aggregations such as sum, avg (average), count, min, max, etc. To create custom measures (or expressions) in PowerPivot you use a Data Analysis Expression (DAX).

Data Analysis Expressions (DAX)

PowerPivot formulas provides a way for you to add measures as well as calculated columns. To do this you use Data Analysis Expressions (DAX). DAX formulas start with an equal sign followed by the function name or expression. You also add any values required by the expression. With DAX you can perform basic or complex calculations; and, your calculations can be based on numbers, string values, date/time values, etc.
Although DAX is similar to Excel formulas they differ in a few ways. For example, a DAX function always references a complete column or a table. And, if you want to only use specific values from a table or column, you can add filters to the formula.With DAX you can also write functions that return a table as its result; and, then feed the results to other functions.

Working With Calculated Columns

In PowerPivot you can create calculated columns that return a numeric, text or other value. In my example I created a calculated column that returns a string. My calculated column joins the customer’s First Name column and Last Name column into one column. To do this I create a DAX Function. Notice, in the picture above, when I select a function PowerPivot shows me the values the function requires. In programming a function returns a value. In this example I'm using the Concatenate function to return the customer's First and Last Name with a comma and space between the two. Since I want to concatenate the DimCustomer FirstName and LastName columns I can locate the columns by typing a "D" for DimCustomer where Text1 goes. PowerPivot automatically displays a list of available values that start with "D". I can select my columns based on how I want the customer’s name to display. If I want the customer’s last name then first name I would select DimCustomer[LastName] first. I can type a comma to tell PowerPivot I want to add the second value the function expects. I can rename the column by simply right-clicking the calculated column and selecting Rename Column. I am then able to give the column a more meaningful name. Now from within PowerPivot I can select View -> PivotTable. The Create PivotTable displays. I can create a new Excel workbook; or, create the Pivot Table in the existing workbook as discussed later in this article. You can read more about DAX by reading the DAX Overview article located at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg399181.aspx.

Working with Measures

As previously mentioned in addition to creating calculated columns you can use DAX to create measures. By default, PowerPivot is set to automatically create some standard measures for you. However, you can manually create a measure using the following syntax:  <measurename>:<formula> where <measure> is the name you want to give the measure; and, <formula> is the DAX.When you create a measure by entering a DAX, as shown in the following picture, the measure is added to the calculation area. Alternatively, you can create your PivotTable (in Excel) and create measures from there. To do so you right-click a table. You can then select Add New Measure from the menu that displays (as shown below). The Measure Settings window displays. You can then add a name for your measure and use the Formula button to add a formula and even check your formula. You can learn more about PowerPivot measures by reading the article title Measures in PowerPivot at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg399077.aspx. You can also learn more about creating measures and follow the instructions to create a similar example shown in this article by visiting the following http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg399161.aspx .


Within PowerPivot Organizations can create Key Performance Indicators (also called KPIs) to support their performance measurement program. Performance measurement enables companies to better compete by becoming the best at what they do. For example, Company A might specialize in software development. Company B, an unknown company, would compare its processes and performance against the processes, techniques, etc. used by Company A.  Company B can then use the information it learned about Company A to set targets and standards to also become counted among the best. Company B continually monitors its data and targets and executes process improvement measures to, ultimately, become the best too. In a different scenario, a member of the executive team may set goals and targets that the company must meet.

Although the most commonly used KPIs are sales related; there are many other types of KPIs. For example, there are performance KPIs One example of a performance KPI might be as follows: Achieve a 98% customer satisfaction rating in Technical Support. A company that sets this KPI would provide customers access to an online Technical Support survey and then capture the survey results. The company then tracks and manages customer responses to the survey. The results are then compared to the KPI, complaints are noted, processes are improved, as necessary, until the company reaches its KPI target.

A KPI typically indicates a single goal or target for a company. People within the organization than continually view data and manage related processes to improve performance. PowerPivot provides a way for users to create and manage KPIs. In PowerPivot KPIs are created from a base measure that evaluates to value. You can then build the KPI from the base measure, as shown in the paragraphs below.

Note: To create a KPI you must work with measures, which are displayed in the Calculation Area. If the Calculation Area is not visible select View -> Model View -> Show Calculation Area (as shown below). To begin right-click the measure from which you want to create the KPI. Select Create KPI. The Key Performance Indicator window displays, as shown below. Select the Measure, from the Measure drop-down, that the KPI will extend. As previously mentioned a key element about a KPI is that it provides a way to easily track a company's (or department's) progress in meeting a goal. KPIs use color-coded icons so viewers can easily determine the status of a KPI. PowerPivot provides a way to define status thresholds so the colors that icons display provide meaningful information based on what a company decides the KPI is showing:

To define what color a KPI shows (based on the measure value associated with the KPI) PowerPivot uses low and high threshold values. For example, if the KPI icon should display red if measure value associated with the KPI is 34% below the target; then the KPI low threshold value should be set to 34%. If the KPI icon should display green when the measure value is 98% within the target--then the high threshold value is changed from 80% to 98%. Any value between the low threshold and high threshold causes the KPI icon to display yellow. In the Select icon style section you select the icons you want the KPI to display to reflect the status.  Below, PowerPivot shows a measure that has been extended by a KPI. Once you create the PivotTable you can select the KPI. The following picture shows a single icon displaying the value, status and target. Notice how, at a glance, an executive or other employee can tell whether or not the organization has met its target. Also notice that the PowerPivot Field List also notes the KPI with the icon that makes it easy to spot. Creating Hierarchies

Hierarchies enable you to select columns within a table and organize those columns in a hierarchical way. To create a hierarchy you must be in Design view. One way to navigate to design view is to select View -> Model View -> Diagram View. You can then right click on the table that contains the columns for which you want to create a hierarchy and select Create Hierarchy. By default the first Hierarchy created is called Hierarchy 1. Select Rename to change the name of the hierarchy (as shown below). You can use the Move Up/Move Down options to change the order of the columns in the hierarchy. When you view the PowerPivot Field List you will notice that your hierarchy appears along with the table columns.(In my example I created the Hierarchy under the DimSalesTerritory table so that is where I go to find the Hierarchy I created.) The associated data is automatically added to the applicable group. The following picture shows my example. On the right side of the picture I highlighted (using a partial red box) the hierarchy I created called Sales Regions. The left side of the picture shows the hierarchy added to the PivotTable. Notice the territories are grouped so the user can drill-down by expanding each group, which is highlighted using a complete red box. I added SalesTerritoryGroup as the parent in the hierarchy. I then added SalesTerritoryCountry and lastly I added SalesTerritoryRegion, which is the lowest level in the group. I renamed the items in the hierarchy to omit the "SalesTerritory" prefix. I then clicked Sales Amount to add a measure to the PivotTable. Working With Perspectives

A perspective provides a way for users to create a View of the data. For example, someone with more advanced PowerPivot skills may create perspectives so that less experienced business users can use PowerPivot for analysis. However, instead of finding columns and filtering unwanted columns a perspective can be created to include the tables and columns a group of business users would want to use. To create a perspective you must first switch to diagram mode. Then you have to switch to advanced mode by selecting File -> Switch to Advanced Mode. (Make sure you select the Primary key and Foreign keys to maintain relationships within the perspective.) Once you have determined the tables, columns, hierarchies, etc. to be included in the perspective you can select Advanced -> Perspectives.  The Perspectives window (shown in the picture below) displays. You can then select the New Perspective button and select the objects to be included in the perspective.  Notice table columns, calculated columns and hierarchies are all available and can be included in a perspective. By default the perspective is called New Perspective. Click the Rename "New Perspective button. You can then change the default New Perspective name. Once you have created a perspective you can select the perspective using the Select perspective drop-down. Creating a perspective makes it easier to find table and column data when creating a PivotTable. As shown in the following picture, you can select a Perspective and use the objects in the Perspective to populate your PivotTable. When you use this approach you have to view the tables and columns associated with the Perspective regardless of the number of tables and columns saved in PowerPivot. Adding Tables To Existing Data in PowerPivot

If you determine that you need to add more tables and columns to PowerPivot you can do so by selecting Table -> Existing Connections to open the Existing Connections window you used to initially add the tables and columns. Select the connection you previously used then click the Open button to access the Table Import Wizard. You then follow the steps you previously followed to add tables and filter columns. Working With PowerPivot PivotTables

Once you have created all of the components you need to analyze the data you can create a PivotTable. From within PowerPivot you can select View -> PivotTable, or PivotChart, or Table and Chart, etc. If I select View -> PivotTable, PowerPivot opens Excel (if it isn't already launched) and provides the options needed to build a PivotTable. The PivotTable created using PowerPivot looks like the PivotTable created using out-of-the-box Excel--except you have more options. For example, you can use the  Perspectives and Hierarchies you created to populate your PivotTable. To create your PivotTable you either select values from the PowerPivot Field List; or, you can drag and drop fields from the List. You can remove selected options from the PivotTable by deselecting them in the PowerPivot Field List.

Within Excel you can also create slicers by moving values to the slicers horizontal or slicers vertical field. Slicers enable users to easily filter data. In the example my vertical slicers displays Regions and my horizontal slicer displays customers. When I click a Region, only the customers associated with the region displays in the horizontal slicer. I can then click on a customer to view the products the customer purchased and the amounts of the purchase. This approach provides users with a way to quickly and easily filter data. PowerPivot Chart

User can also create PowerPivot Charts to display data. From within PowerPivot users can select one of several chart options. Once the PowerPivot Chart page displays in Excel, users can select the values for which they want to create a chart. Posted by Pamela Langford at 2:17 PM Labels: bi excel , DAX , excel 2010 powerpivot , excel pivot chart , excel powerpivot , microsoft business intelligence , pivotchart report , powerpivot 2010 , powerpivot download , tools