The procedure of incorporating custom computations within a pivot table enhances data analysis capabilities. This involves creating new fields or columns that derive their values from existing data within the table. For instance, a user may create a calculated field to determine the profit margin by subtracting the cost of goods sold from revenue, presenting this margin as a new column alongside the original data.
This functionality offers several advantages. It eliminates the need to manipulate the source data directly, preserving the integrity of the original dataset. Further, it enables dynamic analysis, where the calculated values automatically adjust as the pivot table is filtered, grouped, or summarized. Historically, this type of functionality required complex scripting or external spreadsheet formulas, but modern pivot table software integrates these capabilities directly within the interface.