If you place a field in the Columns area, what effect occurs?

• A. It adds row labels
• B. It hides the data
• C. It creates column-wise groupings of data
• D. It duplicates the data

Answer: (C)

Placing a field in the Columns area determines how the data is organized horizontally in a pivot-style summary. It creates separate columns for each distinct value of that field, producing column-wise groupings. The rest of the data is then laid out across these columns according to any row groupings and the chosen aggregation. For example, with Region in Columns and Product in Rows, you’d see a column for each region, showing the corresponding measures (like total sales) per product across those regions. This layout allows you to compare different categories side by side, rather than hiding data or duplicating it, and it’s different from what happens when you place a field in the Rows area (which creates row labels).