Question

What is the most efficient way to format query results, wether in the actual SQL Server SQL code or using a different program such as access or excel so that the X (first row column headers) and Y Axis (first column field values) can be changed, but with the same query result data still being represented, just in a different way.

they way the data is stored in my database and they way my original query results are returned in SQL Server 2008 are as follows:

Original Results Format

And Below is the way I need to have the data look:

How I need the Results to Look

In essence, I need to have the zipcode field go down the Y Axis (first column) and the Coveragecode field to go across the top first Row (X Axis) with the exposures filling in the rest of the data.

The only way I can thing of getting this done is by bringing the data into excel and doing a bunch of V-LookUps. I tried using some pivot tables but didn’t get to far. I’m going to continue trying to format the data using the V-LookUps but hopefully someone can come up with a better way of doing this.

Answer 1

What you are looking for is a table operator called PIVOT. Docs: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms177410.aspx

WITH Src AS(
    SELECT Coveragecode, Zipcode, EarnedExposers
    FROM yourTable
)
SELECT Zipcode, [BI], [PD], [PIP], [UMBI], [COMP], [COLL]
FROM Src
PIVOT(MAX(EarnedExposers) FOR CoverageCode 
    IN(
           [BI], 
           [PD], 
           [PIP], 
           [UMBI], 
           [COMP], 
           [COLL]
      )
) AS P;