If you need to sum specific items in a pivot table field, you can create a calculated item. For example, if your pivot table contains an Order Status field, with four types of status:

• Shipped
• Pending
• Backorder
• Canceled

You could create a calculated item, named Sold, that sums the units sold, for orders with a status of Shipped, Pending, or Backorder.

Create a Calculated Item

Follow these steps to create a calculated item:

1. In the pivot table, select a cell that contains an Order Status item. For example, select cell A5, that contains the Backorder item. 

   

2. On the Ribbon’s Options tab, in the Tools group, click Formulas, and then click Calculated Item.
3. Type a name for the Calculated Item, for example, Sold, and then press the Tab key to move to the Formula box.
4. In the Fields list, select Order Status, and in the Items list, double-click Shipped, and then type a plus sign (+).
5. Double-click Pending, type a plus sign, and then double-click Backorder. The complete formula is =Shipped+Pending+Backorder.
6. Click OK, to save the calculated item, and to close the dialog box.

The new calculated item, Sold, is added to the Row area in the pivot table. However, the Grand Totals have increased, because the Sold item includes the values from other items.

Hide the Unnecessary Pivot Items

In the pivot table, you can hide the Shipped, Pending, and Backorder items, because they are included in the Sold calculated item.

With those pivot items hidden, the pivot table will show the correct Grand Totals.

Download the Sample File

To see the pivot table data and the calculated item, you can download the Calculated Item sample file. The file is in Excel 2007 format, and is zipped.

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After you create a calculated item in a pivot table, you might need to change its formula.

For example, in this pivot table there’s a calculated item named Sold, in the Order Status field. The Sold item sums the orders with a status of Shipped, Pending, or Backorder.

Change the Calculated Item Formula

You can change the formula, so it doesn’t include the Backorder items. To do that, follow these steps to go back into the Insert Calculated Item dialog box and modify the calculated item.

1. In the pivot table, one of the Order Status items. For example, select cell A6, which is the Canceled item.
2. On the Ribbon, click the Options tab, under the PivotTable Tools tab.
3. in the Tools group, click Formulas, and then click Calculated Item.

   

4. In the dialog box, click the drop down arrow for the Name box.
5. Select Sold, which is the name of the calculated item you want to change.

   

6. In the Formula box, change the formula, to remove the +Backorder.

   

7. The revised formula is =Shipped+Pending. 

   

8. Click Modify, to save the change, and then click OK to close the dialog box.

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For more information on Pivot Tables, please see the Pivot Table Tutorials on the Contextures Website.

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If you’ve used calculated items and calculated fields in your pivot table, you can automatically create a list of all the formulas.

List the Formulas in Excel 2007

1. Select any cell in the pivot table.
2. On the Ribbon, under the PivotTable Tools tab, click the Options tab.
3. In the Tools group, click Formulas
4. Click  List Formulas.

A new sheet is inserted in the workbook, with a list of the calculated fields and a list of the calculated items.

List the Formulas in Excel 2003

1. Select any cell in the pivot table.
2. On the Pivot toolbar, click PivotTable.
3. Click Formulas, then click  List Formulas.

A new sheet is inserted in the workbook, with a list of the calculated fields and calculated items (see the Excel 2007 example above).

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For more information on pivot tables, see the Pivot Tables on my Contextures web site.

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