When you create a pivot table in Excel 2010 or Excel 2007, the row labels are in a compact layout – all the headings are listed in column A.

You can change the Report Layout setting, to either Outline form or Tabular form, so each row field is in a separate column.

Here's the same pivot table in Outline form. The Region field is in column A, with a separate row for each new heading.

Repeat the Row Labels

A new feature in Excel 2010 lets you repeat those row labels, so they appear on every row in the pivot table.

To turn on that feature for all the fields, select the Repeat All Item Labels on the Ribbon's Design tab.

Here's the pivot table in Outline form, with repeating row labels.

Repeating Labels for a Single Field

Instead of turning on repeating labels for the entire pivot table, you can apply the feature to a specific pivot table field.

In this example, the Region, City and Store fields are in the Row area, and we'll turn on repeating labels for the Region field only.

1. Right-click one of the Region labels, and click Field Settings
2. In the Field Settings dialog box, click the Layout & Print tab
3. Add a check mark to Repeat item labels, then click OK

Now, the Region labels are repeated, but the City labels are only listed once.

Watch the Pivot Table Repeat Labels Video

To see the steps for repeating labels in all fields, or a single field, please watch this short Excel pivot table video tutorial.

Or watch on YouTube: Repeat Headings in Excel 2010 Pivot Table

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Happy Spreadsheet Day! We celebrate on October 17th, because this is the date that VisiCalc was first released to customers, in 1979. This year's theme is Spreadsheets for Students, and what better way to help students, than show them a great way to use pivot tables?

Student Budget Workbook

Most students have limited funds, so it's important that they plan and track their spending. Bob Ryan, from the Simply Learning Excel website, has created a Student Budget spreadsheet, that should help students get their finances organized.

There is a transaction sheet, where you can enter your budget amounts and track your actual spending, including cash and credit cards. At the end of the month, review your cash and credit card spending in pivot tables that shows monthly totals.

In another pivot table, you can keep track of your running balance.

Bob also built a pivot table which compares your budget amounts with the actual amounts.

Download the Student Budget Workbook

You can download the Student Budget Spreadsheet file, and use it to track your own finances. The file is in Excel 2007/2010 format, and it is zipped. There are no macros in the file.

If you have questions, please post them on Bob's Simply Learning Excel blog, or ask them in the comments here.

Contribute to Spreadsheet Day 2011

If you'd like to join the Spreadsheet Day celebrations, please post your own free and useful spreadsheet template or add-in, that will help students get organized. Or, if you prefer, post a tip or link in Twitter, with the hashtag #spreadsheetday

Thanks for joining the Spreadsheet Day celebrations, and for sharing your knowledge with students. I'm sure they'll appreciate it!

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When you update a pivot table’s source data in Excel, the pivot table does not update automatically. You can set the pivot table to update when the Excel file opens, but that doesn’t help if you’re making changes after the file opens.

If you can use macros in your Excel file, you can use an event procedure to automatically update the pivot table if the source data
changes.

Add the Event Procedure Code

In this example, the source data is on a sheet named "Forecast", and the pivot table is on the "Product" sheet. To add the event code, follow these steps:

Right-click on the the sheet tab for the Forecast sheet, and click View Code

Copy the following code to the Forecast worksheet module

Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Range)
  Worksheets("Product").PivotTables(1).PivotCache.Refresh
End Sub

The worksheet module in your workbook might not have Option Explicit at the top. You can type that line in, if it's missing.

Unprotect the Worksheet

If the pivot table worksheet is protected, you can add code to unprotect it, and then protect it again.

Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Range)

    With Worksheets("Product")
        .Unprotect Password:="yourpassword"
        .PivotTables(1).PivotCache.Refresh
        .Protect Password:="yourpassword"
    End With

End Sub

Test the Refresh Code

To test the pivot table refresh code, make a change to the data on the Forecast sheet.

• Making the change will trigger the Forecast sheet’s Change event.
• In the Event code, the pivot cache for the Product sheet’s pivot table is refreshed.

More Information

• Create a Pivot Table in Excel 2007
• Excel Pivot Table -- Dynamic Data Source
• Automatically Include New Data in a Pivot Table

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Last year, I posted Excel VBA code for removing a calculated field from a pivot table.

The code works well if there is only one pivot table based on that pivot cache. However, a couple of comments mentioned that there were problems if multiple pivot tables shared the pivot cache.

Here is a revised version of the code, that checks for other pivot tables using the same pivot cache. If others are found, the macro is cancelled, and a message appears, listing the pivot tables.

Remove Calculated Fields for Non-Shared Pivot Cache

If other pivot tables in the workbook share the same cache, the macro is cancelled. A message lists those pivot tables.

Sub RemoveCalculatedFieldsNotShared()
Dim ws As Worksheet
Dim ptA As PivotTable
Dim pt As PivotTable
Dim pf As PivotField
Dim pfNew As PivotField
Dim strSource As String
Dim strFormula As String
Dim iPC As Long
Dim lCache As Long
Dim strPC As String

Set ptA = ActiveSheet.PivotTables(1)
iPC = ptA.PivotCache.Index

For Each ws In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets
    For Each pt In ws.PivotTables
        If pt.PivotCache.Index = iPC Then
            lCache = lCache + 1
            strPC = strPC & ws.Name & "     " _
                & pt.TableRange2.Address _
                & vbCrLf
        End If
    Next pt
Next ws

If lCache > 1 Then
    MsgBox "Cancelled" _
        & vbCrLf & vbCrLf _
        & lCache & " pivot tables share this pivot cache: " _
        & vbCrLf & vbCrLf _
        & strPC
    GoTo exitHandler
Else
    For Each pf In ptA.CalculatedFields
        strSource = pf.SourceName
        strFormula = pf.Formula
        pf.Delete
        Set pfNew = ptA.CalculatedFields.Add(strSource, strFormula)
    Next pf
End If

exitHandler:
    Exit Sub

End Sub

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Last week, you saw a technique for changing monthly data into a better layout, when creating an Excel pivot table. We used a multiple consolidation ranges pivot table to change this 13-column table into a 3-column data source.

Today we’ll look at a different approach to using multi-column data in a pivot table.

Bi-Weekly Data

Thanks to Jim LaBarr, who sent me a sample Excel file, with his solution to creating reports from multi-column financial data.

In his file, Jim has dates in the heading row – not just the month names. Every column has a heading, and there are no blank rows or columns within the data.

NOTE: Usually, Jim would create an Excel Table from this data, but that changes the headings to text. Don’t create an Excel Table if you want to use the technique that Jim is sharing today.

Pivot Table from Bi-Weekly Data

After setting up his bi-weekly financial data, Jim creates a pivot table, using multiple consolidation ranges. This creates a pivot table with 3 fields – Row, Column and Value.

The dates are the Column items, and the descriptions are the Row items.

This multiple consolidation ranges pivot table shows a grand total for the columns, because all the dates are in the Column field.

NOTE: If we had created a normal pivot table from the data, each date would be a separate field, and there would be no grand total.

Filter the Pivot Table

After creating the pivot table, Jim filters the Row and Column fields, to focus on specific data. For example, you could filter the Rows to show only the Revenue items (but not the Revenue Total). Then, filter the Columns, to show the December 2010 dates.

The Row and Column grand totals automatically update, to show the totals for the filtered pivot table.

Change the Pivot Table Values

When you create a pivot table, the values are summarized by Sum or Count, and shown as simple totals. For a different view of the data, Jim changes the way the Values are shown. In the pivot table shown below, the Values are shown as % of Column.

This is a quick way to see the revenue breakdown, for the two revenue streams. Revenue A produces 60% of the revenue, and 40% is from Revenue B.

Grouping the Dates

Because the multiple consolidation ranges pivot table puts the Dates in a single field, Jim is able to group those dates. This gives him even more flexibility in his pivot table reports.

Here, the dates are grouped by year and month, and again, the grand totals are automatically calculated.

Or, the Column field can be moved to the Row area, to show the dates at the left, in a vertical report.

Additional Summary Functions

In another version of his pivot table report, Jim puts 3 copies of the Value field in the Values area.

• Sum
• Change
• % Change

To show the Change, Jim changes the custom calculation to Difference From. For % Change, Jim uses the % Difference From custom calculation.

Create a Pivot Chart

To give a visual overview of the data, Jim create a pivot chart from the multiple consolidation range pivot table. Here, the Years and Months are in the Row area, and the Descriptions are in the Column area, filtered for Total Cost and Total Revenue.

Jim’s Tips for Financial Data Pivot Tables

If your financial data is in many columns, like Jim’s example, here are Jim’s tips for when to use this multiple consolidation ranges techniques, and when to use an Excel Table instead.

• Use this method to keep multiple columns, with pivot table benefits, like date grouping
• Use Tables if all you need is Filtering on Rows
• Use Tables if you need Chart of multiple Rows with no need for time period Grouping
• For source data with multiple description columns, use the normalization workaround

Download the Sample Financial Data Pivot Table File

To see Jim LaBarr’s sample data, and the pivot tables, you can download his Financial Data Pivot Table sample file. The file is in Excel 2003 format, and zipped.

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It’s Friday, and the weather has been unbearably hot all week. On top of that, your boss and/or Excel are making you crazy.

If you’re on your last nerve, you can vent your rage in a comic strip, by using Rage Builder. I made this pivot table themed comic, and I’m sure you can do better!

I didn’t upload my comic to the website – I used Snagit to take a screen shot, and save that image file.

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When you are setting up your source data for an Excel pivot table, there are a few data layout guidelines that will help you create the best possible pivot table.

Sometimes you get data that isn’t well suited for creating a pivot table, like the example shown below. It has a column for each month, and the sales amounts are spread over those 12 columns.

When you create a pivot table, there are 12 value fields – one for each month – and you would have to create a calculated field to see an annual total.

Normalize the Pivot Table Source Data

Instead of a separate column for each month, the pivot table source data should have a single column for the sales amounts. In the adjacent columns, you can enter the product name and month name for each amount.

You could manually rearrange that data, or write some Excel VBA code to do the job for you, so it looks like the table shown below. With this 3-column Excel table, you can easily create a flexible pivot table, and focus of specific items or months.

Rearrange the Data Without Macros

Instead of manually rearranging the data, or writing a macro, you can use a pivot table trick to change the 13-column data into a normalized 3-column table. Follow these steps, to quickly rearrange the data:

1. Select a cell in the 13-column table, and press Alt+D, and then press P, to open the PivotTable and PivotChart Wizard
2. In Step 1, select Multiple Consolidation Ranges, and then click Next.
3. In Step 2a, select I Will Create The Page Fields, and then click Next.
4. In Step 2b, click in the Range box, and on the worksheet, select the entire table, including the headings, and then click Add.
•  
5. Leave the other settings at their defaults, and click Finish.
6. A new sheet is added to the workbook, with a pivot table
7. In the PivotTable Field List, remove the check marks from the Row and Column fields, so only the Grand Total for Value is left.
• 
8. Double-click the Grand Total cell, (cell A4 in the screen shot above), to create a new sheet, with the pivot table’s data in 3 columns.
9. Then, rename the heading cells as Product, Month, and Amount.
• 

Build a New Pivot Table

Now that the source data is normalized, in a 3-column table instead of 13 columns, you can insert your final pivot table, based on the rearranged data.

With the amounts in a single columns, it’s easy to create totals, and use other summary functions, such as Average.

Download the Sample Workbook

To test the multiple consolidation ranges technique, you can download the Normalize Data for Excel Pivot Table sample workbook. The file is in Excel 2007 format, and is zipped. There are no macros in the file.

Watch the Pivot Table Trick Video

To see the steps for using a multiple consolidation ranges pivot table, to rearrange your pivot table source data, watch this Excel video tutorial.

It also shows the steps for this technique, if there are two or more columns with labels.

Or watch on YouTube: Normalize Data for Excel Pivot Table

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It’s easy to change the summary function for one data field in a pivot table. For example, if a field shows the Sum of Units, you can right-click on that field, and change it to Count of Units.

However, if you have several data fields in a pivot table, it can take quite a bit of time to change each pivot table summary function manually.

Create a Worksheet List of Functions

To make it easy for yourself, or other people who use the pivot table, to change the functions, you can add a drop down list of functions in a worksheet cell.

The list is created with Excel data validation, and Excel VBA code runs when a different function is selected in that cell. The code changes the summary function for all the data fields in the pivot table.

Read the Details

For details on how the code works, you can read the Select Pivot Table Function From Worksheet Drop Down article on the Contextures blog.

Download the Sample File

To test the Summary Function code, you can download the Pivot Table Summary Function Change workbook. The file is in Excel 2007 format, and zipped. Enable macros when you open the file.

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Double-clicking on a number cell in a pivot table creates a new sheet in the workbook, showing the records included in that number. Sometimes the list doesn’t look the way you’d like it to, and the numbers aren’t formatted the way they are in the source data.

For example, the source data might have sales amounts formatted as currency, or dates in a long format.

Unfortunately, those formats aren’t used in the new sheet.

You don’t have much control over the default formatting in the drilldown details list, but here are a couple of things you can do.

Change the Default Table Style

The drilldown details list is formatted as a named Excel Table, in the default style selected in the workbook. If you change the default Table Style, new lists will use the new default style.

To change the default Table Style:

• Select a cell in any Excel Table in the workbook. If there aren’t any tables, double-click a pivot table data cell, to create one.
• In the Ribbon’s Design tab, click the More drop down arrow for Table Styles
• Right-click on the style that you want as the default Table Style
• Click Set As Default

Now, when you double-click a number cell in the pivot table, the new default style is used.

Change the Normal Style

If you’re seeing strange number formatting in the drilldown details, such as dates in Currency format, the Normal Style can be adjusted.

When you select a Theme in an Excel workbook, or use the default Theme, it uses specific fonts, colours, and other format settings.

The Normal style is affected by the selected Theme, and you can make further adjustments to the Normal style. The drilldown details list will use the font and number formatting from the Normal style.

To change the Normal style:

• On the Ribbon’s Home tab, click Cell Styles
• Right-click on Normal, and click Modify

• Click the Format button, and change any of the Cell formatting options.
• Click OK, twice, to close the dialog boxes.

TIP: For number formatting, select General, so dates and numbers will look best. If you select Currency, or another specialized format, all the numbers, including dates, will get that format.

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When you double-click on the value cell in a pivot table, a new sheet is automatically inserted in the workbook. The new sheet contains a table, listing all the source data records that are summarized in the number that you double-clicked.

Double-clicking the cell is a shortcut to the pivot table Show Details command. You can also right-click on a value cell, and click Show Details.

Show Details, also called DrillDown, is a great feature for digging into the details, but you can end up with lots of extra sheets in your workbook.

However, you don’t usually want to save the sheets, so you manually delete them before you close the file.

Automatically Name the Sheets

With event code on the pivot table’s worksheet, and in the workbook module, you can add a prefix, such as “XShow”, when the Show Detail sheets are created.

That prefix should make the sheets easier to find and delete, before you close the workbook.

Automatically Delete the Sheets

To make the cleanup task even more efficient, you can use programming to show a message when you’re closing the workbook, if there are Show Details sheets in the file.

If you click Yes, all the sheets with the “XShow_” prefix are deleted, and the workbook stays organized. Then, save the tidied up version of the workbook, when prompted.

See the Drilldown Sheet Code

For detailed instructions on adding the drilldown sheet naming and deleting code, visit the Excel Pivot Table Drilldown page on the Contextures website.

Download the Sample Drilldown File

To see how the event code names the sheets, and deletes them when closing, you can download the Pivot Table Drilldown sample file.

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