Use the Show Values As Formulas in Excel Pivot Tables

Show Values As

Show Values As in Pivot Table

I participate in a number of Group Discussion Boards on LinkedIn. In this video tutorial, I address one question that was recently asked:

“Is it possible to show a Percentage of Running Total formula in a Pivot Table?”

The answer is, “Yes, if you are using Excel 2010. If you are using earlier versions of Excel, you can use a work-around outside the Pivot Table.”

New in Excel 2010

A great new feature introduced in Excel 2010 is the drop-down menu for the “Show Values As’ in a Pivot Table Calculation. In earlier versions of Excel, the Show Values As option was not so obvious. And, I found that many of my clients did not know how to use it – or could not locate the drop-down menu.

Work-Around for Show % of Running Total

While the “Running Total in…” calculation has been available for quite some time, the “% of Running Total in …” formula is brand new in Excel 2010. The work-around that I demonstrate is to first, create the Show As “Running Total in …” formula. Then change the Font and background of these cells to “White.” Next, write a standard formula “outside of the Pivot Table” that references these cells. Be sure to turn off the “GetPivotData” Formula when you write this formula.

Download Extended Length Pivot Table Video Tutorials

Click on this link to learn about my new “extended length” video tutorials for Pivot Tables. They are availabe for Excel 2003, Excel 2007 and Excel 2010.

Watch Video in High Definition on YouTube

Follow this link to watch this video in High Definition on my YouTube Channel – DannyRocksExcels

Master Excel Pivot Tables in 90 Minutes

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3 Work-Arounds for Shortcomings in Calculated Fields in Excel Pivot Tables

Excel Work-arounds

3 Work-Arounds for Calculated Fields

Don’t get me wrong. Excel Pivot Tables are a great way to summarize, analyze and present the information in your data. And, creating Calculated Fields in Pivot Tables is a terrific way to extend your analysis.

However, there are a few “quirks” that you should be aware of when using a Calculated Field”

A Calculated Field is always performed against the SUM of your data!

Well, what if you want to calculate against the MIN or the MAX of your data? Or perform some other calculation?

3 Work-Arounds for Calculated Field Shortcomings

I encourage you to look at a Pivot Table as “a means to an end.” Let your Pivot Table take you to the 90% completion point – and a Pivot Table does this very well! Then, use one of these 3 strategies to help you to complete your analysis.

  1. Sometimes, you simply must return to your source data and add an additional field so that your Pivot Table has more information to work with.
  2. You can make a copy of your Pivot Table and then Paste Special the Values to another location. From there, you can complete your analysis with more flexibility.
  3. You can create formulas outside of the Pivot Table – as I demonstrate in this video, deselect the “pesky” GetPivotData Function first. There are some limitations here:
  1. Remember that all cell references in your formula must appear in your Pivot Table
  2. Your Pivot Table must essentially remain “static” – e.g. no more fields added or subtracted, etc.

Watch Video Tutorial in High Definition on YouTube

This video lesson is longer in length than normal. To watch it in High Definition, click on this link to go to my YouTube Channel – DannyRocksExcels

Download Extended Length Video Tutorials for Pivot Tables

I have created extended length video tutorial recordings for Pivot Tables in Excel 2003, Excel 2007, and Excel 2010. You can download them for only $9.95 USD.

Click on this link to get more information about my Excel Extended Length Video Recordings.