Calc Guide

Chapter 8
Using Pivot Tables

Copyright
This document is Copyright 20092012 by its contributors as listed below. You may distribute it
and/or modify it under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), version 3.0 or later.
All trademarks within this guide belong to their legitimate owners.

Authors
Barbara Duprey
Martin J Fox
Jean Hollis Weber
John A Smith

Feedback
Please direct any comments or suggestions about this document to:
[email protected]

Acknowledgments
This chapter is based on and updated from Chapter 8 of the OpenOffice.org 3.3 Calc Guide, which
was adapted from a German original written by Stefan Weigel and translated into English by Sigrid
Kronenberger. Other contributors to that chapter are:
Jean Hollis Weber
Claire Wood

Andy Brown
Martin Fox

Sharon Whiston

Publication date and software version

Published 17 July 2012. Based on LibreOffice 3.4.6.

Note for Mac users

Some keystrokes and menu items are different on a Mac from those used in Windows and Linux.
The table below gives some common substitutions for the instructions in this chapter. For a more
detailed list, see the application Help.
Windows or Linux

Mac equivalent

Effect

Tools > Options menu

selection

LibreOffice > Preferences

Access setup options

Right-click

Control+click

Opens a context menu

Ctrl (Control)

z (Command)

Used with other keys

F5

Shift+z+F5

Opens the Navigator

F11

z+T

Opens the Styles and Formatting window

Documentation for LibreOffice is available at http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/documentation

Contents
Copyright.............................................................................................................................. 2
Note for Mac users...............................................................................................................2
Important note...................................................................................................................... 4
Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 4
Database preconditions............................................................................................................... 4
Data sources................................................................................................................................ 5
Calc spreadsheet.................................................................................................................... 5
Registered data source........................................................................................................... 5
Creating a Pivot Table.................................................................................................................. 6

The DataPilot dialog.............................................................................................................6

Basic layout................................................................................................................................. 6
More options................................................................................................................................ 8
More settings for the fields: Field options................................................................................... 10
Options for Data Fields.......................................................................................................... 10
Options for Row and Column Fields...................................................................................... 12
Options for Page Fields......................................................................................................... 15

Working with the results of the DataPilot (the Pivot Table)...........................................15

Changing the layout................................................................................................................... 15
Grouping rows or columns......................................................................................................... 15
Grouping of categories with scalar values..................................................................................16
Grouping without automatic creation of intervals....................................................................... 17
Sorting the result........................................................................................................................ 18
Select sort order from drop-down menus on each column heading.......................................18
Sort manually by using drag and drop................................................................................... 19
Sort automatically.................................................................................................................. 19
Drilling (showing details)............................................................................................................ 20
Filtering...................................................................................................................................... 22
Updating (refreshing) changed values....................................................................................... 23
Cell formatting............................................................................................................................ 23
Using shortcuts.......................................................................................................................... 23

Using Pivot Table results elsewhere................................................................................23

The problem............................................................................................................................... 23
The solution: Function GETPIVOTDATA.................................................................................... 24
Syntax................................................................................................................................... 24
First syntax variation............................................................................................................. 25
Second syntax variation........................................................................................................ 25

Using Pivot Tables

Important note
Unfortunately, due to the complexities of modern software, the Pivot Table function is incompletely
implemented in this release (v3.4) of Calc.

The Group and Outline functionality for any time interval is not available.
The DataPilot dialog should have been renamed to Pivot Table to match the parent
function, but this was not done.
If you wish to use this function to its full extent, we strongly recommend that that you upgrade to
LibreOffice version 3.5, which fully implements Pivot Tables functionality.

Introduction
Many requests for software support are the result of using complicated formulas and solutions to
solve simple day to day problems. More efficient and effective solutions use the Pivot Table, a tool
for combining, comparing, and analyzing large amounts of data easily. Using Pivot Tables, you can
view different summaries of the source data, display the details of areas of interest, and create
reports, whether you are a beginner, an intermediate or advanced user.

Database preconditions
The first thing needed to work with the Pivot Table is a list of raw data, similar to a database table,
consisting of rows (data sets) and columns (data fields). The field names are in the first row above
the list.
The data source could be an external file or database. For the simplest case, where data is
contained in a Calc spreadsheet, Calc offers sorting functions that do not require the Pivot Table.
For processing data in lists, the program needs to know where in the spreadsheet the table is. The
table can be anywhere in the sheet, in any position. A spreadsheet can contains several unrelated
tables.
Calc recognizes your lists automatically. It uses the following logic: Starting from the cell youve
selected (which must be within your list), Calc checks the surrounding cells in all 4 directions (left,
right, above, below). The border is recognized if the program discovers an empty row or column, or
if it hits the left or upper border of the spreadsheet.
This means that the described functions can only work correctly if there are no empty rows or
columns in your list. Avoid empty lines (for example for formatting). You can format your list by
using cell formats.

Rule

No empty rows or empty columns are allowed within lists.

If you select more than one single cell before you start sorting, filtering or calling the Pivot Table,
then the automatic list recognition is switched off. Calc assumes that the list matches exactly the
cells you have selected.

Rule

For sorting, filtering, or using the Pivot Table, always select only one cell.

A relatively common source of errors is to inadvertently declare a list by mistake and then sort the
list. If you select multiple cells (for example, a whole column) then the sorting mixes up the data
that should be together in one row.
In addition to these formal aspects, the logical structure of your table is very important when using
the Pivot Table.

Using Pivot Tables

Rule

Calc lists must have the normal form; that is, they must have a simple linear
structure.

When entering the data, do not add outlines, groups, or summaries. Here are some mistakes
commonly made by inexperienced spreadsheet users:
1) You made several sheets, for example, a sheet for each group of articles. Analyses are
then possible only within each group. Analyses for several groups would be a lot of work.
2) In the Sales list, instead of only one column for the amount, you made a column for the
amounts for each employee. The amounts then had to be entered into the appropriate
column. An analysis with the Pivot Table would not be possible any more. In contrast, one
result of the Pivot Table is that you can get results for each employee if you have entered
everything in one column.
3) You entered the amounts in chronological order. At the end of each month you made a
sum total. In this case, sorting the list for different criteria is not possible because the Pivot
Table will treat the sum totals the same as any other figure. Getting monthly results is one
of the very fast and easy features of the Pivot Table.

Data sources
At this time, the possible data sources for the Pivot Table are a Calc spreadsheet or an external
data source that has to be registered in LibreOffice.

Calc spreadsheet
The simplest and most often used case is analyzing a list in a Calc spreadsheet. The list might be
updated regularly or the data might be imported from a different application.
For example, a list can be copied from a different application and pasted into Calc. The behavior of
Calc while inserting the data depends on the format of the data. If the data is in a common
spreadsheet format, it is copied directly into Calc. However, if the data is in plain text, the Text
Import dialog (Figure 1) appears after you select the file containing the data; see Chapter 1,
Introducing Calc, for more more information about this dialog.
Calc can import data from a huge number of foreign data formats, for example from other
spreadsheets (Excel, Lotus 1, 2, 3), from databases (like dBase), and from simple text files
including CSV formats.
The drawback of copying or importing foreign data is that it will not update automatically if there are
changes in the source file. With a Calc file you were previously limited to 65,535 rows but this has
been expanded to 1,048,576 rows.

Registered data source

A registered data source in LibreOffice is a connection to data held in a database outside Calc.
This means that the data to be analyzed will not be saved in Calc; Calc always uses the data from
the original source. Calc is able to use many different data sources and also databases that are
created and maintained with LibreOffice Base. See Chapter 10, Linking Calc Data, for more
information.

Introduction

Figure 1: Import settings

Creating a Pivot Table

Create the Pivot Table using Data > Pivot Table > Create from the menu bar. If the list to be
analyzed is in a spreadsheet table, select only one cell within this list. Calc recognizes and selects
the list automatically for use with the Pivot Table (Figure 2).

The DataPilot dialog

The function of the Pivot Table is managed in two places: first in the DataPilot dialog and second
through manipulations of the result in the spreadsheet. This section describes the dialog in detail.

Basic layout
In the DataPilot dialog (Figure 3) are four white areas that show the layout of the result. Beside
these white areas are buttons with the names of the fields in your data source. To choose a layout,
drag and drop the field buttons into the white areas.
The Data Fields area in the middle must contain at least one field. Advanced users can use more
than one field here. For the Data Field an aggregate function is used. For example, if you move the
sales field into the Data Fields area, it appears there as Sum sales.

Using Pivot Tables

Figure 2: After starting the Pivot Table

Figure 3: DataPilot dialog

Row Fields and Column Fields indicate from which groups the result will be sorted. Often more
than one field is used at a time to get partial sums for rows or columns. The order of the fields
gives the order of the sums from overall to specific.
For example, if you drag region and employee into the Row Fields area, the sum will be divided
into the employees. Within the employees will be the listing for the different regions (see Figure 4).
The DataPilot dialog

Figure 4: DataPilot field order for analysis, and resulting layout in pivot table
Fields that are placed into the Page Fields area appear in the result above as a drop down list. The
summary in your result takes only that part of your base data into account that you have selected.
For example, if you use employee as a Page Field, you can filter the result shown for each
employee.
To remove a field from the white layout area, just drag it past the border and drop it (the cursor will
change to a crossed symbol), or select it and click the Remove button.

More options
To expand the DataPilot dialog and show more options, click More.

Figure 5: Expanded dialog of the DataPilot

Selection from
Shows the sheet name and the range of cells used for the Pivot Table.
Results to
Results to defines where your result will be shown. Selecting Results to as undefined and
entering a cell reference tells the Pivot Table where to show the results.1 An error dialog is
displayed if you fail to enter a cell reference. Selecting Results to as - new sheet adds a
new sheet to the spreadsheet file and places the results there. The new sheet is named using
the format Pivot Table_sheet name_X; where X is the number of the table created, 1 for first,
2 for second and so on. For the source shown in Figure 3, the new sheet for the first table
produced, would be named Pivot Table_Umsatzliste_1. Each new sheet is inserted next to
the source sheet.
Ignore empty rows
If the source data is not in the recommended form, this option tells the Pivot Table to ignore
empty rows.

In this case the word - undefined is misleading because the output position is in fact defined.

Using Pivot Tables

Identify categories
With this option selected, if the source data has missing entries in a list and does not meet the
recommended data structure (see Figure 6), the Pivot Table adds it to the listed category above
it. If this option is not chosen, then the Pivot Table inserts (empty) (see Figure 8).

Figure 6: Example of data with missing entries in Column A

The option Identify categories ensures that in this example rows 3 and 4 are included for the
product Apples and row 6 is included for Pears (see Figure 7).

Figure 7: Pivot Table result with Identify categories selected

Without category recognition, the DataPilot shows an (empty) category (Figure 8).

Figure 8: Pivot Table result without Identify categories selected

Logically, the behavior with category recognition is better. A list showing missing entries is also
less useful, because you cannot use functions such as sorting or filtering.
Total columns, Total rows
With these options you can decide if the Pivot Table shows an extra row with the sums of each
column, or if it adds on the very right a column with the sums of each row. In some cases, an
added total sum is meaningless, for example if your entries are accumulated or the result of
comparisons.
Add filter
Use this option to add or hide the cell labeled Filter above the Pivot Table results. This cell is a
convenient button for additional filtering options within the Pivot Table.
Enable drill to details
With this option enabled, if you double-click on a single data cell, including a cell produced from
Total columns or Total rows, in the Pivot Table result, a new sheet opens giving a detailed
listing of the individual entry. If you double-click on either a cell in the Row Fields, or Column
Fields, then the Show Detail dialog opens (see Drilling (showing details) on page 20). Taking
Figure 4 as an example, if a pivot table uses more than one field (region and employee) and
you double-click a left-most field (say, east), then this collapses the row, combining the totals
The DataPilot dialog

for employees for that field and displaying the totals for east. If this function is disabled, the
double-click will keep its usual edit function within a spreadsheet.

More settings for the fields: Field options

The options discussed in the previous section are valid for the DataPilot in general. You can also
change settings for every field that you have added to the DataPilot layout. Do this either by
selecting a field and clicking on the Options button in the DataPilot dialog, or by double-clicking on
the appropriate field.
The options available for fields put into the Data Fields differ from those put into the Row, Column,
and Page Fields of the DataPilot.

Options for Data Fields

In the Options dialog of a Data Field you can select the Sum function for accumulating the values
from your data source. You will often use the sum function, but other functions (like standard
distribution or a counting function) are also available. For example, the counting function can be
useful for non-numerical data fields.
On the Data Field dialog, click More to see the Displayed value section.

Figure 9: Expanded dialog for a Data Field

In the Displayed value section, you can choose other possibilities for analysis by using the
aggregate function. Depending on the setting for Type, you may have to choose definitions for
Base field and Base item.

Figure 10: Example choices for Base field and item

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Using Pivot Tables

The table below lists the possible types of displayed value and associated base field and item,
together with a note on usage.
Type

Base field

Base item

Analysis

Normal

Simple use of the chosen

aggregate function (for example,
sum).

Difference
from

Selection of a field
from the data source
of the DataPilot (for
example,
employee).

Selection of an
element from the
selected base field (for
example, Brigitte).

The result is the difference

between the result of the Base
field and the Base item (for
example, sales volume of the
employees against the sales
volume of Brigitte; see Figure 11).

% of

Selection of a field
from the data source
of the DataPilot (for
example, employee)

Selection of an
element from the
selected base field (for
example, Brigitte)

The result is a percentage ratio of

the value of the base field to the
base item (for example, sales
result of the employee relative to
the sales result of Brigitte; see
Figure 12).

%
difference
from

Selection of a field
from the data source
of the DataPilot (for
example, employee)

Selection of an
element from the
selected base field (for
example. Brigitte)

From each result, its reference

value is subtracted, and the
difference is divided by the
reference value (for example,
sales of the employees as relative
difference from the sales of
Brigitte; see Figure 13).

Running
total in

Selection of a field
from the data source
of the DataPilot (for
example, date)

Each result is added to the sum of

the results for preceding items in
the base field, in the base fields
sort order, and the total sum is
shown.
Results are always summed, even
if a different summary function was
used to get each result.

% of row

The result is a percentage of the

value of the whole row (for
example, the row sum).

% of
column

The result is a percentage of the

total column value (for example,
the column sum).

% of total

The result is a percentage of the

overall result (for example, the
total sum).

Index

(Default result x total result) / (row

total x column total)

The DataPilot dialog

11

Figure 11: Original Pivot Table (top) and a Difference from example (below)

Figure 12: Example of a % of analysis

Figure 13: Example of % difference from analysis

Options for Row and Column Fields

In the Options dialog for the Row or Column Fields, you can choose to show subtotals for each
category. Subtotals are deactivated by default. They are only useful if the values in one row or
column field can be divided into subtotals for another (sub)field.
Some examples are shown in the next three figures.

Figure 14: No subdivision with only one row or column field

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Using Pivot Tables

Figure 15: Division of the regions for employees (two row fields) without subtotals

Figure 16: Division of the regions for employees with subtotals (by region)
The DataPilot dialog

13

In the Subtotals section of the Data Field dialog, select the Automatic option to calculate subtotals
that can also be used for the data fields (see above).
You can choose the type of subtotal by selecting User-defined and then clicking the type of
subtotal you want to calculate from the list. Functions are only available when User-defined is
selected.

Figure 17: Preferences dialog of a row or column field

Normally, the Pivot Table does not show a row or column for categories that have no entries in the
underlying database. By choosing the Show items with no data option, you can force this.
For illustration purposes, the data was manipulated in such a way, that the employee Brigitte has
no sales values for the category golfing.

Figure 18: Default setting

Figure 19: Setting Show Items with no data

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Using Pivot Tables

Options for Page Fields

The Options dialog for Page Fields is the same as for Row and Column fields, even though it
appears to be useless to have the same settings as described for the Row and Column fields. With
the flexibility of the DataPilot you can switch the different fields between pages, columns or rows.
The fields keep the settings that you made for them. The Page Field has the same properties as a
Row or Column field. These settings only take effect when you use the field not as a Page Field
but as Row or Column field.

Working with the results of the DataPilot (the Pivot Table)

As mentioned above, the DataPilot dialog is very flexible. An analysis, a Pivot Table, can be totally
restructured with only a few mouse clicks. Some functions of the DataPilot dialog can only be used
with the Pivot Table.

Changing the layout

The layout of the Pivot Table can be changed quickly and easily by drag and drop. With the
DataPilot open, fields can be dragged around from row, column, page and the Data Fields areas to
any position you want to put them, and then dropped. Unused fields can be added, and fields
removed in error can be replaced by dragging and dropping them into the positions required.
Some manipulation can also be carried out in the pivot table view. Within the results table of the
Pivot Table, move one of the page, column, or row fields to a different position. The cursor will
change shape from its starting shape (horizontal or vertical block on the arrow head) to the
opposite if moving to a different field, such as from row to column, and it is OK to drop.

Figure 20: Drag a column field. Note the

cursor shape

Figure 21: Drag a row field. Note the

cursor shape

You can remove a column, row, or page field from the Pivot Table by clicking on it and dragging it
out of the table. The cursor changes to that shown in Figure 22. A field removed in error cannot be
recovered and it is necessary to return to the DataPilot to replace it.

Figure 22: Field dragged out of

the pivot table

Grouping rows or columns

For many analyses or summaries, the categories have to be grouped. You can merge the results in
classes. You can only carry out grouping on an ungrouped Pivot Table.
You can access grouping by selecting Data > Group and Outline > Group from the menu bar, or
by pressing F12 after selecting the correct cell area. How the grouping function works is
Working with the results of the DataPilot (the Pivot Table)

15

determined mainly by the type of values that have to be grouped. You need to distinguish between
scalar values, or other values, such as text, that you want grouped.
Date and time values can not be grouped in this release of Calc (see Important note on page 4).

Note

Before you can group, you have to produce a Pivot Table with ungrouped data. The
time needed for creating a Pivot Table depends mostly on the number of columns
and rows and not on the size of the basic data. Through grouping you can produce
the Pivot Table with a small number of rows and columns. The Pivot Table can
contain a lot of categories, depending on your data source.

Grouping of categories with scalar values

For grouping scalar values, select a single cell in the row or column of the category to be grouped.

Figure 23: Pivot Table without grouping

(frequency of the km/h values of a
radar control)

Figure 24: Pivot Table with grouping

(classes of 10 km/h each)

Choose Data > Group and Outline > Group from the menu bar or press F12; you get the
following dialog.

Figure 25: Grouping dialog with scalar categories

16

Using Pivot Tables

You can define in which value range (start/end) the grouping should take place. The default setting
is the whole range from smallest to largest value. In the field Group by you can enter the class
size, this means the interval size (in this example groups of 10 km/h each).

Grouping without automatic creation of intervals

Categories containing text fields cannot create intervals. You can define for each field (for example
Department) which values you want to put together in one group.
Selecting Data > Group and Outline > Group from the menu bar, or pressing F12, with more than
one cell selected, groups those cells.

Figure 26: Database with nonscalar categories

(departments)

Figure 27: Pivot Table

with nonscalar
categories

For grouping of non scalar categories, select in the result of the Pivot Table all the individual field
values that you want to put in the one group.

Tip

You can select several non-contiguous cells in one step by pressing and holding the
Control key while left-clicking with the mouse.

Given the input data shown in Figure 26, execute the Pivot Table with Department in the Row Field
and Sum (Sick Days) in the Data Field. The output should look like that in Figure 27. Select with
the mouse the Departments Accounting, Purchasing and Sales.
Choose the Data > Group and Outline > Group from the Menu bar or press F12. The output
should now look like that in Figure 28. Repeat this for all groups that you want to create from the
different categories (Select Assembly, Production and Warehouse and Group again. The output
should look like Figure 29.

Figure 28: Summary of single categories in one

group

Working with the results of the DataPilot (the Pivot Table)

Figure 29: Grouping finished

17

You can change the default names for the groups and the newly created group field, by editing the
name in the input field (for example changing 'Group2' to 'Technical'). The Pivot Table will
remember these settings, even if you change the layout later on. For the following pictures, the
dialog was called again (with a right-click, Edit Layout) and by selecting the icon Department 2,
then Options, and finally from the preferences menu Automatic was selected. This generated the
partial sum results shown in Figure 30. Double clicking Group 1 and Technical collapses the
entries, as shown in Figure 31.

Figure 31: Reduced to the new

groups

Figure 30: Renamed groups and partial results

Note

A well-structured database makes manual sorting within the Pivot Table obsolete. In
the example shown, you could add another column with the name Department, that
has the correct entry for each person based on whether the employees department
belongs to the group Office or Technical. The mapping for this (1:n relationship) can
be done easily with the VLOOKUP function from Calc.

Sorting the result

The result of any Pivot Table is sorted (categories) in columns and rows in ascending order. You
can change the sorting in three ways:

Select sort order from drop-down menus on each column heading.

Sort manually by using drag and drop.
Sort automatically by choosing the options in the preferences dialog of the row or column
field.

Select sort order from drop-down menus on each column heading

The simplest way to sort entries is to click the arrow on the right side of the heading and check the
box(es) for the desired sort order. The custom sorting dialog is shown in Figure 33. Additional
options exist to show all, show only the current item, or hide only the current item.
Once sorting has been carried out using the drop-down list, the color of the arrow changes and a
small square of matching color is added to the bottom right of the arrow button.

18

Using Pivot Tables

Figure 32: Arrow color change and indicator square on button

Figure 33: Custom sorting

Sort manually by using drag and drop

You can change the order within the categories by moving the cells with the category values in the
result table of the Pivot Table. The cell will be inserted above the cell on which you drop it.
Be aware that in Calc a cell must be selected. It is not enough that this cell contains the cell cursor.
The background of a selected cell is marked with a different color. To achieve this, click in one cell
with no extra key pressed and redo this by pressing also the Shift or Ctrl key. Another possibility is
to keep the mouse button pressed on the cell you want to select, move the mouse to a neighbor
cell and move back to your original cell before you release the mouse button.

Sort automatically
To sort automatically, right-click within the Pivot Table and choose Edit Layout, to open the
DataPilot (Figure 3). Within the Layout area of the DataPilot, double-click the row or column field
you want to sort. In the Data Field dialog which opens (Figure 17), click Options to display the
Data Field Options dialog.
For Sort by choose either Ascending or Descending. On the left side is a drop-down list where you
can choose the field this setting should apply to. With this method you can specify that sorting does
not happen according to the categories but according to the results of the data field.

Working with the results of the DataPilot (the Pivot Table)

19

Figure 34: Options for a row or column field

Drilling (showing details)

Drill allows you to show the related detailed data for a single, compressed value in the Pivot Table
result. To activate a drill, double-click on the cell or choose Data > Group and Outline > Show
Details. There are two possibilities:
1) The active cell is a row or column field.
In this case, drill means an additional breakdown into the categories of another field.
For example, double-click on the cell with the value golfing. In this instance the values that
are aggregated within golfing can be subdivided using another field.

Figure 35: Before the drill down for the category golfing
A dialog appears allowing you to select the field to use for further subdivision. In this
example, employee.

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Using Pivot Tables

Figure 36: Selecting the field for the subdivision

Figure 37: After the drill down

To hide the details again, double-click on the cell golfing or choose Data > Group and
Outline > Hide Details.
The Pivot Table remembers your selection (in our example the field employee) by adding
and hiding the selected field, so that for the next drill down for a category in the field
category the dialog does not appear. To remove the selection employee, open the
DataPilot dialog by right-clicking and choosing Edit Layout, then delete the unwanted
selection in the row or column field.
2) The active cell is a value of the Data Field.
In this case, drill down results in a listing of all data entries of the data source that
aggregates to this value.
In our example, if we were to double-click on the cell with the value $18,741 from Figure
35, we would now have a new list of all data sets that are included in this value. This list is
displayed in a new sheet.

Working with the results of the DataPilot (the Pivot Table)

21

Figure 38: New table sheet after the drill down for a value in a data field

Filtering
To limit the Pivot Table analysis to a subset of the information that is contained in the data basis,
you can filter with the Pivot Table.

Note

An Autofilter or default filter used on the sheet has no effect on the DataPilot analysis
process. The DataPilot always uses the complete list that was selected when it was
started.

To do this, click Filter on the top left side above the results.

Figure 39: Filter field in the upper left area of the Pivot Table
In the Filter dialog, you can define up to 3 filter options that are used in the same way as Calcs
default filter.

Figure 40: Dialog for defining the filter

Note

22

Even if they are not called a filter, page fields are a practical way to filter the results.
The advantage is that the filtering criteria used are clearly visible.

Using Pivot Tables

Updating (refreshing) changed values

After you have created the Pivot Table, changes in the source data do not cause an automatic
update in the resulting table. You must update (refresh) the Pivot Table manually after changing
any of the underlying data values.
Changes in the source data could appear in two ways:
1) The content of existing data sets has been changed.
For example, you might have changed a sales value afterward. To update the Pivot Table,
right-click in the result area and choose Refresh (or choose Data > Pivot Table > Refresh
from the menu bar).
2) You have added or deleted data sets in the original list.
In this case the change means that the Pivot Table has to use a different area of the
spreadsheet for its analysis. Fundamental changes to the data set collection means you
must redo the Pivot Table from the beginning.

Cell formatting
The cells in the results area of the Pivot Table are automatically formatted in a simple format by
Calc. You can change this formatting using all the tools in Calc, but note that if you make any
change in the design of the Pivot Table or any updates, the formatting will return to the format
applied automatically by Calc.
For the number format in the data field, Calc uses the number format that is used in the
corresponding cell in the source list. In most cases, this is useful (for example, if the values are in
the currency format, then the corresponding cell in the result area is also formatted as currency).
However, if the result is a fraction or a percentage, the Pivot Table does not recognize that this
might be a problem; such results must either be without a unit or be displayed as a percentage.
Although you can correct the number format manually, the correction stays in effect only until the
next update.

Using shortcuts
If you use the Pivot Table very often, you might find the frequent use of the menu paths (Data >
Pivot Table > Create and Data > Group and Outline > Group) inconvenient.
For grouping, a shortcut is already defined: F12. For starting the Pivot Table, you can define your
own keyboard shortcut. If you prefer to have toolbar icons instead of keyboard shortcuts, you can
create a user-defined symbol and add it to either your own custom made toolbar or the Standard
toolbar.
For an explanation how to create keyboard shortcuts or add icons to toolbars, see Chapter 14,
Setting Up and Customizing Calc.

Using Pivot Table results elsewhere

The problem
Normally you create a reference to a value by entering the address of the cell that contains the
value. For example, the formula =C6*2 creates a reference to cell C6 and returns the doubled
value.
If this cell is located in the results area of the Pivot Table, it contains the result that was calculated
by referencing specific categories of the row and column fields. In Figure 41, the cell C6 contains
the sum of the sales values of the employee Hans in the category Sailing. The formula in the cell
C12 uses this value.
Using Pivot Table results elsewhere

23

Figure 41: Formula reference to a cell of the Pivot Table

If the underlying data or the layout of the Pivot Table changes, then you must take into account that
the sales value for Hans might appear in a different cell. Your formula still references the cell C6
and therefore uses a wrong value. The correct value is in a different location. For example, in
Figure 42, the location is now C7.

Figure 42: The value that you really want to use can be found now in a different
location.

The solution: Function GETPIVOTDATA

Use the function GETPIVOTDATA to have a reference to a value inside the Pivot Table by using
the specific identifying categories for this value. This function can be used with formulas in Calc if
you want to reuse the results from the Pivot Table elsewhere in your spreadsheet.

Syntax
The syntax has two variations:
GETPIVOTDATA(target field, Pivot Table, [ Field name / Element, ... ])
GETPIVOTDATA(Pivot Table, specification)

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Using Pivot Tables

First syntax variation

The target field specifies which data field of the Pivot Table is used within the function. If your
Pivot Table has only one data field, this entry is ignored, but you must enter it anyway.
If your Pivot Table has more than one data field, then you have to enter the field name from the
underlying data source (for example sales) or the field name of the data field itself (for example
sum sales).
The argument Pivot Table specifies the Pivot Table that you want to use. It is possible that your
document contains more than one Pivot Table. Enter here a cell reference that is inside the area of
your Pivot Table. It might be a good idea to always use the upper left corner cell of your Pivot
Table, so you can be sure that the cell will always be within your Pivot Table, even if the layout
changes.
Example: GETPIVOTDATA("sales",A1)
If you enter only the first two arguments, then the function returns the total result of the Pivot Table
(Sum sales entered as the field, will return a value of 408,765).
You can add more arguments as pairs with field name and item to retrieve specific partial sums.
In the example in Figure 41, where we want to get the partial sum of Hans for sailing, the formula
in cell C12 would look like this:

=GETPIVOTDATA("sales",A1,"employee","Hans","category","sailing")

Figure 43: First syntax variation

Second syntax variation

The argument Pivot Table has to be given in the same way as for the first syntax variation.
For the specifications, enter a list separated by spaces to specify the value you want from the
Pivot Table. This list must contain the name of the data field, if there is more than one data field;
otherwise it is not required. To select a specific partial result, add more entries in the form of
Field name[item].
In the example in Figure 41, where we want to get the partial sum of Hans for Sailing, the formula
in cell C12 would look like this:

=GETPIVOTDATA(A1,"sales employee[Hans] category[sailing]")

Using Pivot Table results elsewhere

25

Figure 44: Second syntax variation

When working with data sets containing date information, you must take care if you use the date
information in the GETPIVOTDATA function. The function will only recognize the date entry if it is
entered into the formula in exactly the same way that it appears in the data set from which the pivot
table is produced. In the example of Figure 45, an error is returned when the date format does not
match that of the data. Only with the correct format is the result returned.

Figure 45: Error produced if date information is not entered in correctly

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Using Pivot Tables