Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Office 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Setting Stable Column Widths in a PivotTable.

Setting Stable Column Widths in a PivotTable

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated July 3, 2021)

1

Stuart has been building PivotTables for a charity so that they can report on donation patterns over time. The problem he has is that he wants to permanently set the column widths in his PivotTable, but whenever the filter variables for the PivotTable are changed, the column widths reset themselves. Stuart wonders how he can permanently fix all column widths in the PivotTable so they don't change.

This is very easy to do in Excel. After your PivotTable is set up and formatted just the way you want, follow these steps if you are using Excel 2013 or a later version:

  1. Select a cell in the PivotTable.
  2. Display the PivotTable Analyze tab of the ribbon.
  3. Click the PivotTable tool at the left side of the ribbon. Excel displays some options.
  4. Click Options. Excel displays the PivotTable Options dialog box.
  5. Make sure the Layout & Format tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)

    6. Figure 1. The Layout & Format tab of the PivotTable Options dialog box.

  6. Make sure the Autofit Column Widths on Update check box is cleared.
  7. Click OK.

If you are using Excel 2007 or Excel 2010 follow these steps instead:

  1. Select a cell in the PivotTable.
  2. Display the Options tab of the ribbon.
  3. Click the Options tool in the PivotTable group. Excel displays the PivotTable Options dialog box.
  4. Make sure the Layout & Format tab is displayed.
  5. Make sure the Autofit Column Widths on Update check box is cleared.
  6. Click OK.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (759) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Office 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Setting Stable Column Widths in a PivotTable.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Counting Shaded Cells

Ever want to know how many cells in a worksheet (or a selection) are shaded in some way? You can create a handy little ...

Discover More

Replacing a Dimmer Switch

Dimmer switches can be very helpful in creating a soothing atmosphere or an alert atmosphere, all at the twist of a knob. ...

Discover More

Making Language Changes Apply to Text in Footnotes and Text Boxes

Word allows you to modify the language associated with the text in your document. How you modify the language can affect ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Counting with PivotTables

One of the ways you can use PivotTables is to generate counts of various items in a data table. This is a great technique ...

Discover More

Formatting a PivotTable

You can format PivotTables using either manual formatting or automatic formatting. You need to be careful, however, as ...

Discover More

Easy Filtering Specifications for a PivotTable

When you want to include specific records from a source table into a PivotTable, you need to employ some sort of ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 7 - 7?

2022-01-14 04:27:44

Andy

Hi, I have done everything as described and it works. However, the following is still happening and I am trying to find a solution to it:
Pivot Column headers set to "-90" (VBA), WordWrap set to false (VBA), RowHeight adjusted to 200 (VBA): When you use a slicer for the field that you use for the column headers and update the slicer selection, the row height will automatically adjust to fit.
I don't want that. Can that be prevented?
Thx, Andy

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2022 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.