Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 14, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365
Nancy creates a lot of PivotTables and likes the old layout better than the default set up in Excel 2010 and later versions. Every time she creates a PivotTable she has to go to PivotTableOptions | Display | Classic PivotTable Layout. Nancy wonders if there is a way she can make the classic display the default.
For most versions of Excel there is no way to set this default, but it is possible to make the process a bit less painful. I created a PivotTable and left it empty, with nothing defined in the various sections of the PivotTable. With the PivotTable sheet visible, I turned on the macro recorder and recorded just the steps that Nancy mentioned, above. Here's what was recorded:
Sub Macro1() ' ' Macro1 Macro ' ' With ActiveSheet.PivotTables("PivotTable1") .InGridDropZones = True .RowAxisLayout xlTabularRow End With End Sub
As you can see, there isn't much (programmatically) to changing back to classic layout—all you need to do is issue two statements that affect the PivotTable. This macro can be improved just a bit, however, by making it more "universal."
Sub PivotTableClassic() Dim pt As PivotTable For Each pt In ActiveSheet.PivotTables pt.InGridDropZones = True pt.RowAxisLayout xlTabularRow Next pt End Sub
This version of the macro steps through each of the PivotTables on the current worksheet (if any) and applies those two statements that set them to classic layout.
The best idea we've been able to come up with is to assign this macro to the Quick Access Toolbar or to a shortcut key. Immediately after creating the macro, you can click the QAT button or press the shortcut key and Excel makes all the PivotTables on the sheet classic.
Notice, just a bit earlier that I said "for most versions of Excel" that you couldn't set the default. In late 2017 or early 2018, Microsoft actually added a way that you can set the default. This ability was "pushed out" to those who subscribe to Office 365. This means that it is available to those using Excel 2016—at least those using Excel 2016 in Office 365 and Excel 2019. (If you use a stand-alone version of Excel 2016 you don't have this capability. Sorry!)
To see if you can set this default, start by displaying the File tab of the ribbon, and then click on Options. This displays, of course, the Excel Options dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
Figure 1. The Excel Options dialog box.
Notice that near the upper-right corner of the dialog box there is a Data option. This option isn't available on all versions of Excel; it was the option added in that update to Excel 2016 that I mentioned.
Assuming your version of Excel has that option available, follow these steps from this point:
Figure 2. The Display tab of the PivotTable Options dialog box.
You are now set—classic design layout will be the default as you create your new PivotTables. It won't affect any PivotTables previously created, but at least you are good to go from here on out.
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3576) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365.
Save Time and Supercharge Excel! Automate virtually any routine task and save yourself hours, days, maybe even weeks. Then, learn how to make Excel do things you thought were simply impossible! Mastering advanced Excel macros has never been easier. Check out Excel 2010 VBA and Macros today!
PivotTables are used to analyze huge amounts of data. The number of rows used in a PivotTable depends on the type of ...
Discover MoreTired of your data being sorted when you create a PivotTable? Excel allows you to specify how the sorting should occur by ...
Discover MoreIf you modify the data on which a PivotTable is based, you'll need to refresh the table so it reflects the modified data. ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2020-11-13 15:37:53
Joe
Thanks! Excel options did the trick.
2019-05-01 13:41:51
D Fields
The new table format is nearly worthless for anything I ever have to do. Recording a Macro to run every time I create a new pivot seems like a very clunky workaround.
Microsoft needs to learn that making changes just for the sake of change is not a value add to the customer. Wee need to be able to customize the default to better work for our needs.
That this is not a function we can set as our preferred default select is ridiculous.
Thank you for posting this. I now know at least that I didn't just miss a setting somewhere. I always find value here even if the answers are not the ones I wanted or expected.
2019-01-14 14:38:45
Frank W Bluemke
This does not work for me! I have the new options dialog box and it saves my selections but not when i create a new pivot table!
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2023 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments