Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 6, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365
Joe uses PivotTables a lot at his company. In creating the PivotTables they would use one workbook for the PivotTables that were generated based on source data in a second workbook. In working with the PivotTables they needed a way to quickly "re-point" their pivot cache to a different data source. Unfortunately they found that re-pointing one PivotTable to a different source workbook only created a second pivot cache, thereby causing a much larger PivotTable workbook and a slower response time in Excel. They needed to actually re-point each PivotTable to the new data source before the old pivot cache would disappear, and some of the workbooks had over 50 PivotTables!
They found a solution, however, that allowed them to very easily make the switch over to the new data source. Assume, for the sake of this tip, that File1 is the workbook containing the PivotTables, File2 is the current data source workbook, and File3 is the new data source workbook. Further, all the PivotTables in File1 share the same pivot cache which, in turn, points to the data in File2. These are the steps they took to switch everything over so File1 finally pointed to File3:
That's all there is to it; File3 is now the new data source for the PivotTables in File1. As well, any fields that do not exist in File3 will also be removed from the PivotTable reports when you next open File1.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (8267) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Pointing PivotTables to Different Data.
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2024-10-19 08:29:09
John O'Dwyer
My name is John O'Dwyer.I am using excel 2016.I put data in File 2xlsx and File3xlsx open Excel. I create a new workbook. I go to Data tab, New Query From File From Workbook. I select File2.xlsx and import the data into a new worksheet. I select the imported data and insert a PivotTable and I choose to place the PivotTable in a new worksheet. In the PivotTable Fields pane I drag Product to Row area Sales to Values area and region to Columns area. I then save this workbook as File1.xlsx. I then I then do the above nine points but I can't get File 1 to point to File 3. Can someone please help?
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