Seeing What Changed in a PivotTable

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 3, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365


When Guy refreshes a PivotTable, he wonders if there is any way to highlight the values that changed as a result of the refreshing.

There is no capability to do this within Excel itself. Since a PivotTable is an aggregation of source data, it is subject to change as that source data changes. In this way it is similar in behavior to a regular formula within Excel—change the data on which the formula is based, and the results of the formula change. The difference, of course, is that the formula changes automatically as the source data changes, and the PivotTable must be updated through user action. In neither case, however, is a modified result indicated in the workbook.

The obvious way around this is to save your data before doing an update. That way you'll have your original, pre-update values to compare with your after-update values. With a PivotTable, you can select the entire table, press Ctrl+C, and paste the values into a new worksheet. You can then refresh the PivotTable and, on the pasted data, use conditional formats to compare the values to what is now in the PivotTable.

The only drawback to this approach, of course, is that the comparison becomes more complex if the refreshing modifies the structure of the PivotTable, such as adding or removing rows or columns.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (13348) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365.

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

Listing All Styles in the Style Drop-Down List

Want to see all the built-in styles in the Style drop-down list? Here's the quick way to do it.

Discover More

Weird Characters in File Names

If you ever end up with file names that contain percent signs followed by numbers, it could be due to some sort of file ...

Discover More

Returning an ANSI Value

Need to know the character value of the first character in a string? It's easy to do, without using a macro, by using the ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! This guide will provide you with all the information you need to automate any task in Excel and save time and effort. Learn how to extend Excel's functionality with VBA to create solutions not possible with the standard features. Includes latest information for Excel 2024 and Microsoft 365. Check out Mastering Excel VBA Programming today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Formatting a PivotTable

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

Discover More

Updating a PivotChart Automatically

If you expect your PivotCharts to update automatically when you update a PivotTables, you may want to alter, slightly, ...

Discover More

PivotTable Aggregating Incorrect Data

PivotTables can be a great tool for analyzing large amounts of data. If you have a PivotTable that is pulling information ...

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.

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 eight more than 2?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


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.