Once a PivotTable has been created, it is easy to rearrange the data if necessary.

 

 

Here we have a table showing profit, by product type, across regions.

 

If we wanted to show sales figures instead of profit figures, you can remove the profit information from the data area by mouse dragging the Sum of Profit heading, in the upper left corner of the table, out of the table area to drop it anywhere outside the blue table borders.

 

This will empty the data area of the PivotTable as shown in the following image.

 

 

Once the data area has been cleared, it is just a matter of dragging and dropping the Sales field from the PivotTable Field List to the Drop Data Items Here area of the table.

 

 

If you close the PivotTable Field List, you can always get it back by clicking the field list button on the PivotTable toolbar.

 

The table will now show sales by product type across regions. The heading in the upper left corner of the table will now read Sum of Sales.

 

 

You can rearrange any of the categories of data in your table by following this process of dragging headings out of the table, and adding them to the table from the PivotTable field list.

 

You will also notice that the row, column, and page areas of the PivotTable have drop lists associated with them. The drop lists are indicated by downward pointing triangles. You can use these drop lists to rearrange your data according to specific elements in a given category. The product drop list, for example, will let you see data for only Type 1, or Type 2, or for a specific combination of types, depending on how you configure the check boxes in the drop list.

 

This table only shows data for the products of Type 1, and Type 2. These product types are specified by checking only the corresponding check boxes in the product drop list.

 

 

 

 

This is the drop list for the Product heading. All of the headings in the PivotTable with drop list checkboxes can be configured in the same way.

 

By default, the drop lists are configured to show all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the following image, the month field has been dragged to the Page area of the table. The drop list for the month field can be used to show the data for a specific month, or all of the months.