XL2000: "PivotTable Field Name Is Not Valid..." Error Message When Refreshing, Creating PivotTable Report (213955)

ERROR MESSAGE

When you create a new PivotTable or refresh data for an existing PivotTable (by clicking Refresh Data on the Data menu), you may receive the following error message:

The PivotTable field name is not valid. To create a PivotTable, you must use data that is organized as a list with labeled columns. If you are changing the name of a PivotTable field, you must type a new name for the field.

NOTE: Microsoft Office 2000 has built-in functionality that allows you to get more information about difficult-to-troubleshoot alerts or error messages. If you want to enable this functionality for this and other error messages in Microsoft Office 2000, please download the Microsoft Office 2000 Customizable Alerts file from the Microsoft Office Update Web site at the following address:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=8FBEE1D3-C5BB-4A36-A2F7-DC63DE2A818C

NOTE: If you reached this article by clicking the Web Info button in an error message, you already have Customizable Alerts enabled.

THINGS TO TRY

To resolve this problem, use either of the following methods.

Method 1: Remove Empty Cells

Modify the first row so that it does not contain any empty cells.

Method 2: Select a Cell Range with No Empty Cells in the First Row

Change the range the PivotTable references to a range where the first row does not contain empty cells. To change or determine the range of cells referenced by an existing PivotTable, follow these steps:

Select a cell within the PivotTable.
On the Data menu, click PivotTable Report and Print Chart Report.
On the PivotTable and PivotChart Wizard - Step 3 of 3 page, click Back to display the PivotTable and PivotChart Wizard - Step 2 of 3 page.
The current range for the PivotTable is displayed in the Range box. If you need to modify this range, type a new range in the Range box.
Click Finish.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about PivotTables, click Microsoft Excel Help on the Help menu, type Create a PivotTable Report in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.