XL98: How to Use PivotTable Calculated Fields and Calculated Items (181219)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition
This article was previously published under Q181219

SUMMARY

Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition introduces two new features that you can use to customize PivotTables; these features are calculated fields and calculated items. This article describes the function of each feature and includes examples for using the features in PivotTables.

MORE INFORMATION

Calculated Fields

A calculated field is a user-defined field in a PivotTable that can perform calculations by using the contents of other fields in the PivotTable. A calculated field formula can refer to one or more fields. For example, a calculated field named "Profit" that you define as follows

=Sales-Expense

refers to two fields named "Sales" and "Expense" in the PivotTable.

Example:

The following example uses a calculated field in a PivotTable. This example subtracts the values for the Expense field from the values for the Sales field to give a subtotal for a new field named "Profit." To see this example, follow these steps:
  1. In a new workbook type the following data: 
          A1 : Month   B1 : Region   C1 :Sales   D1 : Expenses
      A2 : Jan     B2 : East     C2 : 1100   D2 :      400
      A3 : Jan     B3 : West     C3 : 2400   D3 :      700
      A4 : Jan     B4 : North    C4 : 3700   D4 :      900
      A5 : Jan     B5 : South    C5 : 2800   D5 :      800
      A6 : Feb     B6 : East     C6 : 2300   D6 :      700
      A7 : Feb     B7 : West     C7 : 2400   D7 :      800
      A8 : Feb     B8 : North    C8 : 3100   D8 :     1100
      A9 : Feb     B9 : South    C9 : 2000   D9 :      600
      A10: Mar     B10: East     C10: 1500   D10:      300
      A11: Mar     B11: West     C11: 2600   D11:      500
      A12: Mar     B12: North    C12: 2200   D12:      400
      A13: Mar     B13: South    C13: 3900   D13:     1300
  2. Select cell A1. On the Data menu, click PivotTable Report. In step 1 of the wizard, click Microsoft Excel list or database and click Next.
  3. In step 2 of the wizard, click Next for the Range $A$1:$D$13. In step 3 of the wizard, drag the field Month to the COLUMN area. Drag the field Region to the ROW area and drag the fields Sales and Expenses to the DATA area. Click Finish. The PivotTable appears on a new worksheet and resembles the following table. 
                                       Month
      Region   Data                Jan    Feb    Mar    Grand Total

      East     Sum of Sales       3700   3100   2200           9000
               Sum of Expenses     900   1100    400           2400
      North    Sum of Sales       1100   2300   1500           4900
               Sum of Expenses     400    700    300           1400
      South    Sum of Sales       2400   2400   2600           7400
               Sum of Expenses     700    800    500           2000
      West     Sum of Sales       2800   2000   3900           8700
               Sum of Expenses     800    600   1300           2700

      Total Sum of Sales         10000   9800  10200          30000
      Total Sum of Expenses       2800   3200   2500           8500
  4. After the PivotTable appears, click any item under Region. On the PivotTable toolbar, click PivotTable, point to Formulas, and then click Calculated Field.
  5. In the "Insert Calculated Item in 'Region'" dialog box, type Profit in the Name box.
  6. In the Formula box, type =Sales-Expenses and click OK.

    Or, you can select the field name in the Fields box. To insert the selected field in the formula, click Insert Field.
The PivotTable displays the Profit calculated field as a new field under Data. The resulting PivotTable resembles the following table. 
                                Month
   Region   Data                Jan    Feb    Mar    Grand Total

   East     Sum of Sales       3700   3100   2200           9000
            Sum of Expenses     900   1100    400           2400
            Sum of Profit      2800   2000   1800           6600
   North    Sum of Sales       1100   2300   1500           4900
            Sum of Expenses     400    700    300           1400
            Sum of Profit       700   1600   1200           3500
   South    Sum of Sales       2400   2400   2600           7400
            Sum of Expenses     700    800    500           2000
            Sum of Profit      1700   1600   2100           5400
   West     Sum of Sales       2800   2000   3900           8700
            Sum of Expenses     800    600   1300           2700
            Sum of Profit      2000   1400   2600           6000

   Total Sum of Sales         10000   9800  10200          30000
   Total Sum of Expenses       2800   3200   2500           8500
   Total Sum of Profit         7200   6600   7700          21500

Calculated Items

A calculated item is a user-defined item in a PivotTable field that can perform calculations by using the contents of other fields and items in the PivotTable. A calculated item formula can include only items from the field in which you create the calculated item. For example, you can define a calculated item named "NorthWest" as "=North+West" in the field named "Region."

Example:

The following example uses a calculated item in a PivotTable. This example totals the values for two items, North and West, in the Region field to give a total for the new region named "NorthWest." To see this example, follow these steps:
  1. In a new workbook type the following data: 
          A1 : Month   B1 : Region   C1 :Sales
      A2 : Jan     B2 : East     C2 : 1100
      A3 : Jan     B3 : West     C3 : 2400
      A4 : Jan     B4 : North    C4 : 3700
      A5 : Jan     B5 : South    C5 : 2800
      A6 : Feb     B6 : East     C6 : 2300
      A7 : Feb     B7 : West     C7 : 2400
      A8 : Feb     B8 : North    C8 : 3100
      A9 : Feb     B9 : South    C9 : 2000
      A10: Mar     B10: East     C10: 1500
      A11: Mar     B11: West     C11: 2600
      A12: Mar     B12: North    C12: 2200
      A13: Mar     B13: South    C13: 3900
  2. Select cell A1. On the Data menu, click PivotTable Report. In step 1 of the wizard, click Microsoft Excel list or database and click Next.
  3. In step 2 of the wizard, click Next for the Range $A$1:$C$13. In step 3 of the wizard, drag the field Month to the COLUMN area. Drag the field Region to the ROW area and drag the field Sales to the DATA area. Click Finish. The PivotTable appears on a new worksheet and resembles the following table: 
          Sum of Sales      Month
      Region            Jan    Feb    Mar    Grand Total

      East             3700   3100   2200           9000
      North            1100   2300   1500           4900
      South            2400   2400   2600           7400
      West             2800   2000   3900           8700

      Grand Total     10000   9800  10200          30000
  4. After the PivotTable appears, click any item under Region. On the PivotTable toolbar, click PivotTable, point to Formulas, and then click Calculated Item.
  5. In the "Insert Calculated Item in 'Region'" dialog box, type NorthWest in the Name box.
  6. In the Formula box, type =North+West and click OK.

    Or, you can select the items for each field by clicking the field name in the Fields box, and then clicking the corresponding item for that field in the Items box. To insert the selected item in the formula, click Insert Item.
The PivotTable displays the calculated item as a new region. The resulting table resembles the following table. 
   Sum of Sales      Month
   Region            Jan    Feb    Mar    Grand Total

   East             3700   3100   2200           9000
   North            1100   2300   1500           4900
   South            2400   2400   2600           7400
   West             2800   2000   3900           8700
   NorthWest        3900   4300   5400          13600

   Grand Total     13900  14100  15600          43600

REFERENCES

For more information about performing calculations in PivotTables, click Contents And Index on the Help menu (or on the Balloon Help menu if you are using a version of the Macintosh operating system earlier than 8.0), click the Index button in Microsoft Excel Help, type the following text

pivottables, calculated fields

-or-

pivottables, calculated items

and then click Show Topics. Select the "Create a calculated field in a PivotTable" or "Create a calculated item in a PivotTable" topic, and click Go To. If you are unable to find the information you need, ask the Office Assistant.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:9/11/2002
Keywords:kbhowto KB181219
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.