<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Deleting, copying, moving pivot tables

You can also delete, copy and move your created pivot tables. The following paragraphs explain exactly how to do this.

Tip: To delete, copy or move, it is always necessary to precisely mark the entire area of the pivot table report. The easiest way to do this is to place the mouse in a cell of the report and use the key combination Ctrl+A to select it. Or use the ribbon command Home | group Selection | Select all.

Deleting pivot tables

Deleting pivot tables works similarly to the standard procedures for deleting. Note, however, that the pivot table report must be selected as a whole; individual cells cannot be deleted separately.

So, select the entire pivot table report and use one of the following methods to delete:

▪Press the Del key on the keyboard

▪Use the ribbon command Home | group Contents | Delete or open the context menu by right-clicking with the mouse on the pivot table report and selecting Delete special.

Copying pivot tables

You can copy pivot tables anytime and duplicate them in the same worksheet to a different position or in a new worksheet. The copied pivot table will have the same values as the original. Even after you click the Refresh data button, the copied pivot table adopts changed data from the source table.

In the copied pivot table, however, you still have the opportunity to configure it independently of the copied original with regard to field arrangement, formatting, etc. This gives you different views of the reports for the same source data.

Select the entire pivot table report to copy it and proceed according to one of the following methods:

▪Use the ribbon command Home | Copy and then Home | Paste

▪Right-click on the pivot table report to open the context menu and select Copy and subsequently Paste

▪Drag the pivot table report with the mouse to the desired position and press the Ctrl key to drop it before releasing the mouse.

▪Or simply use the key combination Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V

You can now decide which report you want to work on by clicking in the respective pivot table report. The field list appears corresponding to the selected report.

Moving pivot tables

Select the entire pivot table report and use the left mouse button to drag the selected range to a free position on the worksheet. Make sure that you do not overlap the source data range.

If you want to move the pivot table report to another worksheet, use one of these options:

▪Choose the ribbon command Insert | group Tables | Pivot table . Alternatively, right click in the pivot table to open the context menu and select the command Modify pivot table areas. In the dialog box, enter the target range and the desired worksheet (see Updating pivot tables and changing data range)

▪Copy the pivot table report as described above, switch to the desired worksheet in an empty space and paste the copy from the clipboard. Then remove the remaining pivot table report from the former place.

Some restrictive notes on copying and moving source/target range

Copying and moving data ranges – both the source range and the target range (the pivot table report) – is not fully possible in the same way as you are familiar with from normal tables. The following rules should be considered:

▪Copy & paste of source range/target range: It is possible to first copy the source range of your data and paste it to another position, but the pivot table is still referenced to the position of the original source range and not to the new position. This means that the former cell range is still addressed when the data is refreshed, and if it has been removed, an error message appears. This restriction also applies if you copy and paste the source range together with the target range. Copying and pasting only the target range to another position is possible without any problems.

▪Drag & drop the source range/target range: If you drag the selected source range to another position with the mouse, the restriction described above does not apply. The pivot data will be referenced to the new cell range and will be correct addressed when updating the data. Dragging and dropping only the target range or together with the source range is also possible without any problems.

▪Cut & paste the source range/target range: Cutting is neither possible for the source range nor for the target range. An error message appears when using this command.

In the following table you can see the options once again clearly summarized: