3.2 PivotTables beyond the basics
Your pivots answer comparative questions, not just totals.
Before:02. Excel — Formulas & FunctionsUnlocks:05. Excel — Charts & Dashboards
Beyond totals, pivots can answer comparative questions: share of a parent, running totals, ranks and differences, all through the show-values-as settings. This topic extends the basic pivot work with calculated fields, slicers and timelines driving several pivots at once, and GETPIVOTDATA for building a tidy report on top. It sits after the basics because everything here assumes the four wells are already familiar. The common confusion is GETPIVOTDATA appearing uninvited when a cell references a pivot; here it is taught deliberately, as the tool it actually is.
Work through these
Calculated fields and calculated items
Adding your own calculation inside a pivot, rather than in the source data, keeps the calculation with the report. It has limits, and knowing them prevents a confusing wrong answer.
Show values as: % of parent, running total, rank, difference
A value can be displayed as a percentage of its parent, a running total, a rank, or a difference from another period. Each turns a table of totals into a comparison. This setting answers most of the questions people ask about a report.
Slicers and timelines across several pivots
One set of buttons can control several pivots at once, which is what makes a multi-chart report behave as a single thing. Connecting them is a step people frequently miss.
GETPIVOTDATA and building a report on top of a pivot
Referring to a pivot's values from elsewhere in the workbook has its own function. It is more robust than pointing at cell addresses, which move when the pivot changes shape.
Practice file
- xl-05-pivot-sales.xlsx
800 rows of fictional sales data for PivotTables, grouping, % of total and a first measure.
Opens in Excel. Every name, number and address in these files is made up. No account needed to download.
Sign in to keep your progress.
Free resources
We haven't checked most of these for screen reader use yet.
Links last checked 29 Aug 2026.
Stuck here?
Ask a mentor. A real person answers, and they can see exactly which topic you're on. Usually within a couple of working days.
Checking your session…
Topics shown in module order.