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Abstract 

In this video, we show you how to get to the field settings dialog box, the key to controlling fields.

Transcript 

Each field that you add to a Pivot Table has attributes that you can set in a dialog box called Field Settings. These attributes include things like the name of the field, the type of calculation used, layout options, and more.

Let’s take a look.

Once you add a field to a Pivot Table, you can view and change attributes of the field using the Field Settings dialog box. One way to get to this dialog box is to use the drop-down menu for that field in the Field List pane, and select Value Field Settings, or Field Settings from the menu.

The settings you have access to will vary depending on whether the field is a Value field, or a Label field.

For example, if we check the settings for the field Total Sales, we’ll see that we can change the math function used to calculate the summary, and control the way in which the summary is displayed. We also have access to Number Format settings. We’ll cover these options in more detail in upcoming videos.

On the other hand, if we look at the settings for the Product field, which is a label field, we’ll see options for Subtotals and Filters, and options for Layout and Printing.

The Field Settings dialog also displays the name of the field in the source data, and, a way to control the name as it appears in the pivot table itself.

There are several ways that you can get to the Field Settings dialog box:

You can use the drop-down menu in the Field List pane, as we’ve seen.

You can right-click a value or item in the Pivot table and choose Field Settings.

And finally, you can select an item in the pivot table and click the Field Settings button on the Options tab of the PivotTable Tools Ribbon.

No matter which method you use, you’ll arrive at the same place.

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AuthorMicrosoft Most Valuable Professional Award

Dave Bruns

Hi - I'm Dave Bruns, and I run Exceljet with my wife, Lisa. Our goal is to help you work faster in Excel. We create short videos, and clear examples of formulas, functions, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and charts.