Excel Pivot Powerhouse: Pivot Timeline to Title - Episode 2170

Microsoft Excel Tutorial: Show the dates chosen from a pivot table Timeline to a readable title.

Welcome to the MrExcel netcast, where we bring you the best tips and tricks for mastering Excel. In this episode, we will be tackling a question from Nick in Utah about converting a Pivot Table timeline into a printable title. Nick and I met at the Excel Appaloosa conference in Dallas and he brought up a common issue that many Excel users face - timelines. While Pivot Tables are a powerful tool, timelines can be a bit tricky to work with. But fear not, I have a solution that will make your Pivot Table timeline more user-friendly and visually appealing.

To start off, we will create a simple Pivot Table showing customer and revenue data. We will then use the Value Filters option to only show the top 5 customers and remove the Grand Totals. Next, we will insert a timeline from the Analyze tab to allow us to filter the data by a specific month or period. However, when Nick prints his report, he doesn't want the timeline to be included. Instead, he wants a clear and concise heading to show which dates are being displayed in the report.

To achieve this, we will create a duplicate Pivot Table and make some changes to it. This version of the Pivot Table will be hidden from view and will only be used to generate the desired title. We will add the Date field twice to the Values area and change the calculation to show the earliest and latest dates. Then, using the TEXT function, we will concatenate the dates into a readable format and add some text to create a title. This title will automatically update when the timeline is changed, making it a dynamic and efficient solution.

But wait, there's more! We will also cover a bonus tip on how to make the title look more polished when only one month is selected in the timeline. This involves using a conditional formula to check if the from and through dates are the same and adjusting the title accordingly. And just like that, we have a professional-looking title for our Pivot Table report.

If you want to learn more about Pivot Tables and other Excel features, be sure to check out my book "Power Excel with MrExcel". It's the 2017 edition with over 600 Excel mysteries solved. Click the "I" in the top right-hand corner for more information.

I want to thank Nick for his question and for inspiring this episode. And as always, thank you for tuning in to the MrExcel netcast. Don't forget to subscribe and hit the notification bell to stay updated on our latest tips and tricks. See you next time for another netcast from MrExcel.

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Table of Contents:
(00:00) Converting a Pivot Table Timeline to a Printable Title
(00:20) Creating a Pivot Table
(00:30) Adding a timeline to the Pivot Table
(01:01) Changing the timeline to show different time periods
(01:26) Creating a printable title for the Pivot Table
(03:45) Dealing with single month selections
(04:29) Clicking Like really helps the algorithm

Copy the pivot table that is already tied to the timeline and paste it out of view
Change that pivot table to have the date field twice in the Values area
Double-click each heading to get to Field Settings. Choose Min in the first cell and Max in the second cell.
Use the text function to concatenate together a useful heading

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