Help needed with pivot tables

D

danielz

Hi all !

Apologies if this is the wrong place to post this question (or if it is
a stupid question - more likely!) as this is my first post.

I would like to do a pivot table on some data I have - the only problem
is that the data is not completely filled in, ie:

Contact 1 Product 1
Product 2
Product 3
Contact 2 Product 1
...

instead of :

Contact 1 Product 1
Contact 1 Product 2
Contact 1 Product 3
Contact 2 Product 1

Is there any way to get Excel to deal with this elegantly ?

Thank you !

Daniel
 
D

Dave Peterson

If you want to keep it a pivottable, then you're going to have to live with it.

But if you convert it to values (it won't be a pivottable anymore), you can fill
those empty cells using the techniques at Debra Dalgleish's site:
http://www.contextures.com/xlDataEntry02.html

You may want to copy that worksheet, then convert the copy to values (if you'll
still need the pivottable).
 
G

gjcase

If I understand you, your issue is that you should have 2 columns o
data, but in some cases the first column is blank & the second one ha
shifted into the first?

There's probably a better way to do this, but I would do th
following:
Assume your data is in columns A & B, starting in row 2 (titles in ro
1)

1) In C2, place =IF(ISBLANK(B2),C1,A2) and copy it down.
2) In D2, place =IF(ISBLANK(B2),A2,B2) and copy it down.

You now have 2 new coolumns you can use for a pivot table.

If the data is not such that the 2nd column is blank, you might have t
adjust the formulae (For instance if it contains a space, you could us
=IF(B2=" ",C1, A2)

HTH

---GJ
 
D

Dave Peterson

I read your original post incorrectly. You don't already have the pivottable.

But the techniques at Debra's site will still work for you.
 
D

danielz

Thank you Dave -- Debra's site was exactly what I needed ! (and yes, I
didnt have a pivot table just yet -- thats what I wanted to generate)
Amazing - I spent over 3 hours yesterday trying to figure out a
solution and you gave it to me :)

Gjcase, thank you also -- the 2nd column info hasnt shifted to the
first column (but you can still use your technique)

You guys are the best !

Daniel
 
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