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The instructions on this page apply for using pivot tables with ExcelWriter 7.6 and above. If you are using ExcelWriter 7.5 or earlier please use the instructions on Templates and Pivot Tables in Older Versions

A pivot table report is an interactive table which allows the user to have multiple views of data. By changing the view, the pivot table report can show different summaries of the data or drill down to display more details for particular areas. ExcelWriter allows you to include pivot tables in an ExcelWriter template file. If there are pivot tables in the original template file, they will be preserved when the template is processed using ExcelWriter.

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When using the ExcelApplication object to modify an existing spreadsheet, the following steps are not required; these steps are necessary only when opening a file containing data markers (i.e. an ExcelWriter template).

What is a data marker?

An ExcelWriter template is a file created in Microsoft Excel that contains data markers. A data marker is a cell value beginning with %%= or %%=$ that specifies a database column, variable, or array to insert in the spreadsheet cell or column containing the marker. ExcelWriter gets values at runtime from a data source and imports them to spreadsheet data markers.

For detailed information on data markers, see Creating Data Markers.

Data markers and pivot tables

ExcelTemplate data markers can be used to bind data to a template for use with a pivot table. When ExcelTemplate binds the data to the data markers, it also updates the range that the pivot table uses as a pivot table cache. By setting the pivot tables to refresh on opening, they will automatically bring in the new values from the pivot table cache.

How to Create an ExcelWriter Template with pivot tables

  1. Create a template file containing data markers, each with their own column heading (see How To Use Templates). Do not create any of the pivot tables yet.
    !Data Markers.png!
    # In Excel 2003: Use Microsoft Excel's pivot table and PivotChart Report Wizard to create a pivot table referencing the range of cells containing the column headings and data markers.
    !PivotTableWizard.png!
    *In Excel 2007 or above:* Use the Ribbon controls (in Excel 2007 and beyond) to create a pivot table referencing the range of cells containing the column headings and data markers.
    !PivotTableRibbon.png!
    # Specify the initial layout and field formatting for the pivot table. Place the pivot table in any worksheet you desire. (See the Excel documentation for more details about creating your pivot table.)
    # In Excel 2003: Before clicking "Finish" in the Wizard, click the "Options" button and make sure that "Refresh on open" is checked.
    !RefreshOnOpen2003.png!
    *In Excel 2007 or above:* After creating the Pivot Table, right-click on the table and select "pivot table Options". Click on the Data tab and make sure that "Refresh data on opening the file" is checked. Also, make sure to select None from the Number of items to retain per field
    !PT_DataOptions_New.png!
    # In your newly created pivot table, you will now see the data markers. Data markers in the pivot table will be ignored by ExcelWriter, which will instead update the data source.
    !Finished Table.png!
    # Repeat steps 2 through 5 for every pivot table you wish to create. Finish creating your template file and save it in the location on your server which will be accessed by your ExcelWriter script.
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