To focus on specific data in a pivot table, you can use report filters or field filters. You can also hide Pivot Table detail without filtering — use the expand and collapse buttons to show or hide details.
Pivot Table Report Filters
This screen shot shows a pivot table with East selected in the Region report filter.
However, using those filters affects the pivot table subtotals and grand totals. Only the amounts for the filtered data are included in the results.
Collapse or Expand the Fields
Another option for hiding the pivot table details is to collapse one or more of the items, so only its subtotal is showing. In the screenshot below, I’m about to click on the Collapse button for the Bars category in the pivot table.
The Bars data is still in the pivot table, but only its subtotal is showing, not the City detail rows. The subtotals for East and Bars are not affected.
Show the Details Again
After you’re finished focusing on the specific data, you can show all the detail rows again.
A quick way to show all the details for a field is to right-click on an item in the field, such as Bars.
Then, in the popup menu, click Expand/Collapse, and click Expand Entire Field.
Watch the Pivot Table Video
To see the steps for hiding or showing the detail items in a pivot table, watch this short Excel video.
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Hi Debra,
Another useful tool is the use of Slicers
Cheers
Kanti
@Kanti, thanks for the reminder! Slicers are a great new tool in Excel 2010.