10 Steps to Adding a Timeline to an Excel 2013 PivotTable

7/30/2019 10 Steps to Adding a Timeline to an Excel 2013 PivotTable

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10 steps to adding a timeline to an

Excel 2013 PivotTableBySusan Harkinsin10 Things, August 22, 2013, 12:23 PM PST

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Get to know Excel's new timeline tool for PivotTables, step by step.
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Excel 2013 includes a new timeline tool for PivotTables. A timeline lets you filter records by

dates, similar to a slicer. In this 10-step article, we'll generate a simple PivotTable, add a

timeline, and explore the different ways to use it to filter data. Combining PivotTables,timelines, and slicers is a great start to an interesting and easy-to-use dashboard.

1: Insert the PivotTable framework

PivotTables are great tools for filtering and summarizing data. The sheet in Figure A lists

nearly three dozen records that span three years. A few of the dates occur more than once,

but most of them don't. The timeline tool handles duplicates with ease.

Figure A


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This data lends itself to a PivotTable.

To execute the PivotTable wizard, click anywhere inside the data and then do the following:

1. Click the Insert tab.2. Click PivotTable in the Tables group.3. In the resulting dialog, choose Existing Workbook from the location options and click cell

F1, as shown in Figure B.

4. Click OK.Figure B


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You can insert a PivotTable into a new sheet, but insert this one in the active sheet.

2: Arrange the data

Now you're ready to arrange the data by dragging fields to the appropriate areas. Figure

Cshows the example table's setup.

Figure C


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Arrange the table's data for filtering.

3: Filter as is

The date filter lets you filter the table by specific dates. You can even select multiple dates

as follows:

1. Click the All drop-down arrow and check the Select Multiple Items option. Doing so willselect all the dates.

2. Uncheck the (All) option at the time and select 2/28/2010 and 5/31/2010, as showninFigure D.

3. Click OK to see the results in Figure E.Figure D


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Select multiple dates.

Figure E

The PivotTable displays records for 2/28/2010 and 5/31/2010.


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To specify a time span, select all the times involved. For instance, displaying dates for 2010

would require selecting all 12 2010 records, but you could do it. Unfortunately, filtering by

the day, month, year, or quarter would require specialized knowledge. It's not something

your average user could do.

4: Insert a timelineNow, let's add a new timeline tool. To do so, click inside the PivotTable and click the

contextual Analyze tab. In the Filter group, click Insert Timeline. The resulting dialog will

display the date field. Check it, as shown in Figure F, and click OK. The results are shown

in Figure G.

Figure F

Select the date field.

Figure G


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The default timeline displays months for each year.

5: Use the timeline as is

To update records in the PivotTable using the new timeline, simply adjust the timeline by

clicking a tile. Figure H shows the records for February 2010. The scroll bar below lets you

browse all the tiles. You can also increase the width of a timeline to expose all its tiles.

Figure H

Click tiles to update the PivotTable.


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Choose another date component from the dropdown.

Figure K

A single click displays data for the first quarter of 2011.

8: Add a slicer

You can use slicers with the timeline for more specific filtering. For instance, you can add a

personnel slicer to filter the date data as follows:

1. Click inside the PivotTable and click the contextual Analyze tab2. In the Filter group, click Insert Slicer.


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3. In the resulting dialog, choose a field to filter by. In Figure L, I've chosen Personnel.4. Click OK.Figure L

You can use a slicer to filter the PivotTable, with or without the timeline.

9: Use the slicer and the timeline together

With the new slicer, you can quickly filter the data by personnel and dates. To see how this

works, check Martha in the slicer. Then, click the Q1 tile for 2011. Figure M shows the

results -- a single record for just Martha even though two other records exist for Q1. Youcould add a slicer for each field, if doing so makes sense.

Figure M


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Combine slicers to further hone the PivotTable's displayed records.

10: Use the slicer aloneYou might want to disregard the timeline and use only the slicer to filter the PivotTable. As

long as any timeline tile or tiles are selected, the slicer will reflect the values for only those

time periods. To remove the timeline from the selection, click the Clear Filter option in the

timeline's top-right corner. Figure N shows all records for Luke after clicking the timeline's

Clear Filter option. Slicers also have Clear Filter options.

Figure N

Click Clear Filter to disregard the date field.

10 Steps to Adding a Timeline to an Excel 2013 PivotTable

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