Excel like a finance pro.
Pivot tables · Basics
Drilling to details
Shows the source rows behind any total.
When to use it
Double-clicking any value cell creates a new sheet with the source rows behind that number. The fastest audit of a pivot total.
The shape of it
- How
Double-click a value cell. Excel creates a new sheet with the underlying rows.
Worked examples
Drill to rows
Double-click the West total → A new sheet listing every West record
See what is in a number.
Everything
Double-click a grand total → All source rows
Everything.
Disable
PivotTable Analyze, Options, Data, uncheck Enable show details → Double-click does nothing
Lock it down for shared files.
Worth knowing
- Delete the drill sheets afterwards; they pile up.
- The drill shows the cached data, which may be stale.
- Works on Data Model pivots with a row limit.
Where it goes wrong
- Accidental double-clicks create sheets people do not notice.
- Drill sheets are snapshots, not live.
Related
Learn the moves here — or let Wauvel run them on your numbers.
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