How to Delete a Pivot Table in Excel

Delete a Pivot Table in a Microsoft Excel Workbook

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated June 19, 2020

Applies to: Microsoft^® Excel^® 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (Windows)

A pivot table can be deleted in an Excel workbook in several ways. You can delete a pivot table, convert a pivot table to values or clear data and customizations from a pivot table to reset it. When a pivot table is created from source data in a workbook, Excel creates a pivot cache in the background. If you delete a pivot table or a source worksheet with the original data, Excel still retains the cache.

Recommended article: 10 Great Excel Pivot Table Shortcuts

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Deleting a pivot table

To delete a pivot table:

1. Select a cell in the pivot table.
2. Click the PivotTable Tools Analyze or Options tab in the Ribbon.
3. In the Actions group, click Select. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Click Entire PivotTable.
5. Press Delete.

Below is the Select All command in the Ribbon:

You can select an entire pivot table by selecting a cell in the pivot table and then pressing Ctrl + A. However, if you have applied filters in the pivot table, Ctrl + A will not select the entire pivot table.

You can also delete a pivot table by deleting the worksheet on which it appears (assuming there is no other data on the sheet) or by deleting all of the rows on which the pivot table appears.

Deleting a pivot table and converting it to values

You can delete a pivot table and convert it to values. This can be useful if you want to share the pivot table summary information with clients or colleagues.

To delete a pivot table and convert it to values:

1. Select a cell in the pivot table.
2. Click the PivotTable Tools Analyze or Options tab in the Ribbon.
3. In the Actions group, click Select. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Click Entire PivotTable.
5. Right-click any cell in the selected pivot table.
6. Click Copy. You can also press Ctrl + C.
7. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon.
8. In the Clipboard group, click Paste. A drop-down menu appears.
9. Click Paste Values. The pivot table should be deleted and replaced with values.

Below is the Paste drop-down menu in Excel:

If you copy and paste a pivot table using Ctrl + C and then Ctrl + V, Excel will make a copy of the pivot table, not the values.

You can also copy and paste pivot table values in another worksheet or workbook as well. If you press Ctrl + C and then Ctrl + Alt + V, Excel will display the Paste Special dialog box and you can then click Values and click OK. You can then delete the original pivot table if you want.

Deleting pivot table filters, labels, values and formatting

You also have the option of resetting a pivot table by deleting pivot table filters, labels, values and formatting but  retaining the pivot table.

To delete pivot table data:

1. Select a cell in the pivot table.
2. Click the PivotTable Tools Analyze or Options tab in the Ribbon.
3. In the Actions group, click Clear. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Click Clear All.
5. Add or remove fields in the Pivot Table Fields task pane.
6. Right-click and  select Refresh to refresh the pivot table.

Below is the Clear All command in the Ribbon in Excel:

The data connection, placement of the pivot table and the pivot table cache remain intact. If there is a pivot chart associated with the pivot table, the Clear All command also removes related pivot chart fields, chart customizations and formatting.

If pivot tables are sharing a data connection or if you are using the same data between two or more pivot tables, then if you select Clear All for one pivot table, you could also remove the grouping, calculated fields or items and custom items in shared pivot tables. A dialog box should appear if Excel is going to remove items in shared pivot tables and you can cancel the operation.

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