Formatting and refresh Updated November 2026

Pivot table not updating

A pivot only changes when you refresh it, and only for rows inside its source range. Press Alt+F5 first; if the numbers are still wrong, open Change Data Source and extend the range or point the pivot at a Table so new rows are included automatically.

Syntax

Alt+F5 > still wrong? PivotTable Analyze > Change Data Source > extend range > Refresh

Part	What it is
`Not refreshed`	Most common; the pivot keeps the cached copy until you refresh
`Range too small`	New rows are below the fixed range
`Old items retained`	Deleted items still show in filters; set items to retain to None
`Text numbers`	Values typed as text are ignored by Sum

Examples

Source has 520 rows; pivot source is $A$1:$F$500
Change Data Source > $A$1:$F$520 > Refresh

Result: Totals rise to include the 20 missing rows.

PivotTable Options > Data > Number of items to retain per field: None > Refresh

Result: Filter dropdowns stop showing regions that no longer exist in the data.

Select the number column in the source > Data > Text to Columns > Finish > Refresh

Result: Numbers stored as text become numeric and the Sum stops ignoring them.

Common mistakes

You refreshed a different pivot: refresh works on the pivot the cursor is in; use Refresh All.
The source is on a filtered sheet: filtering the source does not affect the pivot; hidden rows are still read.
Changes were made in a copy of the workbook: check the file path in Change Data Source.
Calculated fields show old values: they recalculate on refresh like everything else; refresh.

Practice Pivot table not updating

These drills check your answer on live data, free, no account needed.

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Questions

Why doesn't my pivot table update automatically?

Excel pivots cache the data for speed and wait for a refresh. Turn on Refresh data when opening the file, or use a macro for live updates.

Why is my Google Sheets pivot not updating?

Sheets pivots update live, so if one is stale the source range is too short. Edit the range in the pivot editor to cover the new rows or use whole-column references such as A:F.

Refresh a pivot tableRefresh a pivot table after the source changes with right-click Refresh or Alt+F5, refresh every pivot with Ctrl+Alt+F5, and set the file to refresh on open.
Change data sourceUpdate the range a pivot table reads from with PivotTable Analyze, Change Data Source, or convert the source to an Excel Table so it grows by itself.
Blank cells in a pivot tableReplace empty pivot cells with 0 or a dash in PivotTable Options, and get rid of the (blank) row label by filtering it out or filling gaps in the source data.
Dates not groupingCannot group that selection means the date column has text, blanks or mixed values. Find the bad cells, convert text dates to real dates, refresh and group.