PlayInfoBox

Home /Utilities /How to Use a Timeline Slicer with an Excel PivotTable

How to Use a Timeline Slicer with an Excel PivotTable

Tap each step to see how to filter a PivotTable by date range using a timeline.

  1. Click a cell inside a PivotTable

    Click any cell inside a PivotTable that includes a date field.

  2. Click "Insert Timeline" on the "PivotTable Analyze" tab

    On the ribbon's "PivotTable Analyze" tab, click "Insert Timeline."

  3. Choose the field that contains your dates

    Check the date field you want to use as the basis for filtering from the list shown, then click OK.

  4. Drag the timeline bar to filter by period

    Click and drag along the bar on the timeline that appears, and the PivotTable instantly shows only data from the selected period.

  5. Why it helps

    When you need to filter data by date frequently, like monthly or quarterly sales, you can quickly change the period by dragging a slider instead of repeatedly clicking through a filter menu.

One timeline can drive several PivotTables at once

Right-clicking a timeline and choosing "Report Connections" lets you link it to every PivotTable in the workbook that's built from the same source data, so dragging the timeline once filters all of them together instead of adjusting each table's date filter separately. That's especially useful in a dashboard made up of several related PivotTables that should always show the same time period.

Switching the time unit reshapes what the bar represents

The unit selector in the corner of the timeline lets you switch between Days, Months, Quarters, and Years, and each setting changes what a single bar on the timeline represents -- a bar might mean one month at the Months setting but one quarter at the Quarters setting. Picking a coarser unit like Quarters or Years makes it faster to scan a long multi-year dataset, while Days or Months suits narrowing in on a specific short period.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I switch between monthly, quarterly, and yearly views?

Yes. The unit selector in the top-right corner of the timeline lets you switch between Day, Month, Quarter, and Year.

Can it filter more than one PivotTable at the same time?

Yes. Right-click the timeline and choose "Report Connections" to apply the same filter simultaneously to every PivotTable built from the same source data.