Can't Update Excel 2007 PivotTables in Excel 2003

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 4, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 2003


Susan has a workbook that was originally created in Excel 2003 containing several PivotTables. She loaded the workbook in Excel 2007 and added additional PivotTables, then saved it in compatibility mode so it could still be used in Excel 2003. However, if she doesn't open the workbook in Excel 2007 the PivotTables will not update either manually or automatically. It works fine if she opens it in Excel 2007, but not in Excel 2003. Susan wonders if this is normal behavior.

Apparently it is. From the information we can gather, it appears that if a PivotTable is created in Excel 2007, even if the workbook is saved in compatibility mode it will not work properly in Excel 2003. (You won't be able to reliably edit or update the PivotTable in Excel 2003.) The only solution is to recreate the PivotTables in Excel 2003.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6950) applies to Microsoft Excel 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Selective Undo

Ever wonder why you can't undo just a single edit you made a few minutes earlier? The short answer is that it could make ...

Discover More

Clearing the Contents of a Table

Want to get rid of information within a table, but not the table itself? Here's a guide to understanding the effects that ...

Discover More

Reformatting a Document with Messed-Up Styles

If there are lots of hands that touch a document, there are lots of ways those hands can mess up the document. You may be ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! This guide will provide you with all the information you need to automate any task in Excel and save time and effort. Learn how to extend Excel's functionality with VBA to create solutions not possible with the standard features. Includes latest information for Excel 2024 and Microsoft 365. Check out Mastering Excel VBA Programming today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Error in Linked PivotTable Value

Excel allows you to link to values in other workbooks, even if those values are in PivotTables. However, Excel may ...

Discover More

Excluding Zero Values from a PivotTable

If you are using a data set that includes a number of zero values, you may not want those values to appear in a ...

Discover More

Editing PivotTables without Underlying Data

If you ever try to edit a PivotTable and get an error that tells you that the "underlying data was not included," it can ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 2 + 4?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.