Interchangeable values in a pivot table

Question

Hi,

I'm currently working on some rather advanced data analysis with a pivot table. I am using the pivot table to compare the number and type of of materials that were to be ordered 2 weeks in advanced of any given task to the number and type actually used. The pivot table is set up such that in the first column you have the Task number, in the second the Material Part Number, in the third the ones that were to be purchased in advanced and in the fourth the ones actually used. The issue is that sometimes the same part has different part numbers. That means that for task 1234 materials A, B, C and D were to be pre-ordered and materials C, F, T, O, and L were actually used. In this case, the excel sheet would only show one match. However I have another excel list that shows that material F can be used for the same use as material A and material O can be used for the same task as material B. I now need the pivot table to somehow recognize that O was used instead of B and F was used instead of A which would make the result jump up to 3 matches rather than just the one.

Please not that while F can be used instead of A, A can not be used instead of F unless stated seperately within the interchangeability table. In the table, the first column is the part that can be replaced and column B is the part number by which it can be replaced. Also, each part may have several other interchangeable parts (e.g. instead of material A you could possibly use F, X and Z).

I hope that my explanation is clear enough. Is there anyway to do this within the pivot table? Or else how would I be able to go at it with macros?

Answer 1

Hi,

Since you are using advanced data analysis with Pivot Table, it would be best if you post your question in Excel IT Pro forum for better suggestion:

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/excel/threads

Let us know if the link was helpful.