Delete a Measure in a PivotTable or PivotChart

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There are several ways to delete a measure. You can delete them in the Calculation Area in the PowerPivot window. You can also delete measures from the PowerPivot Field List in Excel.

This topic provides separate instructions for deleting explicit and implicit measures. For more information about how these measures compare, see Measures in PowerPivot.

Deleting an Explicit Measure

An explicit measure is an autonomous calculation that is available to any PivotTable or PivotChart in the workbook. As such, it might be used more than once, especially if you have multiple tables and charts in your workbook.

Before deleting a measure, check the PowerPivot Field List of each table and chart so that you know how and where the measure is used. Review each table and charts afterwards to make any necessary adjustments. Measures can be used in other calculations, so reuse might not be readily apparent. You can check the formulas of other calculations to verify that they do not include the measure you are deleting. For more information about finding and viewing measure settings, see Edit or Rename a Measure in a PivotTable or PivotChart.

Although a deleted measure is removed immediately, you might not see the result of that action until you refresh the PowerPivot Field List of the table or chart that uses it. If the measure no longer exists in a PowerPivot Field list, a message appears at the top of the list prompting you to refresh it.

To delete an explicit measure in Excel

  1. In the Excel window, click anywhere in the PivotTable or PivotChart area to display the PowerPivot Field List.

  2. In the PowerPivot Field List, locate the table that contains the measure that you created.

  3. Right-click the measure and choose Delete.

To delete an explicit measure in the PowerPivot window

  1. In the PowerPivot window, click the Home tab, and select the table that contains the measure. If you are not sure where the measure is located, you can use the diagram view to find it. For more information, see Edit or Rename a Measure in a PivotTable or PivotChart.

  2. Click Calculation Area, if it is not already selected.

  3. Scroll to the column that contains the measure, right-click the measure and click Delete.

Deleting an Implicit Measure

Implicit measures are those that are generated automatically whenever you drag a numeric field to the Values area in the PowerPivot Field List in Excel. An implicit measure is tightly coupled with the column upon which it is based. If you delete the column, any implicit measures that are based on that column are also deleted.

An implicit measure is only used in the Excel PivotTable or PivotChart for which it was generated. Although it is not used in a Power View report, the presence of an implicit measure in the workbook can sometimes block the creation of additional measures in Power View if the implicit measure shares the same name as the report measure you are attempting to create. If a naming conflict occurs, you can delete an implicit measure in the workbook to free up the name for a report measure that you create in Power View.

Depending on the settings you specified, implicit measures may or may not be visible in the PowerPivot window. If they are not visible, you must change settings in the Advanced tab of the PowerPivot window to unhide them.

To delete an implicit measure in the PowerPivot window

  1. In the PowerPivot window, on the File menu, click Switch to Advanced Mode. An Advanced tab will appear in the PowerPivot window.

  2. Click the Advanced tab, and click Show Implicit Measures.

  3. Click the Home tab, and select the table that contains the measure. If you are not sure where the measure is located, you can use the diagram view to find it. For more information, see Edit or Rename a Measure in a PivotTable or PivotChart.

  4. Click Calculation Area, if it is not already selected.

  5. Scroll to the column that contains the measure, right-click the measure and click Delete.

See Also

Concepts

Measures in PowerPivot

Create a Measure in a PivotTable or PivotChart

PowerPivot Window: Calculation Area