How to Show Months in Order in a Pivot Table in Google Sheets

Step 1: Open Your Google Sheet

First, open the Google Sheet that contains your data. Make sure your data includes a column with dates in a valid date format. If your dates are not in a recognized format, the pivot table might not work correctly.

Step 2: Create a Pivot Table

To create a pivot table:

1. Select Your Data Range: Highlight the range of data you want to include in the pivot table. This should include your date column and any other relevant data.

2. Open the Pivot Table Menu: Click on Insert in the top menu, then select Pivot table from the dropdown list. You will be prompted to choose where you want to place your pivot table (either in a new sheet or an existing one).

   

3. Create the Pivot Table: Click Create to generate a new pivot table.

   

Step 3: Add Dates to the Pivot Table

1. Access Pivot Table Editor: On the right side of the screen, the Pivot table editor will appear.

2. Drag Date to Rows: In the Pivot table editor, you will see options to add rows, columns, values, and filters. Drag the date field into the Rows area.

   

Step 4: Group Dates by Month

1. Right-Click on a Date: In the pivot table, right-click on any date within the date column.
   note: Cursor must on the pivot dates

   

2. Group Dates: A menu will appear with options like Year, Month, Week, etc. Select Month. This action will group the dates by month, and your pivot table will now display data aggregated by month.

   

Step 5: Adjust the Order of Months

1. Sort Data: To change the order of the months, go back to the Pivot table editor. Click on the date field you dragged into the Rows area.

   

2. Change Order: You will see options to sort the dates in ascending or descending order. Choose your preferred sorting option. Ascending order will display months from January to December, while descending order will display them from December to January.

   

Step 6: Verify Data Format( Optional in case group option not visible due invalid date)

Ensure that your dates are in a valid date format before creating the pivot table. If your dates are not recognized as dates by Google Sheets, you might need to reformat them. To do this:

1. 1. Select Date Column: Highlight the column with dates.

   2. Format as Date: Click on Format in the top menu, then select Number and choose Date. This will ensure that Google Sheets recognizes your data as dates.

      

How to Show Months in Order in a Pivot Table in Excel

Pivot tables in Excel are a powerful tool for summarizing and analyzing large datasets. If your data includes dates and you want to group and order them by month, follow these simple steps to achieve that.

Step 1: Open Your Excel Workbook

Start by opening the Excel workbook that contains your data. Ensure your data includes a column with dates in a valid date format. If the dates are not formatted correctly, Excel might not group them as expected.

Step 2: Create a Pivot Table

To create a pivot table:

1. Select Your Data Range: Highlight the range of data you want to include in the pivot table. This should include your date column and any other relevant data.

2. Insert a Pivot Table: Go to the Insert tab in the top menu and click on PivotTable. You will be prompted to select the data range and choose where to place your pivot table (either in a new worksheet or an existing one).

   

3. Confirm the Pivot Table: Click OK to create the pivot table.

   

Step 3: Add Dates to the Pivot Table

1. Access PivotTable Fields: On the right side of the screen, the PivotTable Fields pane will appear.

2. Drag Date to Rows: Drag the date field into the Rows area of the PivotTable Fields pane. Your pivot table will now display the dates in its rows.

   

Step 4: Group Dates by Month

1. Right-Click on a Date: In the pivot table, right-click on any date in the row labels.

   

2. Group Dates: From the context menu that appears, select Group.... A dialog box will open with options to group by Years, Quarters, Months, etc. Select Months. You can also select Years if you want to group data within years.

3. Click OK: After selecting Months, click OK. The dates in your pivot table will now be grouped by month.

   

Step 5: Adjust the Order of Months

1. Sort Data: To change the order of the months, click on any month label in the pivot table.

   

2. Sort Ascending or Descending: Go to the Data tab in the top menu, and use the Sort Ascending or Sort Descending buttons to order the months as desired. Ascending order will list the months from January to December, while descending will list them from December to January.

   

Step 6: Verify and Format Dates ( Optional in case group option not visible due invalid date)

Ensure your dates are formatted correctly:

1. Select Date Column: Highlight the column with dates in your original dataset.

2. Format as Date: Right-click on the selected column, choose Format Cells, then select Date from the category list. This ensures that Excel recognizes and processes your data as dates.