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How to Find Pivot Table in Excel by Name

Cody Schneider•

Trying to find one specific Pivot Table buried in a complex Excel workbook can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. When your file has dozens of worksheets and even more tables, scrolling endlessly is a massive waste of time. This guide will show you several simple and effective methods to locate any Pivot Table by its name, helping you get back to your analysis in seconds.

Why Finding a Pivot Table by Name is Necessary

Excel workbooks, especially those used for business reporting, often grow in complexity over time. You might inherit a file from a colleague, duplicate worksheets for monthly reports, or simply create many different Pivot Tables to analyze data from A to Z. In these scenarios, knowing how to quickly jump to a specific table is a critical skill for a few key reasons:

  • Efficiency: The most obvious benefit is speed. Instead of manually clicking through tabs, you can navigate directly to the data you need.

  • Troubleshooting: When a report looks off or a slicer isn't working as expected, you often need to inspect the source Pivot Table. Finding it quickly is the first step to fixing the problem.

  • Updating Data Sources: You may need to refresh a Pivot Table or change its data source. Locating it by name ensures you're modifying the correct one, especially when multiple tables look similar.

  • Collaboration: If you're working with a team, being able to quickly direct someone to "the 'SalesSummary_Q4' Pivot Table" is much clearer than saying "the table on the third tab somewhere on the right."

Let's dive into the methods you can use to make this process painless.

Method 1: Use the 'Go To' Feature

The fastest way to find a Pivot Table when you already know its name is with Excel's 'Go To' command. This feature acts like a GPS for your workbook, taking you directly to any named object, including Pivot Tables.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

  1. Press Ctrl + G (or the F5 key) on your keyboard. This will open the "Go To" dialog box.

  2. In the "Reference" input field, type the exact name of your Pivot Table (e.g., SalesByRegion). Names are not case-sensitive.

  3. Click OK.

Excel will instantly jump to the worksheet containing that Pivot Table and select it for you. It's direct, clean, and incredibly fast.

Pro Tip: The main limitation here is that you must know the exact name. If you make a typo or have the name slightly wrong, it won't work. For that reason, it's a great practice to give your Pivot Tables clear, descriptive names. Instead of accepting the default "PivotTable1," rename it to something meaningful like "MarketingSpend_Campaign" via the 'PivotTable Analyze' tab.

Method 2: Use the Name Box

What if you don't know the exact name, or you want to see a list of all possible Pivot Tables to choose from? For that, the 'Name Box' is an excellent tool.

The Name Box is the small field located to the left of the formula bar. It typically displays the cell address (like "A1"), but it also contains a dropdown list of all named items in your workbook.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

  1. Locate the Name Box next to the formula bar.

  2. Click the dropdown arrow on the right side of the box.

  3. A list will appear, showing all named ranges and objects in your workbook. Pivot Tables are included in this list, typically identified with a small grid icon.

  4. Scroll through the list and click the name of the Pivot Table you want to find.

Just like with the 'Go To' feature, Excel will immediately navigate to and select the chosen Pivot Table. This method is incredibly useful for exploring a workbook you're unfamiliar with because it provides a complete menu of named objects.

The only downside is that if your workbook has hundreds of named ranges, this list can become quite long and cluttered, making it a bit harder to spot your Pivot Table.

Method 3: Use the PivotTable Analyze Tab (Recommended)

For a more focused approach that isn't cluttered by other named ranges, the best method is to use the contextual 'PivotTable Analyze' tab in the ribbon. This is arguably the most user-friendly way to browse and navigate between all the Pivot Tables within a workbook.

A "contextual tab" is one that only appears when you've selected a specific object - in this case, a Pivot Table.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Click on any Pivot Table in your workbook. This will make the "PivotTable Analyze" (or "Options" in some older Excel versions) tab visible in the top ribbon.

  2. Click on the PivotTable Analyze tab.

  3. On the far left, you'll see a section with a "PivotTable Name" field.

  4. Click the dropdown arrow next to this name field.

  5. A neatly organized list of every single Pivot Table in the entire workbook will appear.

  6. Select the name of the Pivot Table you're looking for from the list. Excel will jump right to it.

This is often the best of all worlds: it's easy to access, shows you only Pivot Tables, and you don't need to remember names by heart. You can simply click any Pivot Table you see to get a full inventory of all others.

Method 4: Use a VBA Macro for Ultimate Power

For situations where you have an extremely large workbook, need to find Pivot Tables often, or just enjoy automating tasks, a small VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) macro can be your best friend. This might sound intimidating, but it's simpler than you think.

This macro will pop up a box asking you for the Pivot Table's name and then go find it for you.

How to Set Up and Use the VBA Macro:

  1. Press Alt + F11 on your keyboard to open the VBA Editor.

  2. In the menu, go to Insert > Module. A blank white window will appear.

  3. Copy the code below and paste it into that module window:

  1. Close the VBA Editor (click the 'X') to return to your Excel sheet.

  2. To run the macro, press Alt + F8, select FindPivotTableByName from the list, and click Run.

  3. An input box will ask for the Pivot Table name. Type it in and click OK!

Heads Up: To save your workbook with the macro, you must save it as an "Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm)."

Bonus Tip: How to Generate a List of ALL Pivot Tables

Sometimes, your goal isn't just to find one Pivot Table but to audit the entire workbook. Where are all the Pivot Tables located? What are they called? The following VBA macro creates a brand new worksheet named "PivotTable Index" and lists every single Pivot Table along with its name and location - perfect for documentation or troubleshooting.

VBA Code to List All Pivot Tables:

To use this, follow the same steps as in Method 4. When you run this macro, it does its work in the background and creates a new, perfectly organized sheet for you. For anyone who manages large and complex reports, this is an absolute game-changer.

Final Thoughts

Knowing how to efficiently find a named Pivot Table in Excel moves you from a casual user to a power user. Whether you use the quick 'Go To' feature, browse with the Name Box, navigate via the 'PivotTable Analyze' tab, or automate with a VBA macro, you'll save valuable time and eliminate the frustration of hunting through dozens of tabs.

This process of manually searching for the right data in a spreadsheet is a small example of a much larger challenge in business analytics. Hours are often spent just trying to locate the right report across different platforms like Google Analytics, Shopify, and Salesforce. That's exactly why we built Graphed. We automate the process of connecting your data sources so you can simply ask questions in plain English, like "Create a dashboard showing my sales pipeline from Salesforce," and get an instant, live dashboard without ever having to hunt for the right report again.