How to Show Pivot Table Fields List? (Get Pivot Table Menu Back)

The Pivot Table feature is used by many Excel users – beginners as well advanced.

One thing that often troubles new Pivot Table users is when they find that a Pivot Table Fields list (some people call this Pivot Table Fields menu) goes missing.

Pivot Table Fields Menu disappears

You can’t do much with a Pivot table if you do not see the Fields list, and it’s not very intuitive on how to get it back (at least for new Excel users)

In this short tutorial, I will show you two simple ways you can use to get back the Pivot Table Fields list.

How to Show Pivot Table Fields (Get Back Pivot Table Fields Menu)

Let’s look at two simple ways to get the Pivot Table Fields task pane to show again:

Using the Right-Click Method

The easiest way to get the Pivot Table Field list back would be to right-click on any of the cells in the Pivot table and click on the ‘Show Field List’ option.

Below I have a Pivot Table for which the field lists have been turned off, and I want to get it back.

Pivot Table where Fields List is not showing

Here are the steps to do this:

  1. Right-click on any cell in the Pivot Table
  2. Click on the ‘Show Field list’ option
Click in Show Filed List option

That’s It!

No matter which cell you right-click on, the last option would always be ‘Show Field List’.

PivotTable Fields task pane only shows up when you have selected any cell in the pivot table. If you click any cell outside of the pivot table, the fields menu would disappear.

Bonus Tip: In case you already have the Pivot table field lists visible and you want to hide it, you can repeat the same process. Right-click on any of the Pivot table cells, and then click on the ‘Hide Field List’ option

Using the ‘Field List’ Option in the PivotTable Analyze Tab

Another quick way you can use to get the Pivot Table Fields menu to appear again is by using the option in the ribbon.

Below are the steps to use the option in the ribbon to show or hide the Pivot Table Fields menu:

  1. Select any cell in the Pivot Table
  2. Click the ‘PivotTable Analyze’ tab
Click on Pivot Table Analyze tab
  1. In the ‘Show’ group, click on the ‘Field List’ icon
Click on Show Field List icon

The above steps will make the Pivot Table Fields Task Pane visible again.

The Field List icon works as a toggle – which means that if the Fields List task menu is visible, clicking on it would make it disappear, and in case the Field List menu is not visible, clicking on it would make it appear.

Why does the Pivot Table Fields Task Pane Disappear?

The most common reason why the Pivot Table Fields task pane disappears is when the user clicks on the close icon in the task pane.

Close icon in Pivot Table Fields Task Pane

Doing this would hide the task pane until it’s turned back on again (using any of the two methods covered above).

Another situation where you may not see the Pivot Table Field section is when you close the Field list menu and save the file.

Now when you or someone else will open that file, Excel will remember the setting and will not show the Field List options.

This often troubles new Excel users who open files that have previously been worked on by other people (and they have no idea why the Pivot Table Fields menu is not showing while it was there the last time they worked on it).

Move/Resize PivotTable Fields Task Pane

The most common reason why people end up closing the pivot table field list task pane is that it comes in the way of their data.

When it shows up, it occupies considerable real estate on your screen, and sometimes it’s desirable to have the data visible instead of the task pane.

If you want the best of both worlds where you want the Pivot Table Field List task pane to be visible and not have it occupy a lot of area in the worksheet, you can move and resize the task pane.

Below are the steps to move the Task Pane:

  1. In the Pivot Table Field list pane, click on the Task Pane Options icon
click on the Task Pane Options icon
  1. Click on Move
Click on Move
  1. Use your cursor to move the task pane and place it anywhere else in the worksheet

You can also resize the Fields List task pane by choosing the resize option in Step 2 and then using the cursor to change the size of the task pane window.

And if you want the Fields List task pane to be back in the original position, move it to the right part of the screen and continue moving it till it docks itself there.

In this tutorial, I showed you how to get back Pivot Table Fields List options task pane. It can easily be done using a simple right-click method or using the option in the ribbon.

I also covered how you can move and resize the Fields List task pane.

I hope you found this Excel tutorial useful.

Other Excel tutorials you may also like:

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Sumit Bansal
Hello there! I'm Sumit Bansal, founder of trumpexcel.com and an Excel MVP. I started this website in 2013 with a simple goal: to share my love for Excel through easy to follow tips, tutorials and videos. I'm here to help you get the best out of MS Excel to save time and boost your productivity.

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