Setting up a template for pivot tables, or some other way to define default settings?

[shankargopal1]

Hi, I’ve used and loved LibreOffice Calc for over a decade. Thank you all for this wonderful piece of software, and for the community!

I frequently have to work on survey data from field surveys. Our surveyors enter the data into Google Forms, which I then export to a CSV file and work on in LO Calc. To do this I have to create pivot tables - often up to two or three dozen for a single survey.

But I haven’t been able to find a way to speed up creating these tables. At present, for each table I create, I have to manually:

1. Drag the appropriate column name into the row fields with a mouse
2. Drag the appropriate column name into the data fields with a mouse (this is almost always the same as the row name)
3. Double click on the data fields to pull up the “Data Field” dialog
4. Manually set this to “Count” instead of “Sum” (given the way our survey data is formatted)
5. Manually choose the drop down option under “Displayed Value” for “% of column”

Given the number of tables I have to make, this adds up to a lot of repetitive work and time that seems unnecessary. In my ideal world I’d be able to set a ‘template’ for a pivot table, then tell LO Calc to generate multiple pivot tables for each of a set of columns that I give it. But if that isn’t possible (I presume that would require scripting), is there a way I can set a template for the Data Field settings at least? That would save steps 4 and 5.

Thanks in advance!

[sokol92]

We can try to come up with something if you upload a file with a few dozen rows of (fictitious) data and two dozen of your pivot tables.

[MABUK]

This isn’t perfect but it may help.
I have similar but probably less complicated needs.
I set up as a template set of worksheets in a workbook which perform the calculations I want, based on data from the first sheet which has most, if not all, of the actual information which changes.
Then if I just replace the data in the first worksheet I may need to make a few adjustments but at least I don’t start from scratch each time.

[Villeroy]

Insert>Sheet from file… with option “Link”.
Point to your csv and specify all import options properly.
Bind your set of pivot tables to that sheet. Include a sufficient amount of rows.
When the source changes: Edit>Links… and exchange the csv file. Alternatively, you may keep the link as is, replace the old csv with the new one, update the link and then all pivots.
You may also replace the source data via copy&paste or use scenarios.