Consolidating Data by Category

You consolidate data by category when the source areas do not share the same cell coordinates in their respective worksheets but their data entries do use common row and/or column labels. When you consolidate by category, you include these identifying labels as part of the source areas. Unlike consolidating by position, Excel copies the row label sand/or column labels you specify for use in the consolidation.

When consolidating spreadsheet data by category, you must specify whether to use the top row of column labels and/or the left column of row labels in determining which data to consolidate. To use the top row of column labels, select the Top Row check box in the Use Labels In section of the Consolidate dialog box. To use the left column of row labels, select the Left Column check box in this area. After you specify all the source areas (including the cells that contain these column and row labels), click the OK button in the Consolidate dialog box to execute the consolidation in the destination area.