Forum Discussion
PivotChart (bar graph) of average with standard deviation as error
After replying to Steve's suggestion, I thought of another approach.
Create a second pivot table: one has averages and standard deviations, the other just averages.
Make a pivot chart using the pivot table with averages only.
Using the approach Steve described (or that I wrote about in https://peltiertech.com/custom-error-bars-in-excel-charts/), use the standard deviations in the other pivot table to define custom error bars.
This approach makes the chart more dynamic if the pivot table reshapes itself during a refresh, though you may have to reapply the error bars after refreshing the pivot tables.
JonPeltierMVP To clarify, would you use a PivotChart in this other approach? I think that's what you mean, because the PivotChart will automatically show a new column for any new rows that appear in the PivotTable. Then you would just need to select the ranges for the error bars to include the new rows.