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kahjun_0504's avatar
kahjun_0504
Occasional Reader
May 04, 2026

Alternative to Pivot Table in Dashboard for better UI Experience

Hi, currently I am using Excel to build a dashboard for asset management, in particular it is used to track how many items remain after someone borrow it for a particular date range. The data comes from MS Form and has been populated into Excel. I have cleaned up and transform the original data using Power Query and the final form of my data to build the dashboard look something like this.

I wish the dashboard to be able to show the following part bracket in red, which represent the details of items being borrowed.

Currently I am using pivot table as my solution, as you can observe above. Is there any idea or solution to enhance the overall look of the dashboard? Basically, what I want is instead of directly on the Excel grid, can this be turned into draggable table pane?

community
excel
Formulas and Functions
office 365

2 Replies

  • Olufemi7's avatar
    Olufemi7
    Steel Contributor
    May 05, 2026

    Hello kahjun_0504​,

    You can improve the dashboard look and interactivity without relying on Pivot Tables by using Excel’s dynamic array functions and slicers. Convert your cleaned dataset into an Excel Table and use the FILTER function to display borrowed item details based on selected date ranges. For example: =FILTER(BorrowData,(BorrowData[Event Start Date]>=FromDate)*(BorrowData[Event End Date]<=ToDate),"No records found"). Add slicers for Event Name, Item, and Borrower to create clickable filters that update the table instantly. This gives a cleaner, modern interface while keeping everything inside Excel. If you want a true draggable pane experience, consider building a simple VBA UserForm to show the filtered table in a movable window, or move the dataset into Power BI for a fully interactive dashboard with resizable visuals and drag‑and‑drop filtering.

  • NikolinoDE's avatar
    NikolinoDE
    Platinum Contributor
    May 05, 2026

    Excel Tables + FILTER()

    Instead of PivotTables, you can try to use dynamic arrays:

     

    Example:

    =FILTER(Table1, (Table1[Event Name]=SelectedEvent)*(Table1[Date]>=StartDate)*(Table1[Date]<=EndDate))

     

    It’s a simple alternative…

    Cleaner than pivots

    Fully customizable layout

    Works great with dropdowns (Data Validation)