---
title: "Refresh an Excel pivot table in C#"
url: https://recursiveai.org/onedocument/cookbook/refresh-excel-pivot-table/
description: "Refresh an existing Excel pivot table in C# with OneDocument. Update worksheet-backed caches, inspect refresh outcomes and save the resulting XLSX file."
version: "1.0.0"
---

# Refresh an Excel pivot table in C#

**OneDocument** is a free, open-source Word, Excel and PowerPoint document library for .NET from Recursive AI. MIT or Apache-2.0, no native dependencies.

[NuGet](https://www.nuget.org/packages/RecursiveAI.OneDocument.Spreadsheets) · [GitHub](https://github.com/recursive-ai-oss/onedocument-csharp) · [Docs](https://recursiveai.org/onedocument/docs/) · [Download example (.zip)](https://recursiveai.org/onedocument/cookbook/refresh-excel-pivot-table/refresh-excel-pivot-table.zip)

Update an existing pivot table, a summary of worksheet rows. pivot.xlsx is in the zip. Worksheet-backed sources are supported; external, OLAP and Data Model sources are not refreshed.

```shell
dotnet add package RecursiveAI.OneDocument.Spreadsheets
```

Requires [.NET 10](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/10.0) (net10.0); .NET 9 and earlier aren’t supported.

```csharp
using RecursiveAI.OneDocument.Spreadsheets;

using var book = Workbook.Open("pivot.xlsx");
book.Sheets["Data"]["D2"].SetNumber(250);
var result = book.RefreshPivots();
book.SaveAs("refreshed.xlsx");
Console.WriteLine(result.AllRefreshed);
```

Writes refreshed.xlsx and prints `True`.

Unzip [the example](https://recursiveai.org/onedocument/cookbook/refresh-excel-pivot-table/refresh-excel-pivot-table.zip), then `dotnet run`.

## The full program

The Data sheet has Region, Product, Qtr, Sales and Units columns. Here is its first data row; the program changes Sales from 100 to 250:

| Column | First data row |
|---|---|
| Region | East |
| Product | A |
| Qtr | Q1 |
| Sales | 100 |
| Units | 1 |

The Pivot sheet summarizes sales by region. The full program prints the refresh status, source record count and updated East total. The sample comes from the library’s [MIT-licensed pivot examples](https://github.com/recursive-ai-oss/onedocument-csharp/tree/a85720e075c783fc596641d8586ee126cae088c5/testdata/pivots); its license is included.

```csharp
using RecursiveAI.OneDocument.Spreadsheets;

using var book = Workbook.Open("pivot.xlsx");
book.Sheets["Data"]["D2"].SetNumber(250);
var result = book.RefreshPivots();
book.SaveAs("refreshed.xlsx");
foreach (var item in result.Outcomes)
    Console.WriteLine($"{item.Status}: {item.RecordCount} records");
Console.WriteLine($"East: {book.Sheets["Pivot"]["B4"].Number}");
```

`dotnet run` prints:

```text
Refreshed: 8 records
East: 680
```

Inspect each outcome: `NotSupported` or `SourceInvalid` means that table was not refreshed; an unreadable source leaves that pivot’s cache and cells as they were.

## Variations

**Refresh one table and recalculate dependent formulas.**

```csharp
using RecursiveAI.OneDocument.Spreadsheets;

using var book = Workbook.Open("pivot.xlsx");
book.Sheets["Data"]["D2"].SetNumber(250);
var result = book.Sheets["Pivot"].PivotTables.First()
    .Refresh();
book.Recalculate();
book.SaveAs("one-pivot.xlsx");
Console.WriteLine(result.Status);
```

Writes one-pivot.xlsx and prints `Refreshed`. Tables sharing that cache are refreshed together.

## Related recipes

- [Create an Excel file](https://recursiveai.org/onedocument/cookbook/create-excel-file/)
- [Read an Excel file](https://recursiveai.org/onedocument/cookbook/read-excel-file/)

## The short answer

Open the workbook, update its source cells, call `RefreshPivots`, and save the result. OneDocument rebuilds supported worksheet-backed pivot caches and their tables. Check the returned outcomes: saving the workbook is not evidence that every pivot was refreshed.

## How do I refresh my Excel PivotTable?

The snippet at the top updates one source value before refreshing every pivot in the workbook. The included workbook already contains a cache and a pivot table; this recipe does not create a new pivot definition. Its Data sheet has eight records, and the Pivot sheet summarizes Sales by Region. Changing D2 from 100 to 250 increases the East total from 530 to 680.

`Workbook.RefreshPivots()` returns one outcome per table. `Refreshed` means that the cache and table were rebuilt. `NotSupported` means the source is external, a cube, the Data Model, a consolidation or a scenario, or the table has no cache. `SourceInvalid` means a required source sheet, range, table or name is missing, or a source header is empty. The [pivot documentation](https://recursiveai.org/onedocument/docs/spreadsheets-pivots/) describes these outcomes.

A workbook containing a mix of supported and unsupported sources needs more than one overall success message: the full program prints each table’s status and record count.

## What does refresh do in a PivotTable?

Refreshing rebuilds the cache from a worksheet, table or defined-name source, then rebuilds every table using that cache. Even the single-table variation refreshes sibling tables that share the cache, because changed shared-item indexes would otherwise leave those siblings inconsistent.

The refresh writes the table’s displayed cells into its worksheet. It does not recalculate formulas. If another cell reads a pivot result, or uses `GETPIVOTDATA`, call `Recalculate` after refreshing, as the variation does. Conversely, a formula in source data needs its current result before the cache reads it. Separate source calculation, pivot refresh and dependent calculation in that order when your workbook needs all three.

Not every pivot feature is reproduced. Pivot charts, slicers, timelines, the Data Model, OLAP and external sources are kept as stored. The documentation says refresh of calculated items, label and value filters, show-values-as parent/rank forms, custom subtotals and hierarchy-based fields is reported, not reproduced. Treat those reports as a reason to review a workbook, not as a successful replacement for the original feature.

## Can I auto-refresh a PivotTable?

You can make refresh an explicit step of your C# update job: write the new source values, refresh, inspect outcomes, recalculate dependents and save. The example does that work immediately; it does not merely request a refresh the next time someone opens Excel.

A failed or cancelled refresh does not partially rewrite its cache. The library performs the work in memory first; an unreadable source leaves that pivot’s cache and cells as they were. A workbook-wide call can still report different outcomes for different tables, so check them individually. When no refresh is requested, opening and saving preserves the stored pivot parts rather than rebuilding them.