NextGen Pivot Tables in Knack

Dave Parrish
Jul 12
3 min read

The Scenario

I've been testing NextGen features, and one of the biggest recent additions is that pivot tables are now fully available.

Rather than giving a complete tutorial on pivot tables, I want to focus on one specific improvement that makes reporting much more useful.

In my example, I'm working with a pivot table that displays invoices. Each invoice is associated with a particular grant, and I've grouped the data by the month the invoice was submitted.

The actual data isn't important. The behavior of the pivot table is.

How Classic Pivot Tables Worked

In the classic version of Knack, I use a single Submit Date field as my column.

The nice thing is that Knack lets me automatically group that single date field by:

Day
Week
Month
Year

So even though I'm only using one field, the pivot table creates multiple columns such as August, September, October, and so on.

That's exactly what I want.

The Problem

Here's where the frustration begins.

Let's say I want totals across those monthly columns.

Column summaries work just fine.

But row summaries? That's another story.

For years, Knack has only enabled row summaries when there are multiple calculation columns.

Technically, I only have one calculation field—even though it's been expanded into multiple month columns.

The system doesn't recognize those generated columns as separate calculations, so the Row Summary option simply isn't available.

There are code-based workarounds, but that's not really the point.

If I'm using a no-code platform, I don't want to solve reporting problems with custom JavaScript.

I want the platform to handle it.

What Changed in NextGen

The good news is that NextGen fixes this issue.

I recreated the exact same pivot table in NextGen, using the same submit date grouped by month and the same count calculation.

This time, I can simply enable summaries.

When I open the live application, NextGen automatically adds a total column that sums the values across all of the generated month columns.

No custom code.

No hacks.

It simply works.

That means I immediately get totals for every row, making the report far more useful.

Why This Matters

This may seem like a minor enhancement, but it's one of those quality-of-life improvements that saves time every time you build a report.

For years, this limitation has been one of my biggest pet peeves with Knack pivot tables.

Seeing it finally resolved is great news.

My Next Wish

Now that row summaries are working correctly, I'd love to see the next step.

I'd like to be able to create calculated columns directly within the pivot table—just like you can in a spreadsheet.

For example, imagine having:

Goal
Actual
Percentage of Goal right inside the pivot table without writing any code.

It's certainly possible with custom development, but again, that's not what a no-code platform should require.

I'd much rather accomplish it with a few clicks.

Final Thoughts

NextGen continues to make meaningful improvements, and this is one that many experienced Knack builders will appreciate.

It's not a flashy new feature, but it's the kind of practical enhancement that makes reporting easier and removes a long-standing annoyance.

For me, that's a win.

Interested in my Knack database services? ... Book a call with me here: https://calendly.com/daveparrish/callwithdave