Group Rows and Columns into a PlanMaker Outline

Scope: PlanMaker 2026 paid desktop, English ribbon interface; official 2026 documentation reviewed on 19 October 2026. NX builds require matching controls; compatibility with every NX build is not established here. Native application verification remains pending. FreeOffice and mobile parity are not claimed.

Build a report whose detailed rows can collapse while section totals stay visible. Then nest those sections inside a larger group and group two detail columns. Grouping changes presentation; it must not erase the arithmetic behind the report.

Enter the complete report

Start a blank worksheet and enter these cells. Formulas in column D calculate totals; type them rather than entering their displayed answers.

Row	A	B	C	D
1	Expense	Units	Rate	Amount
2	North travel	2	40	=B2*C2
3	North meals	3	20	=B3*C3
4	North lodging	1	100	=B4*C4
5	North total			=D2+D3+D4
6	South travel	3	30	=B6*C6
7	South meals	2	25	=B7*C7
8	South lodging	1	120	=B8*C8
9	South total			=D6+D7+D8
10	Grand total			=D5+D9

Expect D2:D4 to be 80, 60, 100, North total 240; D6:D8 to be 90, 50, 120, South total 260; and grand total 500. Save outline-inputs.pmdx, then a working copy outline-report.pmdx. Leave controls and notes outside the rows being grouped.

Group detail without hiding the totals

1. Select entire rows 2:4 using the row headings.
2. Choose Data → Outliner → Group. Do not include row 5: its subtotal must remain visible when this detail collapses.
3. Select rows 6:8 and use the same command, excluding subtotal row 9.
4. Use the minus sign next to the first group in the Outline pane to collapse North details. Check that row 5 remains visible with 240. Use its plus sign to expand again.
5. Collapse the South group, check row 9 shows 260, then expand it.

If the pane is absent, open the Data → Outliner group’s small dialog arrow. In Outliner options, enable Automatically show outline pane. For this layout, enable Title below group rows so the plus/minus controls sit below each detail block. This option positions controls; it does not calculate subtotals or move your existing total cells.

Add an outer group and understand the levels

With details expanded, select entire rows 2:9 and choose Group once more. The detail rows now belong to an inner section and the outer report group. PlanMaker starts ungrouped rows at level 1; each grouping adds a level, up to eight.

Use the numbered controls at the top of the Outline pane:

• Level 1 should leave the heading and grand-total row visible while hiding rows 2:9.
• Level 2 should show North total and South total, while their detailed rows remain hidden.
• Level 3 should display all rows in this fixture.

At each level, the stored arithmetic should remain North 240, South 260, grand total 500. This is the exercise’s acceptance target, not a native observation. Inspect the visible total at level 1 and all three totals after expanding to level 3.

Do not replace the grand-total formula with a sum of D2:D9: that would count the detail and the section totals twice and yield 1000. Grouping is not responsible for that double counting; formula design is.

Collapse two detail columns independently

At level 3, select columns B:C by their headings and choose Data → Outliner → Group. Click their minus sign. Column A’s expense labels and column D’s amounts should remain visible. Set Title to the right of group columns in Outliner options if you want the column control on the right. Expand again with the plus sign.

Row grouping and column grouping serve different purposes. A compact review may hide both quantities/rates and detail rows, but the report should retain labels and totals. Before printing or checking a chart, inspect the current outline state: the official help specifically warns that hidden grouped cells are also excluded from charts.

Change a value and extend a section safely

Expand all details and change C4 from 100 to 130. North should become 270 and the grand total 530; South remains 260. Collapse to level 2 and verify those totals remain useful in the compact view. Restore C4 to 100. Save outline-report.pmdx with the groups still present and reopen it before removing any grouping. Check the ten-row report: level 1 retains grand total 500, level 2 shows section totals 240 and 260, and level 3 shows all details. Check the B:C column group expands and collapses. Leave the completed grouped file intact.

For the optional growth branch, reopen outline-inputs.pmdx, save a separate copy as outline-expanded.pmdx, and rebuild the report deliberately instead of assuming inserted rows inherit the desired grouping. Use the same header and first three North rows. Replace the remaining report area with the following explicit cells, clearing its old contents first:

Row	A	B	C	D
5	North supplies	2	20	=B5*C5
6	North total			=D2+D3+D4+D5
7	South travel	3	30	=B7*C7
8	South meals	2	25	=B8*C8
9	South lodging	1	120	=B9*C9
10	South total			=D7+D8+D9
11	Grand total			=D6+D10

Expected section totals become 280 and 260, with grand total 540. Only after inspecting those formulas should you group rows 2:5, rows 7:9, and finally the enclosing rows 2:10. Leave row 11 outside all groups. Save outline-expanded.pmdx with these groups present and reopen it. Check the eleven-row report: level 1 retains grand total 540, level 2 shows section totals 280 and 260, and level 3 shows all four North and three South details. The column-group exercise is not automatically inherited from the ungrouped input baseline; group B:C separately if you want that additional view. This separates arithmetic mistakes from outline-boundary mistakes.

Ungroup, reset, and troubleshoot

Grouping removal is an optional cleanup exercise on a new copy of the completed grouped file. Do not overwrite either saved grouped checkpoint. Choose the branch that matches your file:

• Original ten-row report: reopen outline-report.pmdx and save a disposable copy as outline-cleanup.pmdx. Expand all groups. Select inner North rows 2:4 and choose Data → Outliner → Ungroup once. This reduces their nested level by one. Then explicitly select A1:D10 and choose Data → Outliner → Remove all groups. Check ten rows, four columns, section totals 240 and 260, and grand total 500.
• Expanded eleven-row report: reopen outline-expanded.pmdx and save a disposable copy as outline-expanded-cleanup.pmdx. Expand all groups. Select inner North rows 2:5 and choose Ungroup once. Then explicitly select A1:D11 and choose Remove all groups. Check eleven rows, four columns, section totals 280 and 260, and grand total 540.

A single Ungroup reduces a nested level rather than necessarily removing every group. The manual warns that invoking Remove all groups without a selection can remove the entire worksheet outline, so always select the intended report area. Save and reopen the relevant cleanup copy if you also want to verify the ungrouped result; this does not replace the earlier grouped-file checks.

For a guaranteed input-only restart, reopen outline-inputs.pmdx and save a new working copy. That baseline contains the original ten rows and total 500, without the finished groups. Reopening outline-report.pmdx instead recovers the completed original grouped report. Do not depend on Undo after closing the file.

If the subtotal disappears, it was included in the detail group. If expand/collapse is unavailable on a protected sheet, inspect Protect outline and sheet protection. If a chart changes, first check hidden outline detail. If totals change merely from hiding rows, inspect whether your formulas use visibility-dependent logic; this fixture uses ordinary addition.

The completed grouped reports and optional ungrouped cleanup copies have separate filenames and acceptance checks above. This guide’s totals were independently calculated; a native session and genuine application screenshots remain outstanding. For related workbook handling, see PlanMaker file formats.

Official documentation and verification scope

PlanMaker 2026 paid desktop, English ribbon interface; official 2026 documentation reviewed on 19 October 2026. NX builds require matching controls; compatibility with every NX build is not established here. Native application verification remains pending. FreeOffice and mobile parity are not claimed.

• Grouping cells
• Showing hiding grouped cells
• Changing outline settings

No native screenshots are included. These are original practice fixtures and documentation-backed instructions; rendering a website or calculating expected values is not a native application test.