If there are any non-numeric values in that field (text or empty cells), then
you'll see count.

I've never seen a way to change the default.

But Debra Dalgleish shares an addin that has lots of useful stuff in it:

http://contextures.com/xlPivotAddIn02.html

Neil Webber wrote:

Whenever I use the "summarize" functionality within a pivot table, the
default setting appears to be "Count". I nearly always want to use "sum".

Is there a way that I can change the default setting to "sum"?

Thanks for your help

--

Dave Peterson