I would like to use vb to set data item properties to visible or hidden -
along these lines:

For i = 2 To j
ActiveSheet.PivotTables("PivotTable3").PivotFields ("Invoice
Date").PivotItems.Item(i).Visible = False
Next

At the end of each loop the table recalculates - is there any way of
stopping this so that the recalculation only happens once all of the items
have been changed?

Conversely, is there a simple way of displaying all of the items in the
pivot table? (Equivalent to clicking on the down arrow, and ticking the box
that says "(show all)")