Introduction to Microsoft Excel Tables

Microsoft Excel Tables

To make managing and analyzing a group of related data easier, you can turn a range of cells into a Microsoft Office Excel table (previously known as an Excel list in earlier versions). A table is a series of rows and columns that contains related data that is managed independently from the data in other rows and columns on the worksheet.

By default, every column in the table has filtering enabled in the header row so that you can filter or sort your table data quickly. You can add a total row, which is a special row in a list that provides a selection of aggregate functions useful for working with numerical data to your table that provides a drop-down list of aggregate functions for each total row cell. A sizing handle in the lower-right corner of the table allows you to drag the table to the size that you want just like Microsoft Office Word table.

To manage several groups of data, you can insert more than one table in the same worksheet. However, you cannot create a table in a shared workbook.

You can use the following features to manage table data:

Sorting and filtering. Filter drop-down lists are automatically added in the header row of a table. Then you can sort tables in various orders and options, or you can create a custom sort order. You can also filter tables to show only the data that meets the criteria you set. For more information on sorting and filtering data, see Data Sorting and Filtering in Section Two of this book.

Formatting table data. You can quickly format table data by applying a predefined or custom table style. You can also choose Quick Styles options to display a table with or without a header or a totals row, to apply row or column banding to make a table easier to read, or to distinguish between various columns in the table. For more information on how to format table data, see Formatting Worksheet in Section Five of this book.

Inserting and deleting table rows and columns. You can use one of several ways to add rows and columns to a table. You can quickly insert table rows and table columns anywhere that you want. You can as well delete rows and columns as needed. You can also quickly remove rows that contain duplicate data from a table.

Using a calculated column. To use a single formula that adjusts for each row in a table, you can create a calculated column. A calculated column automatically expands to include additional rows so that the formula is immediately extended to those rows.

Displaying and calculating table data totals. You can quickly total the data in a table by displaying a totals row at the end of the table and then using the functions that are provided in drop-down lists for each totals row cell. Exporting to a SharePoint list. You can export a table to a SharePoint list so that other people can view, edit, and update the table data.