![]() ![]() Step 1 - Create a Google Sheets spreadsheet, enter tabular data in it and format the data Step 5 - Test entering rows in your table Step 4 - Name your table by creating a named range for it ![]() Step 3 - Make the totals row auto-update aggregate metrics when rows are inserted into or removed from the table Step 2 - Create a filter so users can easily filter rows in the table Step 1 - Create a Google Sheets spreadsheet with tabular data and format the data In particular, it assumes that you are familiar with the following concepts in Google Sheets:įormatting data (how to format text, cell backgrounds, etc.)įunctions (especially: OFFSET, ROWS, COLUMNS, MATCH, INDIRECT, CONCAT) This tutorial assumes that you are familiar with using Google Sheets. In this tutorial I will show you how to replicate some of this functionality in Google Sheets. The good news is that Microsoft Excel does have a "Tables" feature and has good native support for working with tables. It is not surprising that errors creep into analysis performed using spreadsheets. ![]() Unfortunately it is left to us, the users of the spreadsheet, to double and triple check the results produced by spreadsheet analysis. Ideally, the spreadsheet software would automatically ensure that the totals reflected the data in the table. Unless you carefully structure the formulas in the totals row, they might still be adding numbers from just the three original rows instead of the five current ones. Now suppose you insert two new rows into the table. You create a "Totals" row where you add up numbers in the three other rows. Let us say you have a table with three rows. This is probably the most important requirement and the one that I wish was supported by all spreadsheet software. ![]() #3 Automatically compute aggregate metrics (aka the "Totals" row) Again, you can certainly do this manually in Google Sheets but there is no way to tell the spreadsheet that these 11 rows and 7 columns are a table and have this filter be created automatically. #2 Filtering and sortingĪ very common use case when working with tables is filtering and sorting their contents to make sense of the data they contain. As you'll see later in this tutorial, you could do a couple of things to make it look nice but you'd have to do this manually and repeat these steps every time you create a new table in Google Sheets. Now, if you want to format it to make it look 'presentable', there isn't a simple 'one-click' mechanism to do that. Here is how that data looks upon entering it: Let's say you have a table in Google Sheets that contains information about 10 students in your class. Let me try and explain what I mean by native support for tables with a few examples. What does having native support for tables in spreadsheets even mean? Isn't the spreadsheet itself basically just one large table? In this tutorial, I will show you how you can use formulas and other features in Google Sheets to build some desirable features that will make your tables less error prone and more effective at conveying information. Therefore, one might assume that spreadsheet software comes with native support for working with these tables effectively and efficiently. Most of the business world runs on spreadsheets and many of these spreadsheets contain tabular data. ![]()
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