Top 5 Ways to Format Tables in Google Sheets

Since 2006, Google has been developing Google Sheets as a component of its G Suite. With the current demand for rapid and simple methods of global collaboration, Google Sheets is a desirable option for quickly analyzing and processing data. Spreadsheets power the majority of company operations, and many of these spreadsheets include tabular data.

Working with several tables, charts, and cells in a lengthy spreadsheet can become tiresome, and if you use Google Sheets to deal with the data, I can reasonably assume that the data is in a tabular format.

Although you may always keep the data as straightforward entries in the Google Sheets spreadsheet grid, a well-formatted table would make the data much easier to read. The default formatting settings, themes, or add-ons are all options you have when it comes to creating charts.

Without further ado, let us show you how to format tables and charts in Google Sheets.

Making a Table in Google Sheets by Applying a Border

Applying borders is one thing that would significantly alter our tabular data right away. As soon as the borders are applied, it begins to resemble a table.

Here’s how to add a border to a table in a Google Sheet:

1. Click the Borders icon in the toolbar after selecting the desired data in the sheet.

1. Choose the Border color from the available selections, and then add a border to each cell (using the All Border option).

How to Insert Table in Google Sheets by Aligning the Data

In Google Sheets, text strings are automatically aligned to the left and integers to the right. Although this is effective, you should typically center align your headers. This gives the impression that you inserted the table using Google Sheets.

You could prefer some columns in your data collection to be centered rather than using the default alignment. I’ll center all of the headers and the sales column numbers in our data collection.

The steps for creating tables in Google Sheets with the header text center aligned are listed below:

1. Highlight all of the cells with headers.
2. Select the align toolbar icon by clicking it.
3. Click on the Center align icon

How to Create a Table in Google Sheets With Colored/Bold Headers

You may significantly increase the readability of your data by altering the color of the cells with the header and making the text in those cells bold. Considering that the headers are emphasized, a reader would often pay attention to those first. This would make it easier for them to comprehend the purpose of the table and the types of information it contains.

The procedures for making a table in Google Sheets with header color formatting are listed below:

1. Choose the header cells
2. Using the keyboard shortcut Control + B for Windows or Command + B for Mac, select the bold icon from the toolbar.

1. Select the header cells and then click the toolbar’s fill color
2. Choose the color you want to use for the header cells.

Google Sheets Table Format – Applying Alternate Colors to Rows

Your table in Google Sheets already looks much better than it did when we first started. Applying different shades to the data rows in your table is one way to significantly increase the readability of your table. Since Google Sheets releases new features on a regular basis, a convenient way to switch between row colors is now available.

Here’s how to create tables in Google Sheets that have rows with different colors:

1. Highlight the complete set of data.
2. Select “Format” from the menu.
3. Select “Alternating color” from the list of possibilities that appears.

As soon as you do this, you’ll see that the header row’s color changes and the alternate rows take on a somewhat darker tint than the other rows. The add alternate colors dialog box will also appear simultaneously and open on the right side of the Google Sheets spreadsheet.

Google Sheets Table Formatting – Sort the Columns

Incorporating all of the formatting has the dual purpose of improving the user’s ability to grasp the material as well as making it more visually appealing. And sorting the data using one column or several columns is one of the straightforward actions that can significantly help the user navigate through enormous datasets.

I’ll demonstrate how to sort the data in our example such that all the regions are displayed together and the data is then sought by sales value within each region.

In the options, you can decide what colors to use and whether or not your table should have headers or footers.

Here’s how to go about it:

1. Highlight the entire data set
2. Select Data from the drop-down menu.
3. Select “Sort range” then “Advanced range sorting options” from the menu. This will launch Google Sheets’ Sort dialog box.

1. Check the ‘Data has header’ rows option

1. In the Sort by drop-down, select State

1. Select “Add another sort column” from the menu.
2. In the then by drop-down, select Store Number

1. Click “Sort”

Your data would be sorted using the above method based on two columns: first, the State, and then, the store number

.

This enables us to get all the data for a particular state.

Therefore, your manager doesn’t need to carefully read the complete report if she is only interested in Wisconsin’s data while reading this report. She can quickly locate the Wisconsin cluster and look through the data for it.

Google Sheet Table Format

These are some of the steps you can take in Google Sheets to transform your plain-looking data into a pleasant table. Naturally, as you use Google Sheets more, you’ll develop your own formatting style for creating tables there.

Check out FileDrop to improve the efficiency of your Google Sheets experience. Table data can be extracted from PDF files using FileDrop and then added to Google Docs or Sheets.