ICAEW.com works better with JavaScript enabled.

Data tables

View our helpful guidance and advice on using data tables.

Displaying 1-20 of 73 results
Liam Bastick
Exclusive Running totals in filtered tables
  • 27 Oct 2025
  • Liam Bastick
In this article, Liam Bastick considers the problem of ensuring running totals still work, whether an Excel table is filtered or not.
John Tennent
Exclusive Bringing financial reports alive in Excel with visualisation – comparing data sets
  • 14 Feb 2025
  • John Tennent
This article is part of a series that supports the lunch and learn webinars on how to bring financial reports alive in Excel with visualisation. This third article will explore how to compare two data sets using a Waterfall Chart in Excel.
Simon Hurst
Exclusive SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE TABLES Simple but effective Tables. Part 10
  • 23 Sep 2024
  • Simon Hurst
In this series we are going to examine some of the capabilities of Excel Tables. We will be concentrating on the practical use of Tables to improve spreadsheet productivity. We are going to conclude our series of articles on the practical use of Excel Tables by looking at how Tables work with Power Query.
Simon Hurst
Exclusive SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE TABLES Simple but effective tables, part 9
  • 09 Sep 2024
  • Simon Hurst
In this series we are going to examine some of the capabilities of Excel Tables. We will be concentrating on the practical use of Tables to improve spreadsheet productivity. The previous two-part article looked at the use of structured references to refer to all or part of an Excel Table, from cells outside of the Table as well as cells within the Table. We are going to conclude our exploration of Tables by looking at Filtering and Sorting, and using Sparklines and check boxes in Table columns. Then, in the next part of the series, we will look at how Tables work with Power Query.
Simon Hurst
Exclusive SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE TABLES Simple but effective tables, part 8
  • 07 Aug 2024
  • Simon Hurst
In this series we are going to examine some of the capabilities of Excel Tables. We will be concentrating on the practical use of Tables to improve spreadsheet productivity. Last time we started looking at the use of structured references to refer to all or part of an Excel Table, using examples based on referring to the Table from cells outside the Table. This time we will look at structured references within a Table and some more advanced examples of how to use structured references.
Simon Hurst
Exclusive SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE TABLES Simple but effective tables, part 7
  • 24 Jul 2024
  • Simon Hurst
In this series we are going to examine some of the capabilities of Excel Tables. We will be concentrating on the practical use of Tables to improve spreadsheet productivity.
David Beniam
Exclusive The underused Table feature in Excel & Google Sheets
  • 04 Jul 2024
  • David Benaim
From my experience, every spreadsheet user already considers their data to be in tables, simply by virtue of data being in rows & columns, but very few have ever used the actual feature called “Tables” which means sadly that almost every regular user is missing out on one of spreadsheets’ most useful features.
Simon Hurst
Exclusive SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE TABLES Simple but effective tables, part 6
  • 03 Jul 2024
  • Simon Hurst
In this series we are going to examine some of the capabilities of Excel Tables. We will be concentrating on the practical use of Tables to improve spreadsheet productivity. The last article finished with a brief introduction to the use of Slicers as interactive filters for Excel Tables. This time we show how Slicers can be used in practice to create an interactive dashboard from an Excel Table.
Simon Hurst
Exclusive SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE TABLES Simple but effective tables, part 5
  • 24 Jun 2024
  • Simon Hurst
In this series we are going to examine some of the capabilities of Excel Tables. We will be concentrating on the practical use of Tables to improve spreadsheet productivity. As part of our journey through the capabilities of Tables, this time we are going to examine some of the options available in the contextual Table Design Ribbon tab.
Simon Hurst
Exclusive SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE TABLES Simple but effective tables, part 4
  • 28 May 2024
  • Simon Hurst
In this series we are going to examine some of the capabilities of Excel Tables. We will be concentrating on the practical use of Tables to improve spreadsheet productivity. This time we focus on the use of Data Validation and Dynamic Arrays to automate the creation of summary reports.
Simon Hurst
Exclusive SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE TABLES Simple but effective tables, part 3
  • 09 May 2024
  • Simon Hurst
In this series we are going to examine some of the capabilities of Excel Tables. So far, we have considered different ways of turning a range of cells into an Excel Table and demonstrated the importance of Tables in helping to ensure that ranges in formulas adapt automatically to changes in the dimensions of the Table. We have also seen how new rows and columns are automatically incorporated into existing Tables. This time, we will start by changing the dimensions of Tables manually.
Simon Hurst
Exclusive SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE TABLES Simple but effective tables, part 2
  • 18 Apr 2024
  • Simon Hurst
In this series we are going to examine some of the capabilities of Excel Tables. In part 1 we considered different ways of turning a range of cells into an Excel Table and demonstrated the importance of Tables in helping to ensure that ranges in formulas adapt automatically to changes in the dimensions of the Table. This time, we will look in more detail at adding rows and columns to existing Tables and see how this can contribute to automating your spreadsheets.
Simon Hurst
Exclusive SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE TABLES Simple but effective tables, part 1
  • 27 Mar 2024
  • Simon Hurst
It’s very easy to format a block of data in your favourite colour scheme by using an Excel Table, but Excel Tables are so much more important than just facilitating formatting. In this series we are going to see just what they are capable of, starting with looking at how to create Excel Tables and going on to cover some simple examples of their practical use, such as avoiding global austerity.
Liam Bastick
Excel's new functions might change data analysis forever
  • 29 Feb 2024
  • Liam Bastick
Excitement is building, as a range of new functions introduced by Microsoft towards the end of last year are – hopefully – edging closer to general release. Here, Microsoft MVP Liam Bastick explores how they work and what they might mean for you.
Image of meeting
Exclusive Enhancing data display and entry with Excel Form Controls
  • 13 Nov 2023
  • ICAEW
Form Controls are objects that can be used to display data or make it easier for users to enter data, to perform an action or to make a selection.
Headshot of Ian Pay
Exclusive EXCEL TIP OF THE WEEK Excel Tips & Tricks #482 – Get Data From Picture
  • 30 Oct 2023
  • Ian Pay
Hello all and welcome back to Excel Tips and Tricks! This week, we have a Creator level post in which we're covering some relatively new functionality that allows users to capture data into a spreadsheet from an image.
Simon Hurst
Exclusive Is there anything that Power Query can't do?
  • 30 May 2023
  • Simon Hurst
There are many things that Power Query can't do but, in this occasional series, we will be looking at some of the less obvious techniques available. In this episode we look at automating the changing of column heading text.
Simon Hurst
Exclusive Excel updates – Data From Picture
  • 07 Jul 2022
  • Simon Hurst
Simon Hurst describes a new feature of Excel, which uses a picture as a data source.
Simon Hurst
Exclusive EXCEL HOW TO Excel how to: speed up formulae - using Excel tables part 2
  • 06 May 2022
  • Simon Hurst
In our first look at Excel Tables, we concentrated on referring to Table contents from a cell outside of the Table itself. This time we will consider formulae within Tables.
Simon Hurst
Exclusive EXCEL HOW TO Excel how to: speed up formulae - using Excel tables part 1
  • 21 Apr 2022
  • Simon Hurst
Having previously looked at how to enter cell references in formulae using dollar signs to fix all or part of a reference, and the use of Range Names to make formulae easier to enter and understand, this time we will start looking at how the use of Excel Tables can make it quicker to enter Excel formulae.
Displaying 1-20 of 73 results

Search the Excel Community archive

This archive of Excel Community content from the ION platform will allow you to read the content of the articles but the functionality on the pages is limited. The ION search box, tags and navigation buttons on the archived pages will not work. Pages will load more slowly than a live website. You may be able to follow links to other articles but if this does not work, please return to the archive search. You can also search our Knowledge Base for access to all articles, new and archived, organised by topic.

Search the archive Access the knowledge base
Excel polaroid