How to Create a Table in Microsoft Excel

Open an Excel file. Double-click the Excel file or the program icon and select the document name from the home page.

• You can also open a new Excel document by clicking on Blank Workbook from the Excel home page, but you’ll need to enter data before proceeding.

Select the data for the table. Click on the cell in the top-left corner of the data group you want to include in the table, then hold the ⇧ Shift key and click on the cell in the bottom-right corner of the data group.

• For example: if the data spans from cells A1 to A5 to D5, you need to click on A1 and D5 while holding the ⇧ Shift key.

Click on the Insert tab in the green ribbon at the top of the Excel window. The Insert toolbar will appear beneath the ribbon.

• On a Mac, ensure that you do not click on the Insert option in the Mac menu bar.

Click on the Table option under the "Tables" section in the toolbar. A window will pop up.

Click the OK button at the bottom of the pop-up window. The table will be created.

• If the data group contains cells at the top for column names (such as titles), check the box "My table has headers" before clicking OK.

Click on the Design tab located in the green ribbon at the top of your Excel window. The table design toolbar will appear directly below the green ribbon.

• If you don't see this tab, click on the table to make the options appear.

Select a table design style. Click on one of the colored boxes in the "Table Styles" section of the Design toolbar to apply a color and design style to your table.

• You can also click the down arrow next to the color boxes to scroll through additional design options.

Browse through other design options. In the "Table Style Options" section of the toolbar, you can check or uncheck any of the following options:

• Header Row - Check this box to place the column names in the topmost row of the data group. Unchecking it will remove the header.
• Total Row - When checked, this option will add a row at the bottom of the table to display the total values for the rightmost column.
• Banded Rows - Check this box to alternate row colors, or uncheck it to have all rows in the table the same color.
• First Column and Last Column - When checked, these options will bold the header and data in the first and/or last column.
• Banded Columns - Check this box to alternate column colors, or uncheck it to have all columns the same color.
• Filter Button - When checked, this option adds a dropdown box to each header in the table, allowing you to filter and change the displayed data for that column.

Click the Home tab again to return to the Home toolbar. Any changes made to the table will be saved.

Open the filter menu. Click the drop-down arrow next to the column header containing the data you want to filter. A menu will appear.

• For this action to work, both the "Header Row" and "Filter" options in the "Table Style Options" under the Design tab must be checked.

Select a filter. Click one of the following options from the drop-down menu:

• Sort Smallest to Largest
• Sort Largest to Smallest
• Depending on the data in the table, additional options like Sort by Color or Number Filters may appear. In such cases, select an option and click the filter in the pop-up menu.

Click OK when the option appears. Depending on the selected filter, you may need to specify a range or different data type before proceeding. The filter will be applied to the table.