Five (5) Reasons why you Should Always Convert Data to a Table
Excel is widely used across the globe because of its ability to manage data. When you work with data you want to make sure that you are being effective, and more importantly accurate. This is why converting your data into a Table is one of the key fundamentals that every Excel user should know as early as possible. Here are 5 reasons why.
Quick Functionalities (Sorting, Filtering, Totaling)
When you convert data into a table you can quickly Sort (red square), Filter (green square), or Total (blue square). You can do all this with peace-of-mind knowing that the built-in functions within the Table are bullet-proof and extremely consistent.
Reliable Auto Calculations
If you enter a formula within an empty column, the whole column will automatically populate with the same formula. If the data isn’t a Table, you can drag the formula down the sheet… however you might not necessarily have the time to drag down a formula for !0,000+ rows, especially if you expect to make future edits.
Table Names within Formulas
Having a complicated formula is painful when there are various unnamed ranges. Fortunately, working with Tables helps ease this problem. Check out the formulas in the picture, they are the same formula… but one is much easier to read than the other.
Auto-Populate Chart
If we enter data to the left, right, or under the table, the table range will automatically include that new data. If you have a linked chart, the new data will immediately appear within the chart. On the picture to the left, i added a row to the bottom of the table (yellow). This date automatically appeared within the chart (hlighted in the chart). This is another example of efficiency and reliability.
Format/Visability
You can easily change the Table format in the Design tab, making the data much more presentable. Additionally, Tables will always show the header as you scroll through the data (see the picture, the header line is all the way up in Row 1, but the you can still clearly see the header even as we scroll down to Row 25).