How to Make Data Tables in Excel in 60 Seconds

In just 60 seconds, I'll show you a couple of features that will really help you see the power of using tables in Microsoft Excel.

How to Quickly Make Data Tables in Excel

Note: Watch this short tutorial screencast or follow the quick steps below, that compliment this video.

1. Format Our Data as a Table in Excel

So, right now I have a regular set of data here in Excel, and we'll start off by converting it into a table. Let's make sure that we're on the Home tab of the Excel ribbon and that we've clicked anywhere inside the data. Let's find the Format as Table button.

2. Apply a Table Style to Our Excel Data

When I click on it, the first advantage is that we can choose a style we like and apply it to the table. Let's choose one of these and click on it. We get this pop up box that just double checks that we have our data selected, and I'll press OK for now.

3. Filter Data Tables and Make Clean Excel Formulas

You can see that the style is applied, but there's more too. At the top, we now have easy filters for data. So I can click on one to change the filter. Let's also say that we wanna add a new column, a calculation on the far right side. I'll give it a title and then write my formula here right below it.

Finishing Up!

You can see that the formula is much cleaner and simpler, and when I enter it, it writes it for every cell in that column. The table expands as well, to include this new column. These are just a couple of the reasons to use tables in your Excel spreadsheets.