How to Customize the Formatting of Tables in Displayr

This article describes how to customize the formatting of Displayr's built-in tables, similar to what's possible in Excel. It allows you to turn a table like this:

...into one that looks like this:

More specifically:

Format Entire Tables
Format Cells
Reset to table default formats
Worked Example: Formatting a column of cells
Worked Example: Changing the font for a cell

Requirements

One of Displayr's drag-and-drop tables. For more information, see: Creating Summary Tables and Crosstabs

Format Entire Tables

Click a table so that the entire object is selected. Go to the object inspector on the right and select the Properties > APPEARANCE menu.

The following properties can be customized:

Font family and size
Built-in Table style
Table panes such as freezing row/column names when scrolling
Significance testing
Decimals and Number format
Reset formatting changes to the original default

Format Cells

Click on a cell or cells you want to format. You can also format the row and column headers. Once you've selected your desired cell(s) within a table, go to the object inspector on the right and select the Properties > APPEARANCE menu.

Using this menu, you can customize the selected cell(s). You can also have multiple formatting styles within the same table. Formats are retained on export to PowerPoint or Excel and are editable in the exported files. Cell formatting stays with the specific cell it is added to, even when that cell is moved using sorting, Rules, transposing the table, and other methods of changing the look and feel of the table.

The following properties can be customized:

Font type, size, and style
Paragraph formatting such as vertical and horizontal alignment within the cell
Fill color
Border style, placement, and color
Significance (note that significance properties apply to the whole table)
Decimals and Number format

Reset to table default formats

If you need to revert the formatting to the table's initial state, you can reset the table to the default format at any time. To do so:

Highlight the cell(s) you want to revert to the table default formats.
Right-click > Reset > Table Formats or click Properties > APPEARANCE > Reset formatting in the object inspector on the right.

Worked Example: Formatting a column of cells

Let's format the first column of the table to add more decimal places.

Click the first cell in the column, hold down the Shift key or click and drag, and select all the cells you want to reformat.
Select Properties > APPEARANCE > Decimals and click the button until you get the desired precision.
The results are as follows:
To revert to the default formats, right-click the highlighted cells and select Reset > Table Formats.

The results are as follows:

Worked Example: Changing the font for a cell

Let's say you consider the fact that 33% of respondents Love Coca-Cola an important finding and want it to stand out in the table.

Click the cell.
Select Properties > APPEARANCE > Font and click to change the font to Bold.
Increase the pitch value to the desired size. In this example, we changed it from 10 to 12.

The results are as follows: