Microsoft Office

Introducing Tables
One of the most significant new features in Excel 2007 is tables. A table is
a rectangular range of data that usually has a row of text headings to
describe the contents of each column. Excel, of course, has always supported
tables. But the new implementation makes common tasks much easier —
and a lot better looking. More importantly, the new table features may help eliminate
some common errors.
This chapter is a basic introduction to the new table features. As always, I urge
you to just dig in and experiment with the various table-related commands. You
may be surprised at what you can accomplish with just a few mouse clicks.
What Is a Table?
A table is simply a rectangular range of structured data. Each row in the table corresponds
to a single entity. For example, a row can contain information about a
customer, a bank transaction, an employee, a product, and so on. Each column
contains a specific piece of information. For example, if each row contains information
about an employee, the columns can contain data such as name,
employee number, hire date, salary, department, and so on. Tables typically have
a header row at the top that describes the information contained in each column.
So far, I’ve said nothing new. Every previous version of Excel is able to work with
this type of table. The magic happens when you tell Excel to convert a range of
data into an “official” table. You do this by selecting any cell within the range and
then choosing Insert ➪ Tables ➪ Table.
When you explicitly identify a range as a table, Excel can respond more intelligently
to the actions you perform with that range. For example, if you create a
chart from a table, the chart will expand automatically as you add new rows to
the table.
IN THIS CHAPTER
Understanding how a table
differs from a normal range
Working with tables
Using the Totals Row
Removing duplicate rows from a
table
Sorting and filtering a table
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