TycheHowTo:CreateBasicTables

Adding tables to data stories will be a element in many documents. There are several ways to create and populate tables, and then to add basic usability elements. You can begin by pasting content in from a table in another software program, or you can create a table and populate it through data entry.

Pasting table information

It is possible to copy a rectangle of cells in Microsoft Excel. This is a 3x5 table copied and pasted from Microsoft Excel.

Wages	$                     100,026,611	$                        96,808,273
Retirement	$                        20,863,181	$                        19,882,000
FICA	$                           7,382,511	$                           6,953,029
Health Insurance & Other Employee Benefits	$                        17,681,346	$                        17,338,756
Retiree Health Insurance & Medicare	$                        12,070,370	$                        14,039,610

This is a table where we highlighted a 2x2 block of cells in Google Sheets, copied and then pasted the content into a document in edit mode:

What is contained in the typical datasets	All property data and attributes usually supports one of a few functions: * locating and describing location of a property * cataloging the attributes that enable an assessor to fairly value the property * ownership - who or what entity owns the property
What are the most important variables or data components for data stories	* unique ID - typically the APN (Assessor Parcel Number) * owner - what business or residential entity owns the property * address * value - property value, improved value, recent sales figure or assessed value * high level physical characteristics - acreage. stories, sq ft * usage - commercial or residential - 2 family apt, farm, govt building, etc

You can also Choose Insert>Table to get a basic table constructed. Select a cell and then use the column or row arrows to add or delete columns or rows:

Importantly if you have a table without any header cells it will be light gray:

Select the cells on the top row. The Styles picker at the top, which normally says "Paragraph" will now say "Content Cell". Click the dropdown and choose "Header Cell" and your table now has a Header row:

When you have a header row you can now make the table sortable and collapsible. When you click on the table choose "Properties" to find the options to make the table sortable and collapsible.

Expenditures	Budget	Actual	On budget?
FICA	$7,382,511	$6,953,029	Yes
Health Insurance & Other Employee Benefits	$17,681,346	$17,338,756	Yes