Excel Tables are very useful in managing and analyzing data in tabular format. An Excel Table provides the data in a special structure, which comes with filtering, formatting, and sizing, and can also auto populate formulas dynamically. In this guide, we're going to show you how to change table style in Excel.
Excel Tables mainly offer two types of styling: Preset and custom. Both options can be found under the Design tab in the Ribbon. As the name suggests, Preset styles are the built-in templates in Excel, whereas the custom option is where you can modify each part of the table. The Design tab will become available in the Ribbon when a table, or a cell inside a table is selected.
Preset Styles
The preset styles change the design of the table extensively, from header to rows, applying color presets and formatting. You can see options with colored headers or banded rows. Follow the steps to apply a style to your table.
- Click on a cell in your table
- Open the Design tab
- Select a style from Table Styles
You can use the arrow buttons to the right to see more styling options.
Custom Style Options
Style options can be found to the left of the preset styles. They provide local styling options like applying a color to the first column, or removing band coloring from rows or columns. Here are the steps:
- Click on a cell in your table
- Open Design tab
- Select an option in Table Style Options
Some options in this section can actually more than changing the visuals of your table. For example, while Header Row can add or remove headers, the Total Row property can add a row to the end that contain aggregation functions (i.e. sum).
