How to Create a Table in Tableau : Bijay Kumar

September 17, 2025 September 17, 2025

How to Create a Table in Tableau
by: Bijay Kumar
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### Summary of Tableau Tutorial on Creating Tables In this tutorial, the author explains how to create and format tables in Tableau, specifically focusing on two types: Text Tables and Highlight Tables. The goal is to compare Sales, Profit, and Quantity across different product categories using the Tableau Superstore dataset. **Key Details:** 1. **Text Tables**: These tables display data in rows and columns, similar to an Excel sheet, making it easy to read exact figures. They are useful for showing detailed metrics like Sales, Profit, and Quantity by Category and Sub-Category. 2. **Highlight Tables**: These are enhanced versions of Text Tables that use color shading to indicate different values, helping to visualize trends and patterns. Darker colors represent higher values, while lighter colors indicate lower values. 3. **Creating a Text Table**: - Connect to the Superstore dataset. - Drag dimensions (Category and Sub-Category) to Rows. - Add Measure Names to Filters and select the desired measures (Sales, Profit, Quantity). - Drag Measure Values to the Text card in the Marks section. - Ensure the Marks type is set to Text. - To show totals, navigate to Analysis -> Totals -> Show Column Grand Totals. - Format the table by adding borders for clarity. 4. **Creating a Highlight Table**: - Start with the same Text Table setup. - Drag Measure Values to the Color card in the Marks section. - Change the Marks type to Square for color shading. - Customize colors using the Edit Colors option, such as a Red-Green diverging scale for positive and negative values. **Conclusion**: The tutorial emphasizes the importance of using both Text and Highlight Tables in Tableau to present data clearly, allowing for easy comparison of values. ### Additional Context Tableau is a powerful data visualization tool widely used in business intelligence for its ability to transform raw data into interactive and shareable dashboards. Understanding how to create and format tables is essential for effective data analysis and presentation. ### Hashtags for SEO #Tableau #DataVisualization #BusinessIntelligence #SalesReport #DataAnalysis #TableauTutorial #HighlightTable #TextTable #DataPresentation #TableauSuperstore

Recently, I was creating a sales report using Tableau. In this report, I needed a simple way to compare Sales, Profit, and Quantity across different product categories.

Using a bar chart, it was possible to show the trends, but I would like to display the data with the dimension name and measure values, similar to an Excel sheet.

In Tableau, we have a built-in Text table, also known as a Crosstab. In this text table, we can display the data in a headers and columns format similar to an Excel sheet. To enhance the table view, I also used a highlighted table to display sales values in color shades.

In this Tableau tutorial, I will explain how to create a table in Tableau using the Text Table feature, and then we will also use the highlighted table to color-code the table’s blocks.

Tables in Tableau

In Tableau, tables are the simplest way to view and display data in worksheets. They arrange information into rows and columns, making it easy to read exact values or compare them. In Tableau, we have two types of tables: Text Tables and Highlight Tables.

Text Tables: In Tableau, a text table is similar to an Excel sheet, displaying data in rows and columns with exact numbers. We can use the text tables when we have to display detailed figures, such as Sales, Profit, and Quantity by Category and Sub-Category.

Highlight Tables: The highlight tables are the enhanced version of the text tables. In this, a text table is displayed with added color. In this format, Tableau shades the cells in the table based on their values, like darker or brighter colors mean higher or lower values.

Create a Text Table in Tableau

In this example, we will use the Tableau Superstore dataset to create a text table that displays the values of Profit, Sales, and Quantity for the product Subcategory.

Connect the Tableau with the Superstore dataset, and follow the steps below to create a text table.

Drag the dimensions, such as Category and Sub-Category, to the Rows.

To show the measures Sales, Profit, and Quantity in the table, add the Measure Names to the Filters section. Then select the measures and click OK.

To display the values of the selected measure names, drag the Measure values to the Text card in the Marks section.

If the data is not displayed in the table format, then ensure that you have selected the Marks type as Text.

To show the total of the measure values, click on the Analysis -> Totals -> Show Column Grand Totals.

For better table formatting, we can also add lines to divide columns and rows. For this, right-click on the table and select Format. Then, in the Format pane, select Border icon -> Columns -> Column Divider -> Pane -> select line pattern.

This way, we can create and format a text table in Tableau by following the above steps.

Create a Highlight Table in Tableau

In Tableau, a highlight table is similar to a text table, but with color shading applied to the table cells, to show patterns such as sales and profit.

In this example, I will use the same text table that we created in the above example.

To create the chart, follow the same initial steps as above to build a Text Table with Category and Sub-Category on Rows, and a Measures Values on Text.

Now, drag the same Measure values again to the Color card on the Marks card.

With this, the measure values will be in shaded colors, with higher sales in dark blue and lower sales in lighter shades.

To add color to the table cells, change the Marks type to Square. Now, we will see the table cells in color shades.

To change the color, click on the Color card in Marks and select Edit colors.

In the Edit color window, you can select other color shades from the Palette. In this example, I have chosen a Red-Green diverging scale, which will display negative values in red and positive values in green color shades.

Now, we can see the table cells colored according to the selected color palette.

This way, we can create a highlight table in Tableau by following the steps above.

Conclusion

In this Tableau tutorial, we have learned how to create tables in Tableau using both Text Tables and Highlight Tables. Using a text table is suitable when you need to show exact values in rows and columns, similar to an Excel sheet.

The highlight table takes the same data and adds color shading to spot trends and patterns in the table data.

By using the two table formats discussed in the above examples, you can present data clearly with exact numbers to facilitate value comparisons.

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How to Create a Table in Tableau : Bijay Kumar

Tables in Tableau

Create a Text Table in Tableau

Create a Highlight Table in Tableau

Conclusion

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