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You can format tables in StoryCreator using the Table Formatting Toolbar and Format Table Panel.
1: Table Formatting Toolbar
To customize how your table data appears, you can use the formatting toolbar.
Selecting an option from the three dropdown menus (Format table, Series settings, and Apply analysis) opens a floating panel with a range of formatting options.
1. Format Table: Opens a dropdown with customization options (including fonts, colours, borders, and gridlines) for your table. Use to adjust data values, borders, headers, cell color, margins, font, and more to control the structure and appearance of your table. See 2: Format Table Panel for more information.
2. Series Settings: Opens a dropdown to manage how rows and columns are displayed, including the placement and sorting of variables in the table. Use to keep your table clean and focused on meaningful insights. See 3: Series Settings Panel for more information.
3. Apply Analysis: Opens analysis tools to enhance your table with deeper insights. Use to apply statistical analysis directly within your table. See 4: Apply Analysis Panel for more information. Options include:
- Weighted or unweighted data
- Benchmarking
- Significance testing
- Adding a mean series
- Ranking
Other commonly used formatting options are also displayed on the toolbar.
1. Increase Decimal: Adds more decimal places to the numbers in your table. Displays more precise values when needed.
2. Decrease Decimal: Reduces the number of decimal places shown. Simplifies numeric displays and improves clarity.
3. Base: Toggles the display of base sizes (sample sizes) in your table. Shows how many responses each percentage is based on.
4. Show Text: Shows or hides Question and Answer text in your table. Simplifies the layout or highlights key information.
5. Increase Font Size: Enlarges the text in your table. Improves readability, especially in presentations.
6. Decrease Font Size: Shrinks the table text. Allows you to fit more data into smaller spaces without compromising layout.
7. Text color: Changes the color of the text in the table.
8. Bold: Applies bold formatting to the text in the table.
9. Cell Borders: Changes the visibility of table cell borders. Add or remove gridlines for better structure or visual style.
10. Increase Cell Margins: Adds spacing inside table cells. Makes content easier to read by giving text more room.
11. Decrease Cell Margins: Reduces padding inside cells. Allows you to fit more data without increasing the overall table size.
2: Format Table Panel
The format table panel provides formatting options for your table. Use it to adjust data values, borders, headers, cell colors, margins, font, and other settings that control the table’s layout and appearance. See the sections below for details on each option.
2.1: Data Values
The Data Values section in the Format Table panel lets you fine tune how numbers and text appear inside your table cells.
1. Decimals: Use the up/down arrows to increase or decrease the number of decimal places. Choosing fewer decimal places is useful to simplify visual presentation, and choosing more decimal places provides greater precision. This is also available on the formatting toolbar; marked as items 1 and 2 in blue.
2. Unit: Enter a unit label (such as %, $, or pts) to be shown next to each data value. This is useful for indicating the measurement type directly within the cell.
3. Color: Click the color swatch to change the font color of the data values. This affects all data items within the table. This is item 7 on the formatting toolbar..
4. Font size: Use the up/down arrows to set the font size for your data values. Smaller text may be preferable when working with dense tables. This is covered by items 5 & 6 on the formatting toolbar.
5. Font style: Choose from bold (b), italic (i), or underline (u) to emphasize specific text styles within your data values. Click one or more style buttons to apply formatting.The Bold setting is available on the formatting toolbar, marked as item 8.
6. Horizontal text alignment: Use the Horizontal text alignment dropdown to choose how text aligns horizontally within each cell; options being Left, Center or Right
7. Vertical text alignment: Use the Vertical text alignment dropdown to control how text aligns vertically within the cell; options being Top, Center or Bottom This is especially useful when working with tall rows or merged cells.
2.2: Base Size
The Base Size section in the Format Table panel lets you control how and where base sizes are displayed in your table.
1. Hide base size: Select this option to remove base size values from your table. This helps simplify the table layout when base sizes aren’t needed for interpretation. This is item 3 on the formatting toolbar.
2. Show base size: Displays base size values alongside your data. Use this option if you want users to see the number of respondents (weighted or unweighted) that each data point is based on. This is item 3 on the formatting toolbar.
3. Weighted: Displays the weighted base size. This reflects the adjusted sample count based on any weighting rules applied to your data.
4. Unweighted: Displays the unweighted base size, which shows the actual number of responses collected before any weighting is applied.
5. Label: Customize the text that appears next to the base size. For example, "Sample size" or "Base (n)".
6. Position: Choose where to display the base size in your table using the Position dropdown. You can display it:
Along Rows – base size values appear beside row labels.
Along Columns – base size values appear below column headers.
7. Orientation: Control the alignment of the base size using the Orientation dropdown. You can display base information in the following places:
If Position is set to Rows
Top – The base will be the first row of the table
Bottom – The base will be the last row of the table
If Position is set to Columns
Left – The base will be the first column of the table
Right – The base will be the last column of the table
2.3: Borders
The Borders section lets you control the visibility, color, and style of both table and cell borders.
Tip: Clean border formatting can make large tables easier to interpret.
1. No table border/Show table border: Toggle the outer border of the table on or off to control whether the entire table is framed. Toggle on/off the border of each individual cell.
2. Table border color: Click the color swatch to choose a color for the table border. This applies only when “Show table border” is selected.
3. Table border width: Use the up/down arrows to adjust how thick the outer border of the table should appear (measured in pixels).
4. Table border line style: Select a line style for the table’s outer border.
5. Table border selection: Choose which edges of the table the border should display a border (top, bottom, left, right, or all sides).
6. Cell border color: Click the color swatch to set a color for borders between individual cells.
7. Cell border width: Adjust the thickness of the internal cell borders using the width selector.
8. Cell border line style: Choose a style for your cell borders.This can help differentiate cells visually without using color.
9. Cell border selection: Choose which edges of each cell should display a border (top, bottom, left,right, or all sides) This is also available on the formatting toolbar, marked as item 9.
2.4: Cell Color
The Cell Colors section lets you apply alternating background colors to your table rows. This can help users differentiate rows more easily.
Tip: Use alternating row colors to improve accessibility when working with wide or dense tables.
1. Odd row color: Select a color to apply to every other row starting with the first (1st, 3rd, 5th, etc.). This is useful for creating a striped table layout that enhances readability.
2. Even row color: Select a color to apply to the alternating rows (2nd, 4th, 6th, etc.).
2.5: Row Headers
The Row Headers section lets you control the appearance of the leftmost column in your table.
Tip: Styling your row headers makes it easier for users to distinguish labels from data, especially in wide tables with many values.
1. Style/Don’t style: Choose whether or not to apply custom formatting to row headers. When enabled, you can adjust font, color, alignment, and more.
2. Font size: Toggle this on to set a specific font size for row header text, independent of the rest of the table.
3. Text color: Turn this on to choose a custom font color for row headers using the color selector.
4. Text style: Apply bold, italic, or underlined styles to row header text for emphasis or hierarchy.
5. Text alignment: Enable this to activate horizontal and vertical alignment options for row header content.
6. Horizontal text alignment: Choose how text aligns horizontally inside row header cells (Left, Center, or Right).
7. Vertical text alignment: Choose how text aligns vertically inside row header cells (Top, Center, or Bottom).
8. Cell borders: Toggle this on to apply border settings specifically to row header cells.
9. Cell colors: Enable this to apply a background fill color to the row header area. If selected, you can then specify different colours for the odd and even rows, in the way as for the main body of the table.
10. Auto width: Automatically adjusts the width of the row headers based on the content.
11. Max width: If auto width is off, you can manually set a maximum width for the row header column using this input.
2.6: Column Headers
The Column Headers section allows you to customize the appearance of the top row of your table. These settings help distinguish column titles from data.
1. Style/Don’t style: Choose whether to apply custom formatting to the column header row. When styling is enabled, additional customization options become available.
2. Font size: Turn this on to apply a specific font size to column header text, separate from the rest of the table.
3. Text color: Toggle this setting to choose a custom font color for your column headers using the color selector.
4. Text style: Apply formatting such as bold, italic, or underlined to column header text for added emphasis.
5. Text alignment: Enable this option to unlock horizontal and vertical alignment settings for the header text.
6. Cell borders: Toggle this on to add or customize the border appearance around the column header cells.
7. Cell colors: Use this to apply background fill colors to the column headers, helping to visually separate them from data rows.
2.7: Row Height and Column Width
The Row Height & Column Width section lets you fine-tune how space is allocated within your table. Use these settings to control how much room each row and column takes up, helping your table fit your layout needs.
Tip: Use manual height and width settings to prevent wrapping issues.
1. Use full object width: Automatically stretches each column to use the available width of the container or dashboard object.
2. Set minimum width: Manually define the minimum width (in pixels) for each column. This is helpful when dealing with long labels or values.
3. Use full object height: Automatically stretches rows to fill the available vertical space within the table container.
4. Set minimum height: Manually define the minimum row height (in pixels). This can improve spacing for readability.
2.8: Cell Margins
The Cell Margins section lets you control the internal spacing between a cell’s content and its borders. Adjusting these values can improve readability.
Tip: Uniform margins (e.g., 8px on all sides) can help create clean visual separation in tables.
1. Left: Sets the space between the cell content and the left edge of the cell.
2. Top: Sets the space between the cell content and the top edge of the cell.
3. Right: Sets the space between the cell content and the right edge of the cell.
4. Bottom: Sets the space between the cell content and the bottom edge of the cell.
This is also available on the formatting toobar, marked as items 10 & 11.
2.9: Filter Text
The Filter Text section lets you control the appearance of filter labels displayed in your table. This text typically shows which filters are applied to the table view. This panel appears only when Filters are applied to the table.
1. Hide / Show: Toggle the visibility of filter text. When enabled, filter information appears below the table, helping users understand what data is being shown.
2. Color: Click the color swatch to choose a custom font color for the filter text.
3. Font size: Use the arrows to set the font size of the filter text.
2.9.1: Example
2.10: Base text
The Base Text section controls the appearance of base size labels in your table. These labels typically display the number of responses (weighted or unweighted) behind the data.
1. Hide / Show: Choose whether to display or hide base size text in your table. Showing it can provide helpful context for interpreting data values.
2. Color: Click the swatch to set the font color for the base size label text.
3. Font size: Use the arrow controls to adjust the font size of the base size label.
2.11: Font
The Font section allows you to choose the font family used throughout your table. This includes data values, headers, and any visible labels.
2.12: Title and Footer
The Title & Footer section allows you to add text above and below your table for context, clarification, or branding. You can also customize the appearance of this text using standard formatting options.
1. Title: Enter and format a custom title that will appear above your table. Use the formatting toolbar to adjust font, size, color, alignment, and style (bold, italic, underline). The title will display as shown in the following image.
2. Footer: Enter and format a footer that will appear below your table. This is useful for adding notes, disclaimers, or additional context.
3: Series Settings Panel
The Series Settings panel allows you to manage how rows and columns are displayed, including the placement and sorting of variables in the table. Use to keep your table clean and focused on meaningful insights. See the sections below for details on each option.
3.1: Row & Column entries
The Row & Column entries section allows you to configure how variables appear in the rows and columns of your table.
1. Smart positioning: When enabled row and column items are positioned automatically based on the table's content, and the display choices you make in other sections. Transposing rows and column automatically turns off smart positioning.
2. Rows: Items (variables) in this section appear in the rows of the table. Click the eye icon to hide the label (for example, the question or answer text). The eye icon turns grey and the item label will not appear in the table. Click again to reactivate. You can drag Row variables into the Column section.
3. Transpose: Select Transpose to switch the content of the Rows and Columns areas. This is useful when you want to flip the orientation of your data quickly.
4. Columns: Items (variables) in this section appear in the columns of the table. Click the eye icon to hide the label (for example, the question or answer text). The eye icon turns grey and the item label will not appear in the table. Click again to reactivate. You can drag Column variables into the Rows section.
3.2: Sorting
The Sorting section allows you to define how rows and columns are ordered.
The dropdown menus for Sort rows and Sort columns include:
By value: Sorts rows/columns based on the numeric values of the responses. You can select to Show all, Show Top [select number], or Show Bottom [select number].
Alphabetical: Sorts rows/columns in A-Z or Z-A order.
Questionnaire order: Uses the order defined in the questionnaire to display rows/columns.
By other chart/table (rows only): Allows sorting based on another chart/table. Use the drop-down menu to Select the chart/table to base sorting on. The sorting is based on a match on the text. Axis/row labels in the source chart/table must match the axis/row labels in the current table. Items in the current table without a match in the source table are positioned last. Only a saved chart/table can be used as a source. If a chart/table is missing in the list, save the deck first.
3.3: Base warning
The Base warning section allows you to set thresholds for when a series should be flagged due to a low base size. This helps ensure data integrity and cautions users when interpreting results based on small sample sizes.
1. Warn for series with low base: Toggle on this option to enable low base warnings. Once enabled, a limit is set to define the low base.
2. Limit: Specify the minimum base size required for the series. If the base size falls below this limit, the warning will display. For example, setting the limit to 30 will cause any series with a base size under 30 to display a warning.
3. Base: Select the appropriate base type for your analysis. Choose if the limit applies to:
Weighted base: Uses weighted respondent counts, reflecting sampling adjustments, or
Unweighted base: Uses raw respondent counts, with no weighting applied.
4. Message to be displayed when series have low base: Enter a custom message to show when series fall below the defined base limit.
3.4: Base suppression
The Base suppression section allows you to hide series (rows or columns) that have a low base size, improving table clarity.
1. Hide Series with Low Base: Toggle on this option to hide low base series. Once enabled, a limit is set to define the low base.
2. Limit: Specify the minimum base size required for the series. Any series with a base below this number will be hidden. For example, setting the limit to 30 will cause any series with a base size under 30 to not be displayed.
3. Row/Column Headers: There are two options:
Leave: Keeps the row/column header visible even if the data is hidden.
Remove: Removes the entire row/column including its header when the series is hidden.
4. Base: There are two options to define how the base is calculated:
Weighted: Uses weighted base values, reflecting sampling adjustments.
Unweighted: Uses raw/unweighted counts.
5. Message to be displayed when series are hidden: Enter a custom message to show when series are hidden.
3.5: Result suppression
The Result suppression section allows you to hide data series in a table when their results fall below a specified threshold. This helps declutter tables and ensure that only meaningful data is displayed.
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1. Hide Series With Result: Toggle on this option to hide series with low result values. Enter a number. Any series with results less than or equal to this value will be hidden.
2. Type: There are two options for hiding series:
Result: Hides based on the value of the series, for example, the percentage score.
Respondent count: Hides based on the number of respondents in the series.
3. Row/Column Headers: There are two options:
Leave: Keeps the row/column headers visible even if the series is hidden.
Remove: Completely removes the headers associated with the hidden series.
4. Message to be displayed when series have low result: Enter a custom message to show when series with low results are hidden.
3.6: Hide empty series
The Hide empty series section contains controls to handle series with no data.
1. Hide date gaps: When enabled, this option removes empty date intervals (such as months or weeks with no data) from the timeline display. This is particularly useful for time-based charts where continuous flow is desired without visual interruptions.
2. Hide empty series: When enabled, this option removes entire series (such as questions or answers) that have no data across all data points.
4: Apply Analysis Panel
The Apply Analysis panel provides analysis tools to enhance your table with deeper insights. Use to apply statistical analysis directly within your table. See the sections below for details on each option.
4.1: Weight
The Weight section allows you to choose between analyzing weighted or unweighted data.
There are two options:
Weighted data: Selecting Weighted data means the data presented and analyzed is weighted.
Unweighted data: Selecting Unweighted data means the data presented and analyzed is unweighted.
4.2: Benchmark
The Benchmark section enables you to benchmark or compare series of data against each other (for example, Wave1 and Wave2) and then show the resulting change from one period to the next.
Enable benchmark calculation: Toggles benchmark mode on or off.
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Calculation: Choose the benchmark unit:
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Units: The Unit calculation is used to get the difference in units between two results.
Formula: X - Y
Example: if X=50 and Y=80, then 50 - 80= -30
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Percentage share: The Percentage share calculation is used to get the difference between two results in a percentage share.
Formula: (X - Y ) /Y * 100
Example: if X=50 and Y=80, then (50 - 80) /80 * 100 = -37.5%
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Conversion rate: The Conversion rate calculation is used to get the conversion rate, in percentage, between two results.
Formula: X / Y * 100
Example: if X=50 and Y=80, then 50 / 80 * 100 = 62.5%
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Show only benchmarks: Hides original values and displays only benchmark results.
Benchmark between: Choose to benchmark between Columns or Rows.
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Comparison columns: Select which columns to compare against. Options include:
All previous columns
Previous column
All next columns
Next column
First column
Last column
Comparison behavior: Decide whether to keep (Leave comparison columns) or Hide comparison columns in the table.
Show Comparison in: Choose how comparison values are displayed: Same row or Extra row (in the same cell).
4.3: Significance test
The Significance Test Calculations section allows you to configure and apply statistical tests to your tables.
1. Enable Significance Tests: Toggle this option to enable or disable significance testing.
Calculation Settings
2. Analysis type: Select the test type:
Two independent Z test
Two independent T test
Dependent Z test
Dependent T test
3. Significance Level: Select the confidence threshold: 10%, 5%, or 1%.
4. Base Limit: Set the minimum base size required for tests. You can also select the base type: Weighted, Unweighted, or Effective.
5. Respondent Count Limit: Set the minimum respondent count for the test to run.
6. Base size: Select how to calculate base size:
Weighted
Weighted – effective base
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Unweighted – Option A: The highlighted part of the formula is based on unweighted numbers:
Z = (X1 - X2)/(s12/n1 + s22/n2)1/2
OR
Z = (P1 - P2)/(P (1 - P)(1/n1 + 1/n2))1/2
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Unweighted – Option B: The highlighted part of the formula is based on unweighted numbers:
Z = (X1 - X2)/(s12/n1 + s22/n2)1/2
OR
Z = (P1 - P2)/(P (1 - P)(1/n1 + 1/n2))1/2
Test
7. Test between: Select the test direction: Columns or Rows
8. Comparison Type: Define which columns/rows to compare:
All vs. All
Previous column
Next column
First column
Last column
Select column…
Visualization
9. Results to show: Choose the result direction to display:
Positive and negative
Positive only
Negative only
10. Symbols: Select symbol style: +, – OR ↑, ↓
11. Significance Level: Select where the significance symbols appear: Same row OR Extra row (within the same cell).
4.4: Add Mean series
The Add Mean series section allows you to insert a mean (average) value into the table, either by rows or columns.
1. Select an option:
No Mean series (default): No mean values are added to the table.
Mean series in Rows: Adds a mean value at the end of each row.
Mean series in Columns: Adds a mean value at the bottom of each column.
2. Consider base size in calculation: Includes base sizes when calculating the mean.
3. Hide original series: Displays only the mean series, hiding the original data.
4. Position: Choose whether the mean appears as the first or last series.
5. Label: Defines a custom label for the mean series.
4.5: Ranking
The Ranking section allows you to display ranking of the data values.
1. Enable Ranking: A toggle is switched on to activate ranking.
2. Show only rank values: Displays only the rank values, hiding the original data.
3. Show number of ranked values as suffix: Toggling off lists just the rank value (for example, "(3)"). Toggling it on lists the rank value and the total number of items (for example, "(3 of 5)").
4. Ranking suffix (shows when Show number of ranked values as suffix is toggled on): The default is "of" (for example, "1 of 5").
5. Rank direction: Select High to low or Low to high.
6. Rank between: Select Columns or Rows.
7. Show rank in: Choose how rank values are displayed: Same row or Extra row (in the same cell).