General formatting best practices?

[iamanexcelnoob]

for me, much of my work is making basic tables using basic formulas to either show right in the Workbook or throw into a PowerPoint deck.

typically these tables are viewed by senior management and i constantly struggle (and change) with how to best format these basic tables.

i imagine there are rules of thumb or basic guidelines to follow - i just don't know them and haven't found a reliable place that summarizes them.

one rule i always use and seems to be a handy one is the never merge/center cells - just center across columns. seems to be helpful in most scenarios.

that type of rule is what i am hoping this thread leads to. just the basics. formatting, color, text, lines/outlines/borders, size, etc.

thanks!

 

[mole999]

make it look pretty after you have done the work and validated the content. use minimalistic formatting to highlight specific content. Use a good font size that will copy paste straight into you output so you don't have to adjust

 

[beirrac]

I would suggest using one of the table designs already set-up in excel. Just convert your data to a table by going to "Insert" tab, then "Table" in the Tables Group. This will bring up a "Table Tools" tab. Click on "Design". This shows different Table Styles for you to choose from. Choose one that fits your data and what you're trying to present. (If you decide you don't want a "table", you can click on "Convert to Range" on the Table Tools Design Tab in the Tools group).

 

[ECB]

I came here to ask this very question. I'm now - I think - a little proficient in the data analysis but I think I could often present better. Is there a decent book or tutorial that covers this?

I've not been using the preset tables so I might go back to that to see if that helps.