Zoho Reports provides different options to create a table to store your tabular data. As already discussed, once you create a database you can create any number of tables within it.

When you create a table in a database using any of the options provided, you need to provide a name which is mandatory and it should be unique in that database. You can optionally provide a description about the table.

Click on the New Table button in the right top corner of the database or click on New - > New Table menu item present in the toolbar of every report/table in the database. On clicking, various options to create a table will be listed which are discussed below.

Import or Copy and paste data from CSV, XLS, HTML files/URL/Web feeds

Often you would already have data locally stored in tabular file formats like CSV, TSV, XLS (Excel) and HTML files. The data in such formats could also be available as a URL or Web feed. You would like to import or copy and paste such data into Zoho Reports to jumpstart your analysis and reporting over it.

Zoho Reports provides an easy option to import such data into your database and jumpstart your activities. Click the Import .XLS, CSV, HTML link to create a table by importing/copy and pasting data from any of the tabular files mentioned above. Follow this link to read more about the details on creating a table using the import data option.

Designing a New Table from scratch

Use this option if you would like to create a new table from scratch, by defining the columns to be present along with its properties (like type, default value etc.,). You might add data subsequently into this table or import data from an external file into this table.

Click on Using Design View option. A table designer dialog as shown below will pop up

In the Microsoft Excel-like data sheet provided, add the columns that are to be present in the new table, each in a separate row. Double click on the cell to add your column information. Each column added should have the following information:

Column Name : Provide the name of the column. Name should be unique in a table
Data Type (Column Type) : Choose the data type/column type of the column
Mandatory : If the column should have a mandatory value and cannot be empty, set this value as Yes. If not, set this to No
Default : Provide any default value that has to be present in the column, incase no data is entered. Refer to the specific data type document to know about the possible default values that could be provided for each column type.
Lookup column : In case this column is of type Looked Up column, where it refers (or lookup) to a column in another table, then you need to choose the column to be looked up from the corresponding table as value to this column. Lookup columns are useful to relate two tables in a database, which is basis for creating a reporting database which is relational. Read more about Lookup Column.
Formula : If you had added a formula column to the table, the formula would appear here which cannot be edited. Refer to Creating Formula Columns document.
Description : Provide a description to explain the purpose of the corresponding column.

Once you have added the necessary columns in the table, click Save in the toolbar. A "Save" dialog will pop up. Provide the name and description for the table. Click OK to save the table.

You can use the Delete Row option in the toolbar to delete a particular column by selecting the corresponding row in the designer data sheet. You can select a row by clicking on the corresponding row number cell in the data sheet.

Enter Data Right Away

If you are an Microsoft Excel or spreadsheet user who would like to first enter the data into the tables and then worry about naming the columns or formatting them, then this is the option that you have to choose.

Click on Enter Data Right Away option. A spreadsheet-like data sheet tab as shown below will get opened.

In the sheet, you can start entering the data that you wish to add under the respective columns named Column1, Column2 etc., You can also rename the column headers by double clicking on them and providing a name. As mentioned already, do ensure that column names are unique in a table.

Once you are done with your data entry, click on the Save button in the toolbar. This will prompt a "Save" dialog where you need to provide the name of the table (mandatory) and description (optional). The new table will be created with the given name, including the newly added data and columns.

Note : Anytime you can rename a table by clicking on the Edit icon seen on the top-left corner of the tab in which the table is displayed. The edit icon will be visible only when you mouse over the tab. Clicking on the icon, the table name will become editable. You can modify the name and press the Enter key to save the table with the new name.

You can also rename a table from the Navigation Tree on the left, which lists all the view in the database or from the Reports Explorer.

Next : Import data from CSV, XLS, HTML files/URL/Web feeds

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