---
title: Table features
reference: features
---


# Table features

## Sorting

Because the table component is **data-agnostic**, you can display complex data in the table and perform arbitrary
operations on it.

For example, this data set of Sumo tournaments in 2015 contains rankings and win-tie-loss results for each competing
rikishi (wrestler). For each column type, we define a different set of sort operations.

In the table below, try:

- Sorting with the menu in each column header
- Selecting cells and copying with the right-click context menu or with <kbd>Cmd/Ctrl</kbd> + <kbd>C</kbd> hotkeys

<div class="@ns-callout @ns-large @ns-intent-primary @ns-icon-info-sign">

This example utilizes `cellRendererDependencies`; [see why in the section below](#table/features.re-rendering-cells).

</div>

@reactExample TableSortableExample

## Re-rendering cells

Sometimes you may need to re-render table cells based on new data or some user interaction, like a sorting operation as
demonstrated in the above example. In these cases, the typical table props which tell the component to re-render
(like `children`, `numRows`, `selectedRegions`, etc) may not change, so the table will not re-run its `<Cell>` children
render methods.

To work around this problem, **Table** supports a dependency list in its `cellRendererDependencies` prop. Dependency
changes in this list (compared using shallow equality checks) trigger a re-render of all cells in the table.

In the above sortable table example, we keep a `sortedIndexMap` value in state which is updated in the column sort
callback. This "map" is referenced in the cell renderers to determine which data to render at each row index, so by
including it as a dependency in `cellRendererDependencies`, we can guarantee that cell renderers will be re-triggered
after a sorting operation, and those renderers will reference the up-to-date `sortedIndexMap` value.

## Focused cell

You may allow users to focus on a single cell and navigate around the table with arrow keys by setting
`enableFocusedCell={true}`. Try out this interaction in the table above &mdash; the table container will also scroll
around if you move focus outside the current viewport. You can expand and shrink the selected cell range using
kbd>Shift</kbd> + arrow keys. For a full reference of enabled keyboard hotkeys, press <kbd>?</kbd> to bring up the
hotkeys dialog after you have clicked into the table once.

## Editing

To make your table editable, use the [**EditableCell**](#table/table2.editablecell) and **EditableName** components
to create editable table cells and column names.

To further extend the interactivity of the column headers, you can add children components to each **ColumnHeaderCell**
defined in the `columnHeaderCellRenderer` prop of **Column**.

The following example renders a table with editable column names (single click), editable table cells (double click),
and selectable column types. In this example, the editable values are validated against an alpha character-only
regular expression (`[a-zA-Z]`). If the content is invalid, a `Intent.DANGER` style is applied to the cell.

@reactExample TableEditableExample

## Reordering

The table supports drag-reordering of columns and rows via the `enableColumnReordering` and `enableRowReordering`
props, respectively. Use `cellRendererDependencies` to ensure the latest state updates are reflected.

### Reordering columns

When `enableColumnReordering={true}`, a drag handle will appear in the column header (or in the interaction bar,
if `enableColumnInteractionBar={true}`).

#### Single column

To reorder a single column, click and drag the desired column's drag handle to the left or right, then release.
This will work whether or not column selection is enabled.

#### Multiple columns

To allow reordering of multiple contiguous columns at once, first set the following additional props:

- `enableMultipleSelection={true}`
- `selectionModes={[RegionCardinality.FULL_COLUMNS, ...]}`

Then drag-select the desired columns into a single selection, and grab any selected column's drag handle to reorder the
entire selected block.

#### Edge cases

With disjoint column selections (specified via <kbd>Cmd</kbd> or <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + click), only the selection containing
the target drag handle will be reordered. All other selections will be cleared afterward.

Reordering a column contained in two overlapping selections will currently result in undefined behavior.

### Reordering rows

Rows do not have a drag handle, so they must be selected before reordering. To reorder a selection of one or more rows,
click and drag anywhere in a selected row header, then release. Note that the following props must be set for row
reordering to work:

- `enableRowHeader={true}`
- `enableRowReordering={true}`
- `selectionModes={[RegionCardinality.FULL_ROWS, ...]}`
- `enableMultipleSelection={true}` (to optionally enable multi-row reordering)

### Example

@reactExample TableReorderableExample

## Loading states

When fetching or updating data, it may be desirable to show a loading state. The table components provide fine-grain
loading control of loading row headers, column headers, or individual cells. Several table components expose a
`loading` or `loadingOptions` prop, but loading-related rendering is computed with components lower in the hierarchy
taking priority. For example, a cell with `loading` set to `false` will never render its loading state even if the
**Column** component to which it belongs has a `loadingOptions` value of `[ ColumnLoadingOption.CELLS ]`. The following
examples display a table of the largest potentially hazardous asteroid (based on absolute magnitude) discovered in a
given year.

### Table loading states

**Table** exposes a `loadingOptions` prop that allows you to control the loading state behavior of all column header,
row header, and body cells. Try toggling the different options.

@reactExample TableLoadingExample

### Column loading states

**Column** exposes a `loadingOptions` prop that allows you to control the loading state behavior of an individual
column's header and body cells. Try selecting a different column in the dropdown below.

@reactExample ColumnLoadingExample

### Cells

**Cell**, **EditableCell**, **ColumnHeaderCell**, and **RowHeaderCell** expose a `loading` prop for granular
control of which cells should show a loading state. Try selecting a different preset loading
configuration.

@reactExample CellLoadingExample

## Formatting

To display long strings or native JavaScript objects, the table package provides **TruncatedFormat** and **JSONFormat**
components. These are designed to be used within a **Cell**, where they will render a
[**Popover**](#core/components/popover) to show the full cell contents on click.

Below is a table of timezones including the local time when this page was rendered. It uses a
`<TruncatedFormat detectTruncation={true}>` component to show the long date string and a
`<JSONFormat detectTruncation={true}>` component to show the timezone info object.

@reactExample TableFormatsExample

## Freezing

The table supports column and row freezing via the `numFrozenColumns` and `numFrozenRows` props, respectively.
Passing `numFrozenColumns={n}` will freeze the `n` leftmost columns in place, while all other columns remain scrollable.
Likewise, passing `numFrozenRows={m}` will freeze the `m` topmost rows in place, while all other rows remain scrollable.

Here's an example of a table with 1 frozen columns and 2 frozen rows:

@reactExample TableFreezingExample