Well, I was working on a project that required handling a ton of data. And I needed a way to present it in an organized and easy – to – understand manner. That’s when I decided to try using a tree table.
First off, I had to figure out what software to use. I just went with a popular spreadsheet program that I was already familiar with. I opened up a new file and started by entering the basic data. I typed in the main categories, which were like the big branches of the tree. For example, I was dealing with a sales report, so I put in things like “Product Lines”, “Regions”, and “Time Periods”.
Then came the tricky part of structuring it as a tree. I used the indentation feature in the spreadsheet. I’d hit the tab key to move some data under the main categories, making them the sub – branches. Like under “Product Lines”, I added different product types. It was a bit like building a family tree, but with data instead of people.
One of the issues I faced was that the tree table looked really cluttered. There were so many rows and columns, and it was hard to tell what was connected to what. So, I decided to use colors. I gave each main category a different color, and then all its sub – items had a lighter shade of that color. This made it a lot easier to visually distinguish the different parts of the tree.
Another practical tip I found was to use sorting. I could sort the data within each category by different criteria. For instance, I sorted the products in each product line by sales volume. This helped me quickly see which products were performing well and which ones were lagging behind.
I also realized that hiding and showing levels was super useful. Sometimes, I just wanted to look at the big picture, so I’d hide all the sub – levels. And when I needed more details, I’d expand the tree to see everything. It was like zooming in and out of a map.
Finally, after all these steps, I had a really effective tree table. It made presenting and analyzing the data so much easier. I could quickly share it with my team, and they could understand the data just as easily as I did. And that’s how I managed to use a tree table effectively in my project.