Table Styles provides you with a set of style templates for your tables in Google Sheets. You can quickly select and apply the style, edit it, or create a new one.
Video: How to style your table in Google Sheets
How to work with Table Styles for Google Sheets
Run Table Styles
To start the add-on, go to Add-ons > Table Styles in the Google Sheets menu and click the option that suits your task: Apply style to selection, Create style from selection, or Manage table styles:

Apply style to selection
If you chose the first option, you will see a sidebar with a list of table styles pre-supplied by AbleBits:

Tip. You can see the style template name when you point your mouse to it. Once you create your own style templates, you will see them in the
Custom styles group at the top:
Follow these simple steps to apply one of the styles:
- Select the range with your table in the sheet.
- Pick the style you would like to apply to that range. You'll see a more detailed view of the template with its table elements and colors below the list.
- Expand the Options group to choose table elements to apply the style to:

If you don't use the left column and total row in your table, you can simply uncheck them in the list to ignore their style.
Likewise, you can change the number of rows or columns your table element takes to apply the right style to them all. If you use two header rows, set the number of Header row to 2 so that the header style from the template is applied to first two rows.
- Click on the Apply to selection button to format the range.
Create style from selection
If you picked the second option from the menu, you'll be able to add a new style template. Either create a style from scratch or use the formatting you already have in your sheet.
Tip. To add your own style and then customize it, simply select the range with the formatted table.
It takes two steps to get your custom template:
- Name your style and choose the parts it will have:

You will see a default style name in the Title field. To change it, simply click this field and enter a different name.
Tick off the checkboxes next to those table units that you want in the style template. You can add header and total rows, first and second row stripes, left and right columns.
Click Next to decide on the formatting for your style.
- Set format and save the template:
Tip. When using an existing table style, the add-on will try to automatically define the formatting you selected.
Note. If the style preview doesn't resemble the original table, click Back and make sure you checked the table parts present in the selected table. The style may also be interpreted incorrectly if some table units take more than one row or column. Please edit the style manually in this case.
To change the way some table element looks, first select the unit using one of the following ways:
- Use the Select table element to edit drop-down list.
- Click on the table element right in the preview table.
Then use standard tools within the sidebar to set the font, color, borders, text alignment, and other formatting options for the selected individual elements or for the entire table.
To return the format of the element to the way it was originally recognized, click on the Reset option.
Note. The current version of Google Sheets doesn't let the add-on recognize your borders, wrap text, and alignment formatting options. You can add the necessary format for the design template when creating it to have such formatting applied to your tables.
Once you finish editing, click Save to keep the new table style.
You will see the created template in the list of your custom styles:
Manage table styles
Here you will see a sidebar with a list of all your custom templates. You can quickly edit them or delete all unnecessary styles.
Note. The styles we offer as default ones cannot be modified at the moment.
- Point your mouse to the style to see its name:
- Select the table style you'd like to modify and click Edit right below it.
- To remove it, click on the Delete icon and confirm your action.
Related pages
Responses
None of these table styles makes any sense & when you try to customize them, that doesn't make any sense either!
PLEASE PROVIDE ACCURATE INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO EDIT THE DEFAULT STYLES, SINCE THE DEFAULT STYLES ARE COMPLETELY WORTHLESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello Frank,
We are really sorry to hear that you are not satisfied with the add-on and the instructions provided.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to customize default styles in the current version of the add-on, but you can try to create your own style and add it as a new style template. Please see this part of the instructions for more details.
If you need any further assistance with the add-on, please email to support@ablebits.com.
I agree with Frank!
Too much clicking and too little use of this add on...
Thank you for your feedback, Eugene.
We'll do our best to improve the next version of the tool.
I just see that with table style can add some color to the table to make it look better, however this complement can also include blank spaces in the table to make some division between the sub totals as on the excel or just color?
Hello Mayra,
Thank you for your question. If I got it right and you need to keep the total row plain, you can always uncheck the corresponding option in the add-on to ignore its style. However, the total row appearance will then correspond with the style chosen for the whole table.
If that is not what you mean, please describe your task in more detail.
Table Style in google sheet refuse to connect in drive.google.com
Hello Jerald,
Please note that there is currently an issue on the side of Google that occurs when you are logged in under more than one account. Please sign out and log back in only under the account you used to grant permissions to the add-on and see if the issue persists. If you still have difficulties accessing the add-on, then please contact us at support@ablebits.com for further assistance.
Does Tab Styles automatically apply the format when the size of the tab changes (eg new rows are added)
Hello JUERG,
Thank you for your question. In this case the add-on would apply formatting of the row above or below which a new row is added. I'm afraid you need to apply the style anew after adding new rows or columns to your table.