Apply style to Google Sheets

Table Styles provides you with a set of style templates for your tables in Google Sheets. You can quickly select and apply one of 50+ existing styles, edit it to your liking, or create a new one.

How to work with Table Styles for Google Sheets

Run Table Styles

Select the range with a table you'd like to format in the sheet and go to Extensions > Table Styles > Start in the Google Sheets menu:
Start the add-on in Google Sheets.
The add-on pane will appear with a list of all styles and various editing options:
The first sidebar you'll see when running the add-on.

Choose an existing style pattern or add a new style template

The first goes a list of table styles pre-supplied by Ablebits:
See all style templates.

  1. All 50+ templates are divided into 6 different groups based on the colors they contain and their overall looks:
    • practical
    • monochrome
    • light
    • dark
    • juicy
    • contrasting
    • as well as one main group where you can see all style patterns.
    Tip. All default styles we offer can be modified and then saved as your custom styles.

    Once you create your own style templates (whether from scratch or by modifying a default one), they will appear in the Custom group:
    See all groups in the drop-down.

  2. Click the first rectangle with a plus icon to start creating your own style.
  3. You can see the style template name when you point your mouse to it:
    Hover your mouse over the pattern to see its name.
    Click on the style to be able to preview, edit & apply it to your table.
  4. Navigate between the pages to view all templates that belong to a selected group.
  5. When the style pattern is selected and you're ready to edit it, you can minimize the area with all style miniatures by clicking on the arrow icon.

    Click again to expand the list back.

Select table elements you'd like to format

Next, you can choose table elements to apply the style to:
Select the required table elements.
Simply tick off the checkboxes next to those table units that you want in the style template:

  • header row
  • footer row
  • left column
  • right column
  • alternating colors (if you'd like to get rows of 2 different hues in your table body)

For example, if you don't use the left column and footer row in your table, uncheck them in the list to ignore their style. The style pattern will change accordingly:
Remove unwanted ticks and the template will change accordingly.
So will the style preview.

Edit & preview the style

Whether you choose one of the pre-supplied style templates or your custom one, or even create a new pattern, you will be able to customize it and see its preview right away in the corresponding Preview & edit area:
Preview & edit your style template.

  1. You will see a default style name — Untitled — in the Title field. To change it for your own styles, simply click this field and enter a different name:
    Rename your own style.
    Hit Enter to confirm and keep the new name.

    Note. You cannot rename default styles. Yet, you can save them as new templates with new names to edit them later.
  2. Just below the name, you'll find a more detailed view of the template with its table elements and colors.

    To change the way some table elements look, click on the unit right in the table preview.

    Tip. Press and hold the Ctrl button on your keyboard to select several elements and customize them in one go.
  3. Multiple selection lets you pick and format several table elements in the same manner without holding the Ctrl key.
  4. Here you are to decide on the formatting for your style. Use standard tools within the sidebar to set the font, colors, borders, text alignment, and other formatting options for the selected individual elements or for the entire table.
  5. By clicking this arrow icon, you can minimize or expand the Preview & edit area whenever you need.

Apply the style to your table

The add-on offers the possibility to apply the selected style to your table either as a whole or by parts.

  • To apply only parts of the formatting, first, click on the filter icon next to the Style button. You'll be able to select those style elements that you want to apply to your table, whether only fill colors or font settings:
    Style only font size & colors along with fill colors.

    Note. Everything you select here will be saved for the next time you run the add-on. The filter icon will be colored red indicating that not all style units are selected:
    Red filter icon will indicate that only some
    Make sure to check this out before applying different styles.
  • To apply the entire style, press the filter button and make sure all style elements are selected. If not, click Select all first and then press the Style button.
    Tip. When all units are selected, the filter icon will remain green:
    Green filter icon when all style elements are selected.

Manage table styles

3 buttons at the very bottom of the add-on sidebar let you quickly save the changes to your styles and delete all unnecessary templates:
Buttons to manage table styles.

  • Once you finish modifying the selected pattern, press Save to keep the changes.
  • Hitting Save as will offer you to save the style as another template without overwriting the original style. The add-on will ask you to give it a new name:
    Save the style as a new one.
    When you're ready, press Save. Or click No to go back to editing the template.

    Tip. You will see this newly created pattern in the list of your custom styles.
  • To remove an obsolete style, select it, click Delete and confirm your action:
    Delete unwanted style patterns.