Design Table Column Controls
Data & Dashboards · tables, filters, enterprise
Updated 2026-07-28
- Accept that no default column set fits everyone. Different roles need different fields from the same table, and a fixed layout forces exports into a spreadsheet.
- Let users choose which columns are shown, and pick a sensible default that covers the common task rather than everything available.
- Support the controls that make a wide table usable:
- Reordering, so related fields sit together.
- Resizing, for columns with long values.
- Pinning the identifying column so it stays visible when scrolling sideways.
- Sorting, including a defined behaviour for empty values.
- Keep the header visible while scrolling. A long table with the headings scrolled away is a grid of anonymous values.
- Remember the arrangement per user and per table. A layout that resets on every visit is worse than no customisation at all.
- Give one obvious way back to the default, so experimenting is safe.
- Keep sorting honest. Say which column is sorted and in which direction, and never sort text and numbers with the same rule.
- Carry the visible arrangement into exports and shared links, so what someone else opens matches what was described to them.
A table that users can shape to their own job stops being a report and starts being a tool.
Related guides
UX Handbook