Easy to create dynamic interactive tables with lightweight jQuery UI plugin Tabulator! This article will guide you how to convert JSON data into dynamic, interactive tables with very little JavaScript code.

Core points:

• Quick Settings: The Tabulator plugin allows you to convert JSON data into dynamic, interactive tables with just a small amount of JavaScript code.
• Custom Columns: You can define and customize table columns through parameters such as title, fields, sorting, width and formatter to meet your specific needs.
• Flexible data loading: Tabulator supports a variety of data loading methods, including JavaScript arrays, AJAX requests, and conversion of existing HTML tables.
• Enhanced interactivity: Built-in sorting, filtering and editing for a better user experience.
• Extended Features: Explore more advanced features such as custom sorters and formatters, row grouping, movable columns and paging to create powerful tables.

This article was reviewed by Stephan Max and Simon Codrington. Thanks to all the peer reviewers at SitePoint for making SitePoint’s content perfect!

Standard HTML tables are very convenient for layout of basic data, but what if you need more powerful table features? For example, getting data from an external API, making tables sortable or editable, you need a more powerful tool.

If this sounds familiar, then Tabulator is the perfect choice for you. Tabulator is a lightweight jQuery UI plugin designed to simplify the construction of complex interactive tables. With just a few lines of JavaScript code, you can convert almost any data source into a beautifully formatted, interactive table.

This tutorial walks you through the basic steps of creating the first Tabulator, then expands some of the available options to add extra functionality to your table.

Create your first Tabulator

Let's start by creating a very simple table.

Since Tabulator is a jQuery widget, you need to include jQuery and jQuery UI libraries, whether from a local source or a CDN of your choice.

You need to get a copy of the Tabulator library (can be cloned from the GitHub repository: http://ipnx.cn/link/f7eabb16f5527507fc1236f156c5b816.

<link rel="stylesheet" href="tabulator.css">
<??>

Create a <div> element to hold the table:

<div id="example-table"></div>

Let's use some JavaScript to convert that element to a Tabulator:

$("#example-table").tabulator();

That's it, a fully functional table!

Okay, we are not fully finished. To complete our table, we need to define the columns and load some data.

Definition column

To define the layout of a table, we need to provide some information about each of its columns.

We do this by passing an array of column definitions to the Tabulator constructor. Each object in the array represents a column of the table and contains its setting parameters:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="tabulator.css">
<??>

There are many column parameters available, and in this demonstration we will cover some of them:

• title – Required – Title to be displayed in column headers
• field – Required – Key of columns in data array
• align – Text alignment of columns (left|center|right)
• width – Column width (If not set, the system will determine the optimal size)
• sortable – Switch whether the user can sort data by column
• sorter – How to sort data in a column (default is a string)
• formatter – How to format data in columns (default is a string)
• onClick – Callback function when a user clicks a cell in a column
• editable – Whether users are allowed to edit this data
• editor – Editor used when cells in a column are editable
• visible – Show or hide columns

Load data into table

The final stage of building a new Tabulator is to load some data. There are several options for this, and we will briefly cover each one here.

JavaScript array

You can use the setData method to pass in a data array. This requires an array, and each row of the table is defined by an object.

Let's create some sample data:

<div id="example-table"></div>

Then assign it to our form:

$("#example-table").tabulator();

Ajax request

To retrieve data in JSON format from a remote source, you can pass the URL to the setData method, which will perform the Ajax request for you.

$("#example-table").tabulator({
  columns:[
    {title:"Name", field:"name", sortable:true, width:200},
    {title:"Progress", field:"progress", sortable:true, sorter:"number"},
    {title:"Gender", field:"gender", sortable:true},
    {title:"Favourite Color", field:"col", sortable:false},
    {title:"Date Of Birth", field:"dob"},
    {title:"Cheese Preference", field:"cheese"},
  ],
});

Other request parameters can be passed in an object containing the URL.

var sampleData = [
  {id:1, name:"Oli Bob", progress:12, gender:"male", rating:1, col:"red", dob:"", car:1, lucky_no:5, cheese:"Cheader"},
  {id:2, name:"Mary May", progress:1, gender:"female", rating:2, col:"blue", dob:"14/05/1982", car:true, lucky_no:10, cheese:"Gouda"},
  {id:3, name:"Christine Lobowski", progress:42, gender:"female", rating:0, col:"green", dob:"22/05/1982", car:"true", lucky_no:12, cheese:"Manchego"},
  {id:4, name:"Brendon Philips", progress:100, gender:"male", rating:1, col:"orange", dob:"01/08/1980", lucky_no:18, cheese:"Brie"},
  {id:5, name:"Margret Marmajuke", progress:16, gender:"female", rating:5, col:"yellow", dob:"31/01/1999", lucky_no:33, cheese:"Cheader"},
];

HTML Form

You can also convert existing HTML tables to Tabulator.

Create your HTML table:

$("#example-table").tabulator("setData", sampleData);

Then call the Tabulator constructor on the table element to automatically extract the title and data:

$("#example-table").tabulator("setData", "http://www.exampleurl.com/data");

The final result

You have built the table, defined the columns and loaded the data, and now you have a fully functional interactive table. Your working Tabulator should look like this: (CodePen link or sample picture should be inserted here)

Online functions

But that's not all! Why settle for simple text-based tables when you can do more to improve the look, feel, and interactivity of a table? In the next few sections, we'll cover some additional features you can add to enhance your Tabulator.

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A full-featured example

If we combine all the lessons we learned above, we can create a feature-rich and interactive form. (CodePen link or sample picture should be inserted here)

The tip of the iceberg

We have covered how to create a basic Tabulator and add features to enhance its appearance and usability.

This article only introduces the tip of the iceberg when creating and customizing tables. This library contains many features that help provide users with a richer experience:

• Line Grouping
• Mobile rows and columns
• Pagination
• CSS Styles and Themes
• Progressive rendering of large datasets
• Permanent column layout (Storing user preferences in cookies)
• Callback function during each stage of table rendering and each type of user interaction

I hope this article shows you how to take your basic HTML table to the next level, adding interactivity and style to your data.

I wish you a happy use of Tabulator!

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