# Quickly draw a table without data in Vision?

**URL:** <https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/quickly-draw-a-table-without-data-in-vision/33256>\
**Category:** Ignition\
**Tags:** vision\
**Created:** [March 19, 2020, 9:49pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/quickly-draw-a-table-without-data-in-vision/33256 "2020-03-19T21:49:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![sungkhum](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/sungkhum/32/10636_2.png) [@sungkhum](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/sungkhum)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 9:49pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/quickly-draw-a-table-without-data-in-vision/33256/1 "2020-03-19T21:49:25Z")

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Is there an easy way to draw a table (like an HTML table) so I can show some data bound to some tags without connecting with a database?  
Right now I’m manually drawing the table with lines and rectangles, but there must be a better way?

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**Author:** ![paul-griffith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/paul-griffith/32/37249_2.png) [@paul-griffith](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/paul-griffith)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 9:56pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/quickly-draw-a-table-without-data-in-vision/33256/2 "2020-03-19T21:56:02Z")

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Manually make table’s dataset (just click the spreadsheet-like icon on the ‘Data’ property). Add rows/colums as needed.  
Once you’ve got it set up as you like, click the binding icon and create a ‘cell update binding’. This allows you bring in dynamic values (tags, custom properties) into _specific_ cells of the dataset.

[https://inductiveuniversity.com/video/cell-update-binding/7.9](https://inductiveuniversity.com/video/cell-update-binding/7.9)

It’s important to know that datasets (the Ignition data structure) are totally independent of databases. Query bindings are a common way to create a dataset, by querying a database for specific results, but datasets are _everywhere_, and there’s lots of ways to manipulate or create them.

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**Author:** ![sungkhum](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/sungkhum/32/10636_2.png) [@sungkhum](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/sungkhum)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 10:04pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/quickly-draw-a-table-without-data-in-vision/33256/3 "2020-03-19T22:04:57Z")

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Thanks for the tip @paul-griffith . I don’t think that will work because my tables need to be more flexible than that (merging columns and rows), though I could be wrong. Here’s a screenshot:

 ![table-test](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/original/2X/e/e7d5679001b5fdca8a4b95287176decc30062c3f.png)  
Is there something that will draw a table like this for me instead of me having to do it manually?

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**Author:** ![paul-griffith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/paul-griffith/32/37249_2.png) [@paul-griffith](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/paul-griffith)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 10:26pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/quickly-draw-a-table-without-data-in-vision/33256/4 "2020-03-19T22:26:19Z")

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The power table component can be set up to span/merge cells - it’s still not total freedom of layout, but it’s the next best thing before a _large_ jump in complexity.

The next level of power/freedom would probably be the [Template Canvas](https://docs.inductiveautomation.com/display/DOC80/Vision+-+Template+Canvas). In ‘Layout Positioning’ mode, you can use anything the [MiG layout manager](http://www.miglayout.com/) supports - including arbitrary span widths, floating gaps, etc, etc. With that, you could have your existing layout, using templates for the numeric displays / text only displays, and use miglayout to control everything’s layout and sizing.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sungkhum](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/sungkhum/32/10636_2.png) [@sungkhum](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/sungkhum)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 10:41pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/quickly-draw-a-table-without-data-in-vision/33256/5 "2020-03-19T22:41:17Z")

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Alright, thanks!