Insert worksheet as Table in Graph and customize it

In versions before Origin 2023, there are two ways to insert a table in layout or graph but both are hard to use.

1. Insert whole worksheet in layout window
   • Origin keeps column header (A, B, C, … ) and row header (1, 2, 3, …) which usually isn’t necessary to keep in table object.
   • Margin is added around the table object. Resizing table object add necessary empty rows or more margin,
   • Resizing font isn’t possible. 
   • No table style. User will have to go to worksheet to do customization.
   • Not supported in graph window. 
2. Copy a region in worksheet and paste to graph/layout window,
   • Can’t copy both column label rows and data together. 
   • Limited table style control
   • Double click it will open an an intermediate worksheet which can be confusing. 

 in Origin 2023 , we improved the way to insert worksheet in layout and graph windows with mini toolbar to customize font, border, grid, banded rows, etc so user can easily bring customized worksheet to graph/layout and do further customization if needed. 

In this blog, you will learn how to insert a worksheet into a graph and customize its format. Please first download the project file and follow the steps below.

1. Open the project file. Note that the Summary worksheet contains the fitted peak parameters from multiple spectrums. We are going to insert this worksheet into the graph with the original data points and the fitted curves. (See below)

2. First, select the graph, then select the menu Insert: Worksheet… to launch the Sheet Browser window. Select the Summary worksheet, and click OK to insert.

Note: Insert Worksheet feature is also available for the layout window.

Worksheet is added as a table with no extra empty spaces, no margin around the table, and no column and row headers.

3. Click on the inserted worksheet object and in the popped-up mini toolbar, set the font size to 26. The table will automatically adjust its size. Drag the corner of the worksheet to further adjust its height and width. Then drag the worksheet to position it below the graph.

4. Let’s now customize the worksheet object in the graph. First, go back to the original workbook, and click on the grey area at the top right corner. In the mini toolbar, click on the Banded Rows button.

5. To apply the changes to the inserted table, click the table in the graph, and click the Update From Worksheet button.

6. Further customize the worksheet using the mini toolbar. Here, we remove the frame and set the cell background color to light yellow.

8. You can also go to the worksheet to change the decimal places, alignment, etc., and update the worksheet object in the graph.

9. Further adjust the page size to get the final customized graph. The worksheet object is attached to the layer. So you can also choose Graph: Fit Page to layer to adjust the page size to cover both the graph and worksheet object.