Excel-like interface was initially added in wpDataTables in 1.7 mostly to simplify bulk data input, however, it can also be used in the WordPress site’s front-end, both for editing and displaying tables (please note that only tables configured as editable will allow user input).

There are 3 ways to display any wpDataTable in an Excel-like interface – adding an attribute to the shortcode, choosing this option in default WP Visual Editor, or in WPBakery Visual Composer.

To make a table inserted via a shortcode displayed with Excel-like interface just add an attribute: “table_view=excel“:

[wpdatatable id=1 table_view=excel]

To do the same with Visual editor just choose the “Excel-like table” in the “Table view” dropdown of the “Insert a wpDataTable” popup:

Insert Excel-like table in WordPress

To configure the wpDataTable to have Excel-like interface when adding it through Visual Composer, just choose “Excel-like table” in the block settings when adding a wpDataTable block:

Excel-like table in WPBakery Visual Composer

Please note that not all features of standard wpDataTables will be available in the Excel-like interface. Click here to see the full list of limitations.