Tables are the backbone of most analytical and planning work in SAP Analytics Cloud.
Whether you are building a financial report, a multi-version comparison, or an operational dashboard, the table widget is where data becomes readable and actionable.
Six enhancements to the Table Experience address friction points that have been consistent across analyst, designer, and planner workflows. Each one is independent. Together, they make the table a more capable and direct working tool.
This post gives IT admins and consultants a quick overview of what shipped in 2026 Q3 QRC and what it means in practice.
Drag & Drop for Table Visualizations
Building a table in SAP Analytics Cloud has always required navigating configuration panels – selecting axes, assigning dimensions and measures, confirming placements.
For experienced designers, this is a known workflow. For analysts building or iterating on reports frequently, it is a source of friction, particularly when the mental model is simply “put this dimension here”.
Drag & Drop for the Table widget makes that direct manipulation possible. Story designers can now drag a dimension or measure from the Data Pane and drop it onto the table widget. Dropping onto the table places the entity on the relevant axis – adding it, replacing an existing member, or repositioning it – depending on where the drop lands.
This is not a replacement for the Builder Panel, which remains available for detailed configuration. It is an additional mode of interaction – one that allows designers to work at canvas level when that is the most natural way to think about the layout. In the next quarters, you can expect additional enhancements in that area, all related the Drag & Drop features within the table widget.
Available in the new table build experience only (Story 2.0, LWV). Not supported for list tables.
Lazy Loading for Table Columns
Wide tables are common in financial and operational reporting. A cost breakdown across dozens of cost centers, a time-series plan spanning multiple years, a multi-version comparison – all of these produce tables with a high number of columns.
Until now, opening such a table meant waiting for all columns to load before the widget became usable. The wider the table, the longer the wait.
With lazy loading for table columns, the table renders only the columns visible within the widget area on initial open. As you scroll horizontally, the next set of columns loads automatically and appends to all existing rows. No backend query is triggered. No data is reloaded. The horizontal scrollbar reflects the full table width from the start, so the complete structure is always visible even when parts of it have not yet rendered.
For organizations running large planning or reporting tables with 50+ columns, this is a meaningful performance improvement on initial load. It works with both Enterprise and Embedded SAC, including Business Data Cloud tenants.
This capability requires no configuration. It applies automatically to wide tables and complements row lazy loading, which already exists in SAP Analytics Cloud. Together, they address the two dimensions of large table performance.
Version Filter in “Applied to Table” Menu
Previously, the Version dimension filter wasn’t showing up in the table’s “Applied to Table” contextual menu even though other filters did. That’s fixed.
The Version filter now appears in the context menu, is included in the filter count, and respects the designer’s “Allow viewers to delete filter” setting. This is a consistency fix that matters most for planning tables where Version is a key filter.
Updated Default Story Theme and Table Look
New stories now open with a visual style aligned to SAP Horizon Morning by default. Colors, fonts, and widget styling are all updated to reflect the current design language. Find the full blog post on the topic here.
For the table specifically this means an update for in-cell chart colors, font color and styling. One of the most notable differences is that we removed the lightening function for data cells in BI tables and tables with planning disabled. As there are no input ready cells, we are now using the defined font color instead of lightening it.
Per default this is only applied for new tables. You can also apply this new behavior to existing tables by setting font color to a theme color.
Universal Display Hierarchy allows story designers to combine multiple independent dimensions into a single hierarchical structure within a table, without requiring a formal hierarchy to be defined in the underlying data model.
It is useful for financial and operational reports where the desired hierarchy is a display choice, a way of organizing rows for readability, rather than a structural property of the data.
The capability has been available for some time. In practice, though, a set of functional gaps made it difficult to rely on in production stories:
Sorting within a Universal Display Hierarchy table did not behave consistently
Filtering produced unexpected results.
Attribute display on initial render required manual workarounds to appear correctly.
Stories built with Universal Display Hierarchy did not always transport cleanly across systems.
These gaps are now addressed. Sorting and filtering work as expected, consistent with standard table behavior. Attribute display is correct on initial render. Stories using Universal Display Hierarchy can be transported and used consistently across systems without additional intervention.
This is primarily relevant for IT teams managing BW live connections and customers running SAC on BW UDH backends.
Export to Excel: Cells as True Value Types
Exporting a table to Excel is a routine step in most analytical workflows. The expectation is that the exported file behaves like a spreadsheet – that numbers are numbers, dates are dates, and that calculations and sorting work immediately without manual cleanup.
In practice, this has not always been the case. Formatted cells exported as plain text strings arrive in Excel looking correct but behaving incorrectly: a percentage field displays as “12.5%” but Excel treats it as text, not as 0.125.
A new sub-option under “Include Formatting” > “Format as true value type” changes this.
When enabled, exported cells are written as proper Excel cell types. Numbers are exported as numbers. Dates are exported as dates. Currencies, percentages, and custom formats are all translated into native Excel cell format strings rather than text representations of those values.
The scope of format fidelity is precise. Decimal places are preserved. Currency symbols carry through. Scale labels (k, M, Bn) translate into the corresponding Excel format pattern. Date and time patterns map to their Excel equivalents.
A column with mixed formats, where different rows carry different number formats, is handled correctly: each cell receives its own format string, not a lowest-common-denominator applied to the whole column.
The toggle works for both “Point-of-View” and “All”-scope exports, so the behaviour is consistent regardless of how the export is initiated. For teams using Analytics Designer, the same control is available via the scripting API: setKeepGeneralFormat() and isKeepGeneralFormat().
The practical outcome is that an exported table arrives in Excel ready to use. Pivot tables, formulas, and conditional formatting all work against the exported values without a data-cleaning step first. For analysts who export frequently and then reformat, this removes a consistent piece of downstream work.
Share Your Feedback
These six enhancements reflect feedback we have received from analysts, planners, and report designers across a range of use cases.
If you work with wide tables, build reports frequently, or use Universal Display Hierarchy for complex layouts, we would be glad to hear how these changes affect your workflow.
Your input is highly appreciated, both what works and what still falls short. The SAP Community is the right place to share that feedback, and we read it.
The table as the workhorse of analyticsTables are the backbone of most analytical and planning work in SAP Analytics Cloud.Whether you are building a financial report, a multi-version comparison, or an operational dashboard, the table widget is where data becomes readable and actionable.Six enhancements to the Table Experience address friction points that have been consistent across analyst, designer, and planner workflows. Each one is independent. Together, they make the table a more capable and direct working tool.This post gives IT admins and consultants a quick overview of what shipped in 2026 Q3 QRC and what it means in practice. Drag & Drop for Table VisualizationsBuilding a table in SAP Analytics Cloud has always required navigating configuration panels – selecting axes, assigning dimensions and measures, confirming placements.For experienced designers, this is a known workflow. For analysts building or iterating on reports frequently, it is a source of friction, particularly when the mental model is simply “put this dimension here”.Drag & Drop for the Table widget makes that direct manipulation possible. Story designers can now drag a dimension or measure from the Data Pane and drop it onto the table widget. Dropping onto the table places the entity on the relevant axis – adding it, replacing an existing member, or repositioning it – depending on where the drop lands.This is not a replacement for the Builder Panel, which remains available for detailed configuration. It is an additional mode of interaction – one that allows designers to work at canvas level when that is the most natural way to think about the layout. In the next quarters, you can expect additional enhancements in that area, all related the Drag & Drop features within the table widget.Available in the new table build experience only (Story 2.0, LWV). Not supported for list tables. Lazy Loading for Table ColumnsWide tables are common in financial and operational reporting. A cost breakdown across dozens of cost centers, a time-series plan spanning multiple years, a multi-version comparison – all of these produce tables with a high number of columns.Until now, opening such a table meant waiting for all columns to load before the widget became usable. The wider the table, the longer the wait.With lazy loading for table columns, the table renders only the columns visible within the widget area on initial open. As you scroll horizontally, the next set of columns loads automatically and appends to all existing rows. No backend query is triggered. No data is reloaded. The horizontal scrollbar reflects the full table width from the start, so the complete structure is always visible even when parts of it have not yet rendered.For organizations running large planning or reporting tables with 50+ columns, this is a meaningful performance improvement on initial load. It works with both Enterprise and Embedded SAC, including Business Data Cloud tenants.This capability requires no configuration. It applies automatically to wide tables and complements row lazy loading, which already exists in SAP Analytics Cloud. Together, they address the two dimensions of large table performance. Version Filter in “Applied to Table” MenuPreviously, the Version dimension filter wasn’t showing up in the table’s “Applied to Table” contextual menu even though other filters did. That’s fixed.The Version filter now appears in the context menu, is included in the filter count, and respects the designer’s “Allow viewers to delete filter” setting. This is a consistency fix that matters most for planning tables where Version is a key filter. Updated Default Story Theme and Table LookNew stories now open with a visual style aligned to SAP Horizon Morning by default. Colors, fonts, and widget styling are all updated to reflect the current design language. Find the full blog post on the topic here.For the table specifically this means an update for in-cell chart colors, font color and styling. One of the most notable differences is that we removed the lightening function for data cells in BI tables and tables with planning disabled. As there are no input ready cells, we are now using the defined font color instead of lightening it.Per default this is only applied for new tables. You can also apply this new behavior to existing tables by setting font color to a theme color. Universal Display Hierarchy – Extended CapabilitiesUniversal Display Hierarchy allows story designers to combine multiple independent dimensions into a single hierarchical structure within a table, without requiring a formal hierarchy to be defined in the underlying data model.It is useful for financial and operational reports where the desired hierarchy is a display choice, a way of organizing rows for readability, rather than a structural property of the data.The capability has been available for some time. In practice, though, a set of functional gaps made it difficult to rely on in production stories:Sorting within a Universal Display Hierarchy table did not behave consistentlyFiltering produced unexpected results.Attribute display on initial render required manual workarounds to appear correctly.Stories built with Universal Display Hierarchy did not always transport cleanly across systems.These gaps are now addressed. Sorting and filtering work as expected, consistent with standard table behavior. Attribute display is correct on initial render. Stories using Universal Display Hierarchy can be transported and used consistently across systems without additional intervention.This is primarily relevant for IT teams managing BW live connections and customers running SAC on BW UDH backends. Export to Excel: Cells as True Value TypesExporting a table to Excel is a routine step in most analytical workflows. The expectation is that the exported file behaves like a spreadsheet – that numbers are numbers, dates are dates, and that calculations and sorting work immediately without manual cleanup.In practice, this has not always been the case. Formatted cells exported as plain text strings arrive in Excel looking correct but behaving incorrectly: a percentage field displays as “12.5%” but Excel treats it as text, not as 0.125.A new sub-option under “Include Formatting” > “Format as true value type” changes this.When enabled, exported cells are written as proper Excel cell types. Numbers are exported as numbers. Dates are exported as dates. Currencies, percentages, and custom formats are all translated into native Excel cell format strings rather than text representations of those values.The scope of format fidelity is precise. Decimal places are preserved. Currency symbols carry through. Scale labels (k, M, Bn) translate into the corresponding Excel format pattern. Date and time patterns map to their Excel equivalents.A column with mixed formats, where different rows carry different number formats, is handled correctly: each cell receives its own format string, not a lowest-common-denominator applied to the whole column.The toggle works for both “Point-of-View” and “All”-scope exports, so the behaviour is consistent regardless of how the export is initiated. For teams using Analytics Designer, the same control is available via the scripting API: setKeepGeneralFormat() and isKeepGeneralFormat().The practical outcome is that an exported table arrives in Excel ready to use. Pivot tables, formulas, and conditional formatting all work against the exported values without a data-cleaning step first. For analysts who export frequently and then reformat, this removes a consistent piece of downstream work. Share Your FeedbackThese six enhancements reflect feedback we have received from analysts, planners, and report designers across a range of use cases.If you work with wide tables, build reports frequently, or use Universal Display Hierarchy for complex layouts, we would be glad to hear how these changes affect your workflow.Your input is highly appreciated, both what works and what still falls short. The SAP Community is the right place to share that feedback, and we read it. Read More Technology Blog Posts by SAP articles
