Wolfram Function Repository

Instant-use add-on functions for the Wolfram Language

Function Repository Resource:

 NiceGrid

Source Notebook

Nicely format data in various structures into a grid format

Contributed by: Andrew Steinacher

ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][data]

formats data in a grid.

ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][data,cols]

formats data in a grid with column headers cols.

ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][data,cols,rows]

formats data in a grid with both column and row headers.

Details and Options

ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"] can handle lists, lists of lists, associations, lists of associations and nested associations.
The following options are accepted:
"MaxNumber"50maximum number of rows to display before eliding them
"MissingItem"Tooltip["-",Missing["Absent"]]expression used in place of missing grid items
"NumberColumn"Falsewhether to add a numbered column

Examples

Basic Examples (2) 

Show array data in a grid preloaded with helpful options:

In[1]:=
ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][Partition[Range[9], 3]]
Out[1]=
Image

Add row and column headers:

In[2]:=
ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][ Partition[Range[9], 3], {"C1", "C2", "C3"}, {"R1", "R2", "R3"}]
Out[2]=
Image

Scope (3) 

Easily display the contents of an Association in a grid with row headers:

In[3]:=
ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][<|"A" -> 1, "B" -> 2, "C" -> 3|>]
Out[3]=
Image

Show a list of associations in a grid with column headers:

In[4]:=
ResourceFunction[ "NiceGrid"][{<|"A" -> 1, "B" -> 2, "C" -> 3|>, <|"A" -> 4, "B" -> 5, "C" -> 6|>}]
Out[4]=
Image

Show nested associations in a grid with both row and column headers:

In[5]:=
ResourceFunction[ "NiceGrid"][<|"row1" -> <|"A" -> 1, "B" -> 2, "C" -> 3|>, "row2" -> <|"A" -> 4, "B" -> 5, "C" -> 6|>|>]
Out[5]=
Image

Options (8) 

MaxNumber (2) 

Use "MaxNumber" to limit the number of rows shown:

In[6]:=
ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][Partition[Range[100], UpTo[7]], "MaxNumber" -> 10]
Out[6]=
Image

By default, "MaxNumber" is set to 50 to avoid overwhelming the Wolfram System and to show approximately one screen height of common text rows:

In[7]:=
ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][Range[1000]]
Out[7]=
Image

MissingItem (1) 

Use "MissingItem" to specify how grid elements that correspond to missing key-value pairs are displayed:

In[8]:=
ResourceFunction[ "NiceGrid"][{<|"b" -> 2, "a" -> 1|>, <|"a" -> 3|>, <|"c" -> 9, "b" -> 6, "a" -> 5|>}, "MissingItem" -> "MISSING"]
Out[8]=
Image

NumberColumn (5) 

Add a number column to easily count rows:

In[9]:=
ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][{"A", "B", "C", "D", "E"}, "NumberColumn" -> True]
Out[9]=
Image

The number column can be used with "MaxNumber":

In[10]:=
ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][ToUpperCase@Alphabet[], "NumberColumn" -> True, "MaxNumber" -> 5]
Out[10]=
Image

The number column gets a header if column headers are specified:

In[11]:=
ResourceFunction[ "NiceGrid"][{#!, #!!} & /@ Range[5], {"single", "double"}, "NumberColumn" -> True]
Out[11]=
Image

A number column can be added if row headers are not specified implicitly or explicitly:

In[12]:=
ResourceFunction[ "NiceGrid"][{<|"b" -> 2, "a" -> 1|>, <|"a" -> 3|>, <|"c" -> 9, "b" -> 6, "a" -> 5|>}, "NumberColumn" -> True]
Out[12]=
Image

If row headers are specified, the option is ignored:

In[13]:=
ResourceFunction[ "NiceGrid"][<|"A" -> {1, 2, 3}, "B" -> {4, 5, 6}, "C" -> {7, 8, 9}|>, "NumberColumn" -> True]
Out[13]=
Image

Applications (1) 

Import a file and view approximately a screenfull of its contents:

In[14]:=
timeSeries = Import["ExampleData/financialtimeseries.csv"]; ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][timeSeries]
Out[15]=
Image

Properties and Relations (3) 

Options for Grid are supported:

In[16]:=
ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][ <| "A" -> <|"a" -> "lorem", "b" -> "ipsum"|>, "B" -> <|"a" -> "doror", "b" -> "sit"|>, "C" -> <|"a" -> "amet", "b" -> "consectetur"|> |>, Alignment -> Left, Spacings -> 2 ]
Out[16]=
Image

Dataset allows for dynamically navigating data with useful features like scrollbars:

In[17]:=
data = AssociationThread[ Alphabet[] -> (StringRepeat[#, 50] &) /@ Alphabet[]];
In[18]:=
Dataset[data]
Out[18]=
Image

NiceGrid shows data more simply in a static form, typically with tighter rows and columns:

In[19]:=
ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][data]
Out[19]=
Image

Dataset requires dynamic updating to display; NiceGrid does not:

In[20]:=
CurrentValue[CellObject, DynamicUpdating] = False; Rasterize /@ {Dataset[{1, 2, 3}], ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][{1, 2, 3}]} CurrentValue[CellObject, DynamicUpdating] = Automatic;
Out[21]=
Image

Possible Issues (2) 

Nonuniform data can lead to undesirable formatting:

In[22]:=
data = <|"A" -> <|"a" -> 1, "b" -> 2|>, "B" -> <|"a" -> 3, "b" -> 4|>, "C" -> <|"a" -> 5, "b" -> 6, "c" -> 3|>|>; ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][data]
Out[23]=
Image

Normalize the data to get better formatting:

In[24]:=
ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][ AssociationThread[Keys[data] -> KeyUnion[Values[data], f]]]
Out[24]=
Image

Nested data may have undesirable formatting:

In[25]:=
nestedData = <| "A" -> <|"i" -> "one", "ii" -> "two"|>, "B" -> <|"iii" -> "three", "iv" -> "four", "v" -> "five"|>, "C" -> <|"vi" -> "six", "vii" -> "seven", "viii" -> "eight"|> |>; ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][nestedData]
Out[26]=
Image

Using NiceGrid at different levels may give better results:

In[27]:=
ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][ ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"] /@ nestedData]
Out[27]=
Image

Neat Examples (1) 

Gather a large dataset with images and show a small portion of it:

In[28]:=
data = EntityValue[ EntityClass["FoodType", "CommonOutsideColor" -> "Green"], {"Image", "ApproximateShape", "CommonInsideColor", "DefaultServingSizeMass"}, "EntityPropertyAssociation" ]; ResourceFunction["NiceGrid"][data, "MaxNumber" -> 5]
Out[28]=
Image

Publisher

Andrew Steinacher

Version History

  • 2.0.0 – 10 June 2020
  • 1.0.0 – 13 September 2019

Related Resources

Author Notes

Non-uniform data can cause undesired behavior. The code could be made more robust to this, but as a first pass, it’s pretty good. The use of RuleDelayed in Association or lists of rules may get evaluated… the code could also be made more robust to this, but this case is not too common. Grid option translation is not perfect, and is very tricky to get completely correct.

License Information