Table Formatter
Paste from spreadsheet (tab-separated), CSV, or type data manually
Truncates cell content longer than this many characters
Paste Your Data to Get Started
Enter tab-separated, CSV, or pipe-delimited table data in the left panel, then choose a border style to see the formatted ASCII table output here.
How to Use the ASCII Table Tool
Paste or Type Your Table Data
Switch to the Table Formatter tab and paste your data into the text area. You can copy directly from a spreadsheet (Excel, Google Sheets) and the columns will be automatically tab-separated. Alternatively, type CSV data using commas, pipe-separated values, or any other delimiter. Click 'Load Sample Data' to see a working example immediately.
Choose a Separator and Header Mode
Select the column separator that matches your input data — Tab for spreadsheet pastes, Comma for CSV files, Pipe for pipe-delimited data. Then set the Header Row option: choose 'First row is header' to apply a bold separator line below the first row, which visually distinguishes column headings from data rows in the output.
Select a Border Style
Browse the visual thumbnail preview grid to pick your preferred table style. Options include MySQL/Plus for classic ASCII art, Unicode Single or Double for modern box-drawing characters, Rounded for elegant corners, Markdown/GitHub for README files and wikis, Compact for minimal layouts, HTML for web pages, and Plain for documentation that needs no border lines at all.
Copy, Download, or Browse the ASCII Reference
Click Copy to send the formatted table to your clipboard, or click Download .txt to save it as a file. Switch to the ASCII Reference tab to look up any character's decimal, hex, octal, binary, and HTML values. Use the search box to filter by name, code, or character. Click any row to copy all its values. Export the entire reference chart as a CSV file.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an ASCII table in programming?
In programming, an 'ASCII table' refers to two things. First, the character reference table that maps integers 0–127 to characters — this is what the ASCII Reference tab shows. Second, an 'ASCII art table' is a text-based grid rendered with box-drawing characters or punctuation marks like plus signs, dashes, and pipes. ASCII art tables are widely used in command-line tools, README files, source code comments, and terminal output because they require no special formatting and display correctly in any monospace-font environment. Markdown pipe tables (used on GitHub, GitLab, and many wikis) are one of the most common forms of ASCII art tables today.
How do I convert a spreadsheet to an ASCII table?
Open your spreadsheet in Excel or Google Sheets, select the cells you want, and copy them (Ctrl+C or Cmd+C). Paste the copied data into the Table Data textarea on this tool — spreadsheet cells are automatically separated by tabs when copied, so select 'Tab' as the separator. Choose 'First row is header' if your first row contains column headings. Then pick your preferred border style from the thumbnail preview grid. The formatted ASCII table is generated instantly and can be copied to your clipboard or downloaded as a .txt file.
What is the difference between Unicode Single, Unicode Double, and MySQL table styles?
MySQL style (also called Plus style) uses only basic ASCII punctuation: plus signs at corners and intersections, dashes for horizontal lines, and pipe characters for vertical lines. It is universally compatible with every terminal and text editor. Unicode Single uses actual box-drawing characters from the Unicode standard (┌─│┐└┘├┤┬┴┼) for a cleaner, more polished appearance. Unicode Double uses the double-line variant (╔═║╗╚╝╠╣╦╩╬) for an even bolder look. Unicode styles require a font that supports box-drawing characters, which all modern terminals and editors do.
What is the ASCII code for common characters like space, newline, and tab?
Space is ASCII code 32 (hex 20). Tab (horizontal tab, HT) is code 9 (hex 09). Newline or line feed (LF) is code 10 (hex 0A). Carriage return (CR) is code 13 (hex 0D). Backspace (BS) is code 8 (hex 08). Escape (ESC) is code 27 (hex 1B). Delete (DEL) is code 127 (hex 7F). The digits 0–9 run from codes 48–57. Uppercase letters A–Z run from 65–90. Lowercase letters a–z run from 97–122. You can look up any character instantly using the ASCII Reference tab — just type the character, its decimal, or its hex value in the search box.
Can I use this tool to generate Markdown tables for GitHub READMEs?
Yes — select the 'Markdown / GitHub' border style to generate GitHub-Flavored Markdown (GFM) pipe tables that render as formatted HTML tables on GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and most Markdown editors. The output uses the standard | column | format with a separator row of dashes between the header and data rows. Text alignment (left, center, right) is encoded in the separator row using colon notation (:---:, ---:, :---). Simply paste the output into your README.md or wiki page and it will render as a proper formatted table.
What are control characters and why are they shown with symbols?
Control characters are the first 32 ASCII characters (codes 0–31) plus DEL (127). They were originally designed to control teletype machines and serial communications — commands like 'start of heading,' 'end of text,' 'bell,' 'backspace,' and 'escape.' Because they are non-printing, displaying them in a table requires a visual substitute. This tool uses the standard Unicode control pictures block (U+2400–U+241F), which assigns dedicated glyphs to each control character: ␀ for NUL, ␇ for BEL, ␈ for BS, ␉ for HT (tab), ␊ for LF (newline), ␍ for CR, ␛ for ESC, and so on. These symbols let you see and identify control characters at a glance in the reference table.