# Tables vs. Charts

**Whether you want a full dataset for detailed inspection or a chart to spotlight patterns, you can choose the format that works best for your task.**

### Tables vs. Charts:  When and Why to Use Each

**Use tables when:**

* You need to see raw data or individual records, such as a list of courses or students
* You’re checking for missing or unexpected values
* You want to copy or export specific rows
* You need full visibility into all returned fields

**Use charts when:**

* You want to compare groups or trends
* You need to communicate a key insight quickly
* You’re identifying outliers or shifts over time
* You’re preparing a pinboard or report for sharing

Charts are your tools to the the story, while tables help you better inspect and understand the details of your data. And remember, you can always start in one and switch to the other as needed.

### How Doowii Decides When to Auto-visualize

When you ask a question, **Doowii evaluates the structure of your result and automatically chooses a chart type** if:

* The result includes grouped categories and a numeric column
* The data is well-suited for common visualizations (like bar or line charts)
* The number of rows and columns is manageable for a chart

If these conditions are met, a chart will appear by default, along with icons to switch to other formats. If not, Doowii will default to showing the full table.

Regardless of how Doowii responds, you can change to the visualization to a different chart type or back to the table view. 

### How to toggle between table view and quick charts

<figure><img src="/files/L2T6xzYAmUcD3t56glU5" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

At the top of your result, you’ll see a row of icons that let you switch views. These include:

* A table icon to return to the full data view
* A set of quick chart icons for bar, line, pie, donut, scatter, and bubble charts

Click any icon to instantly update the view. These quick charts use your existing query result. If you want more control, or a different chart type, click the [Advanced Chart Builder](/top-resources/advanced-charts-and-visualizations-builder.md) icon to open the full visualization editor.


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