You can't have two number ones

You can't have two number ones. 'Cause that would be eleven.

Truer words have never been uttered. It's time to help our users highlight the Number One. Some of you may be wondering why you're not seeing a picture of Jet Li. That's just because you haven't learned the wisdom of Cal Naughton, Jr. And you're only beginning to understand the sagaciousness of DJ m*Sight Mike.

It's time to easily, effectively and understatedly highlight your top value in a table.

The challenge is helping your user to easily see what's important. In the example above, it's pretty easy to see that Toronto has the highest sales. But what if the list is 50 cities long? And the values are all roughly the same? Don't make your users hunt through a bunch of data. Point out the answer!

Step 1 - Create a Table

Sales by City... If you don't know how to do this, start reading at my first post and continue until you're here again. Don't forget to read About Me, Reasons to follow me on Twitter, Recommended Reading List, and Thumb Rules. You'll be a better person and a better American for the effort. Even if you're Swedish.

Step 2 - Add an Expression

This expression will create your 'pointer'.

     =If(Rank([Sales]) = 1, CHR(187))

A couple of explanations:

• [Sales] is the name of your expression Sum([SalesAmount]); you didn't forget that you can use expression names in place of re-typing, right?
• CHR(187) references the extended ASCII characters
• In plain English, this expression says, if this row has the highest sales, give me CHR(187) which is the double arrow character you see above; implicitly the 'else' is 'give me nothing'

If you simply click OK, you'll end up with something ugly:

• Don't left justify your pointer
• Don't leave a crazy label
• Don't leave a '-' as your null values
• Don't have a Total Row
• Don't have the pointer as the far right column
• Don't be stupid

Step Three - Presentation

Hold a left-click on the pointer column and drag it to the far left of the table. As you're dragging, the column will grey out and you will see a blue arrow indication on it's new position.

Change the label of the pointer column to a space. Change its Text Color expression attribute to:

     = Red()

Change its Text Format expression attribute to:

      '<B>'

Get rid of the Caption. Center the pointer column. On the Style tab, remove the vertical grid lines:

On the Presentation tab, change the '-' to a space for Null Symbol and Missing Symbol. Uncheck all of the unneeded and ugly icons.

Step Four - Gaze at your perfection

I've taught you how to do this many times before. If you still haven't learned how, refer to the 6th Thumb Rule.

Finally...

It's time to start trying some new stuff. Life needs to be interesting! But no one lives forever, no one. With advances in modern science and our high income, it's not crazy to think we can live to be 245, maybe 300. Heck, I just read in the newspaper that they put a pig heart in some guy from Russia. Do you know what that means?

"I guess longer life."

No, he didn't live. It's just exciting that we're trying things like that. And things like pointers and clean, readable tables.

God bless America. And crazy big horsepower.

P.S. The more intelligent of you may have noticed that my pointer is red and remembered, "Hey, DJ m*Sight Mike taught us that red means something!" Give yourself a gold star and me a break. But I'm proud of you, slugger!

P.P.S. Did you know that P.S. means postscript?