Support Matrix

Purpose

Track table-formatting capabilities seen in major BI tools and define Dataface support status and config mapping.

Legend: - M2: planned for first-pass implementation - Partial: partial/limited support in M2 - Later: defer beyond M2

Cross-Tool Capability Matrix

Capability	Seen in other BI tools	Dataface status	Dataface mapping / approach
Hide/show columns	Tableau, Looker, Metabase, Superset	M2	style.columns.<id>.hidden
Column header title override	Tableau, Looker, Metabase	M2	style.columns.<id>.header.title
Column alignment	Tableau, Looker, Metabase, Superset	M2	style.columns.<id>.header.align, style.columns.<id>.value.align
Text wrap/truncation behavior	Tableau, Metabase, Looker	Partial	Start with style.columns.<id>.value.wrap; advanced truncation modes later
Number formatting	Tableau, Looker, Metabase, Superset	M2	style.columns.<id>.value.* aligned with Vega-Lite format / formatType (shared Python formatter with charts)
Currency formatting	Tableau, Looker, Metabase	M2	Same Vega-Lite-shaped fields as charts (exact mapping in schema docs)
Date/time formatting	Tableau, Looker, Metabase	M2	Same Vega-Lite-shaped fields as charts
Prefix/suffix/unit display	Tableau, Looker, Metabase	M2	style.columns.<id>.value.number.prefix/suffix
Column-level links	Looker, Metabase, Superset	M2	style.columns.<id>.link (static URL, template, or column ID)
Text column linked by URL column	Common modeling pattern across BI stacks	M2	style.columns.<text_col>.link: <url_col> (column ID resolution)
Row-level URL variation	Looker/Metabase style row-context navigation	M2	Column ID on link and/or URL templates with row column placeholders
Row click action (entire row clickable)	Some BI/table libs	Later	Defer to avoid interaction conflicts in M2
Cell-level arbitrary renderer overrides	Table libraries (AG Grid/Tabulator/MUI)	Later	Avoid arbitrary render hooks in M2 JSON config
In-cell data bars	Looker, Metabase, Superset (CELL_BAR)	M2	style.columns.<id>.visual.type=bar
In-cell sparklines	Table libraries + existing Dataface support	M2	style.columns.<id>.visual.type=sparkline
Conditional formatting rules engine	Tableau, Looker, Metabase, Superset	Later	M2 keeps logic in query/data layer
Style from another column (color map)	Common via calculated fields / callbacks	M2	style.columns.<target>.style.textColor, backgroundColor, … with value = source column ID
Query-side templated style/link helpers (e.g., Jinja-generated CASE columns)	Common in SQL-first BI workflows	M2	Compute helper columns in query, then reference column IDs in unified style/link fields
Text color from another column	Tableau/Looker style conditional output	M2	style.columns.<target>.style.textColor: <source_col>
Font weight from another column	Table libraries via class/style callbacks	M2	style.columns.<target>.style.fontWeight: <source_col>
Heatmap / color scale rule engine	Tableau, Looker, Metabase color ranges	Later	M2 requires precomputed color in data
Header background/font style	Tableau, Looker	Partial	Basic header typography/color in M2; richer theming later
Row/column banding	Tableau	Partial	Basic table-level zebra in style.table.zebra; advanced banding later
Entire-row background from data	Superset ENTIRE_ROW, Metabase row styles	M2	style.table.rowBackgroundColor: <col> (column-ID-first); query supplies color per row
Border/divider fine controls	Tableau	Later	Keep minimal grid line controls in M2
Totals/subtotals formatting controls	Tableau, Looker	Later	Handle via query + existing table rendering for now
Dashboard-specific table destinations	Metabase, Looker	Later	Out of M2 formatting scope
Detail view/entity drill modal behavior	Metabase/Looker drill flows	Later	Separate drill/navigation initiative

Tool-Specific Notes

Tableau

• Very broad worksheet formatting surface (fonts, alignment, shading, borders/dividers, lines, totals formatting).
• Dataface M2 intentionally takes a narrower slice: column/table formatting primitives + visual encodings + cross-column mapping.

Looker

• Strong table-format + conditional-format + cell-visualization support.
• Dataface M2 matches core value formatting and in-cell visuals, but defers generic rules engine.

Metabase

• Strong per-column formatting with link/image/email display and rule-based conditional formatting.
• Dataface M2 supports link-from-column and precomputed style mappings, defers generic rule authoring UI/engine.

Superset/Preset

• Conditional formatting includes explicit object types such as CELL_BAR and ENTIRE_ROW in recent changes.
• Dataface M2 adopts bar visual and cross-column mappings first; full rules object model deferred.

M2 Principle (Current)

• Query/data layer owns conditions and derivations.
• Formatting layer maps derived values to presentation.
• Exact stable column IDs only in M2 (no label/index selectors in config).
• Column-ID-first resolution for applicable string fields under style.columns.<id> keeps syntax tight.
• Jinja is supported as query-generation tooling for derived helper columns, not as runtime formatting logic.
• Value formatting fields mirror Vega-Lite so charts and tables stay consistent.