Zebra style table in KNIME Reporting

Tables in a report can be difficult to read, due to the amount of information they carry. In order to make a table easier to read, it can be displayed in the zebra style (i.e. with alternating rows with gray and white background). I will show how to do that with the KNIME 2.3.0 Reporting Tool.

As an example, we will display the performance of five sales groups in a table. First of all, we read the file with a “File Reader” node.  The file describes the amount of sales for a given month in the current year (present) and for the same month in the previous year (prev. year) for each one of the sale groups. Next, we connect the “File Reader” node directly to a “Data to Report” node. We then open the report and display the data set into a table by drag and drop. 

In the table item in the report layout:
   - Select the data row of the table; that is the row of the table containing the references to the data set.

In the “Property Editor” below:
    - Select the “Highlights” tab.
    - Click the “Add” button to add a new Highlight for the row.
    - The “New Highlight” window appears.

In the “new Highlight” window:
    - Click the “Expression Builder” button. This is the button on the right of the “Condition” textbox and with text “fx”. The “Expression Builder” window appears.

In the “Expression Builder” window:
    - In the bottom part, select the “Available Column Bindings” category and the “Table” sub-category. 
  - Double click the “RowNum” property to insert it in the “Expression Builder” editor above.
  - Type “%2” to “row.__rownum” in the “Expression Builder” editor.
  - Click the “OK” button.

Back in the “New Highlight” window:
  - Define the “Condition” for the new highlight. That is:
                         “row.__rownum%2”     “Equal to”      “0”
  - Define the consequent format. For example, “Background Color:” “Silver”. 
  - Click the “OK” button.

Run a Preview to see your table in zebra style.