I’m using the Simple Tables app and grouping doesn’t appear. What am I missing?

[Laura G_ – RedFox Ventures]

Hi everyone! I’m using the Simple Tables app in Confluence Cloud. I add a grouping on a column (Columns → Pick the column → Grouping → Add Mode type) and hit Save, but the table still looks flat — no expandable group headers. What could I be doing wrong? How should it look when grouping is correctly enabled?

Thanks

[Mia Tamm _Simpleasyty_ · Accepted solution]

Hi @Laura G_ – RedFox Ventures — thanks for the detailed steps you tried!

What’s likely happening: you added an aggregation (“Mode”) on a column, but the Grouping feature itself isn’t turned on yet. Aggregations only show inside group headers, so if grouping isn’t enabled the table will look flat. See “Grouping” (how to turn it on and what it looks like) and “Grouping aggregation” (how summaries appear in the group row).

Try this:

1. Edit the table → Display → Grouping → choose your “Group by” column(s) → Save. You should get collapsible group headers (and nested groups if you add more than one column).

2. Optional: for totals/summaries in the group header, go to Columns → Aggregation for the columns you want (Sum, Avg, Mode, etc.).

3. If you wrapped a native Confluence table with the Simple Table bodied macro, use the macro Preview or Publish to see the grouped view—the editor can look “flat” in edit mode.

How it should look when it’s working: each group shows a header row with a caret to expand/collapse; if you added aggregations, their results appear in that header (e.g., “Region: Kanto — Sales: 120,500”).

If this still doesn’t show up, tell me which macro you’re using (Simple Table vs. Simple Table bodied) and we’ll sort it out together.

— Mia Tamm