Most guides on how to create a crosstab walk you through dragging variables into rows and columns one at a time. Here, most of that work happens for you. When you set up a report in the Dashboard-tab the platform automatically generates crosstabs through rule-based reporting, and this guide walks through exactly how that works, step by step.
What Happens Automatically
A standard crosstab gets created by default the moment you build a Dashboard Report. Additional ones get generated based on how many breakdown variables you’ve added to the Visual comparison section.
This is the part that replaces manual setup. Instead of building each crosstab one at a time, the system checks which variables you’ve flagged for comparison and generates the relevant tables on its own.
To add a variable for comparison, click the Edit button in the bottom-right corner of the Dashboard to open the variable list. Click the three dots next to the variable you want, then choose Crosstab Comparison.
How to Create a Crosstab on the Report Page
If you want to build or adjust a crosstab directly, rather than relying on the automatic version, here’s how to do it in three steps.
1. Switch the Presentation Type
Open your Report page and switch the view to Table.
● Find the Presentation Type icon in the top-left corner of the toolbar
● Click it and select Table from the list
This changes the view from a chart or bar visualization into a crosstab-style data table.
2. Set the Datatype and Base
Under the Datatype dropdown, choose how you want the data displayed. Options include:
● Percent positive
● Average
● Frequency, shown as a percentage
● Several other formats depending on the question type
3. Add or Adjust Breakdown Variables
This is what defines what your crosstab actually compares. Make sure Crosstab Comparison is selected for the variables you want included.
These Auto Variables handle the comparison automatically based on whatever you’ve added to the comparison list, things like gender, age group, or time period. If you’d rather compare against specific breakdowns only, you can select those directly instead of using the Auto Variables.
Why This Matters for Your Reports
A crosstab exists to answer one question: does this result look different once you split it by group? Building that manually, one table at a time, is the standard approach on most platforms. Here, once your breakdown variables are set, that comparison gets generated automatically every time the report runs, without rebuilding it survey after survey.
If you want the broader case for why cross-tabulation is worth using in the first place, we cover that separately in The Power of Cross-Tabulation.
FAQ
How do I create a crosstab?
Switch your Report page to Table view, set the Datatype under the dropdown, then select Crosstab Comparison or Visual Comparison for the variables you want to compare against.
Do I have to build every crosstab manually?
No. A standard crosstab generates automatically with every Dashboard Report, and additional ones are created based on the breakdown variables added to Visual comparison.
What’s the difference between Crosstab Comparison and Visual Comparison?
Both use Auto Variables to build comparisons automatically. Crosstab Comparison feeds the table view, Visual Comparison feeds the chart view, based on the same underlying variables.
Can I compare against something other than the Auto Variables?
Yes. Instead of the automatic set, you can select specific breakdown variables directly if you only want certain comparisons included.
What kind of data can go into a crosstab?
Standard question types like scaled or grid questions work with datatypes like Percent Positive or Average. Open-ended responses work too, using a datatype like Open Ends Sum, once they’ve been coded into categories.
Want to see how a full crosstab-based report comes together? Browse our PowerPoint report templates and find a style that fits your project.