Tables

Make a Table

Table
Button 

Click the Table button on the toolbar 

 

A grid will appear. Move the mouse over the grid and click to select table size.

When typing into the table, cells automatically adjust size to fit your text.

 

 

Show Outlines

With the cursor in a table with no border, (See Format Table Border below) click this button and the borders will show as dotted blue outlines. 

Showing outlines is helpful when tables are used to position text and graphics.  When the design is done, clicking this button again hides the outlines.

 

 

Hover mouse over each button for usage.  For example, Insert Row says: 

Insert Row

Click to insert row above current one.

Shift + Click inserts row BELOW current one.

Ctrl + Click duplicates row. 

 

 

Insert Column

Click to insert column before current one.

Shift + Click inserts column AFTER current one.

Ctrl + Click duplicates column. 

 

 

Delete
Row

 
Click to delete current row.

Delete Column

 

 
Click to delete current column.

Merge/Split Button
  • Highlight two or more adjacent cells.
  • Click Merge/Split button to merge into one cell.
  • Click Merge/Split to revert to original cells.
 
 

Table Cell Properties button
  • Click inside table cell
  • Click the Table Cell Properties button.

Current properties are shown in dialog:

Options are:

  • Vertical alignment.
  • Cell width and height.  These may be set in three ways:

Automatic:

Cell dynamically expands to surround its contents.

Preferred Height (Percent): 

Cell size is dynamically set as a percent of IE page size. 

Preferred Height (inches/pixels):

Cell size is fixed in inches or pixels.
  • Margin settings adjust spacing between cell contents and border.  Clicking the 'Make Identical' button copies the 'Left' setting into the other three settings.

 

Table Width and Other Properties

Table
Width
Button
  • Click inside the table.
  • Click the Table Width button.

Current properties are shown.

Changes to this dialog affect entire table.

 

 

Table Alignment Selections

  • The Left, Center, and Right selections position the table horizontally on the line.
  • The Left- and Right-Wrap Text selections cause text to flow around the table.  This is used, for instance, to flow text around a picture:  Fit the picture in the table, arrange text, and select one of the Wrap Text selections.

 

Table Width selections: 

Automatic

Table width increases incrementally as cells fill with text or pictures.

Full Width

Table fills the width of the current browser page.

Preferred Width

Width is set as a Percent of full width.  Or width can be fixed in inches or pixels.

 

Column Width selections:

All Automatic

Returns all cells to Automatic width.  Each cell, and its column, then increases incrementally in proportion to the other columns in the table.

All Equal %

Sets all columns at an equal percent fraction of the table width.  Thus, the width of each column for a 4-column table would be set at 25%.

Fix Column Widths to Picture Sizes

For cells containing pictures, cell margins are set to zero and all cell widths and heights are set equal to the largest picture size in that row or column.  The effect is that the table cells "squeeze in" tight around pictures.  This is very useful for exact alignment of graphics on a page.  

 

 

Cell Margins selections:

To set all cell margins in a table to a value:

  1. Click in the table, then click the Table Width & other Properties button.
  2. Check the "Set all to:" box.
  3. Type a number (in pixels) in the adjacent field.
  4. Click the Apply button.

Note:  Alternately, type a number followed by px=pixels, pt=points, pi=picas, in or "=inches.  Examples:  6pt, 1in, 0.5", 3px

 

Bump Cell Margins:

The plus and minus Bump buttons incrementally add or subtract a value from all table cells.  This has many page design uses, such as uniformly adjusting the padding around text in a table. 

To adjust all cell margins in a table:

  1. Click in the table, then click the Table Width & other Properties button.
  2. Enter the value in the field to the left of the "+Bump" button.
  3. Click either the "+ Bump" or the "- Bump" button.

Notice that margins change instantly so you may re-adjust using a dynamic preview.

4.   Click Cancel or click outside the dialog box.

 

Apply Bump to Outer Table:

To Bump a table outside of the selected table, check the "Apply to outer table" checkbox and follow above steps. 

The "(Nesting depth: 2)" is a display informing you of how many tables are nested outside the selected table, including the selected table.

 

 

 

Table Positioning Tips

The lower border of a table is on a line with the table replacing the text.  The cursor may be positioned either just before or just after the table on that line.  Formatting paragraph tools may then be used to:

  • Add a space before or after the table.
  • Indent table.
  • Adjust paragraph line margins and line spacing for the table.
  • Left, center, or right justify the table. 
 
 
 

Format Table Window

Place cursor inside table.
Click on the Table Format Button:

Table Format

    button
  • Customize table appearance by clicking each feature option and viewing the preview in the Border Formatter.
  • The tables above each feature button display the effective change to the preview table if that button is clicked.
  • The combined effect of all the button, line, and color settings are shown in the Preview table.
  • Clicking the 'Table Cell' or 'Paragraph' options apply the border format to just the table cell or to the paragraph that the cursor is in.
  • When first opening the border formatter, the settings shown are from the last table formatted.  This feature allows faster similar table formatting.
 

Example:  Creating a Table

 

 

1-5

5 - 9:30

9:30-11

Diane 

Stock

Cashier

Cashier

Alvin 

 

Sale Setup

Stock

Heather 

Deli

Deli

Mop

 

 

1-5

5-9:30

9:30-11

Diane 

Stock

Cashier

Cashier

Alvin 

 

Sale Setup

Stock

Heather 

Deli

Deli

Mop

1.  Create a basic table.   

 

2.  Add color, shading, and change line thickness.

 

 

 

 

1-5

5-9:30

9:30-11

Diane 

Stock

Cashier

Alvin 

 

Sale Setup

Stock

Heather 

Deli

Mop

 

 

1-5

5-9:30

9:30-11

Gallio 

Stock

Cashier

Diane 

Stock

Cashier

Alvin 

 

Sale Setup

Stock

Heather 

 Deli

Mop

3.  Merge cells, center cell text, modify cell margins/column sizes/row sizes.

    .

  

 

4.  Insert/Copy/Modify a row, insert a table within a table, customize inner table border to show only top and bottom lines, modify inner table border color.

     

 

 

 

 

Table Cell Editing Tips 

  

The actual space at the sides of a cell are a combination of the cell margin settings and the Line Margin and Line Spacing settings.

 

Unwanted space within cell may be due to blank lines or  space characters.

 

 

 

 

 

Add cell background color by placing cursor in the cell, then select a color using the Fill Color button.

 

If you select text and apply a fill color, only the text selected will change color.