Working with Tables

Create a table and set its properties

When you create a table, you can also specify its properties, such as the number of rows and columns, its size and alignment, border attributes, and so on.

1. In Page view, position the insertion point where you want to insert the table.
2. On the Table menu, point to Insert, and then click Table.
3. In the Rows box, enter the number of rows you want.
4. In the Columns box, enter the number of columns you want.
5. In the Alignment box, select the position for the table on the page.
6. In the Border size box, enter the width you want for the table border in pixels. If you do not want a border, type 0.
7. To change the table's cell padding (the space between a cell's border and content), enter a number in the Cell padding box.
8. To change the table's cell spacing (the space between cells), enter a number in the Cell spacing box.
9. To change the table's width, do one of the following:
   • Select In pixels, then type the width you want the table to be in pixels.
   • Select In percent, then type a percentage of the screen width you want the table to be. If the table is to appear in a frame, specify a percentage of the frame width.

Note   The properties that you specify for the new table will be used as the default properties the next time you create a table.

Insert a table within a table

You can insert a table within a cell in an existing table.

1. In Page view, position the insertion point in the cell where you want to insert a table.
2. Click Insert Table , then drag down and to the right until the number of rows and columns you want in the table is displayed.

Set the table layout

You can set the layout of a table by changing the following properties:

• Alignment of the table relative to the page
• Text flow around the table
• Thickness of the table's outer border
• Cell padding (the space between text and cell borders)
• Cell spacing (the distance between cells in a table)

1. In Page view, right-click the table, and then click Table Properties on the shortcut menu.
2. In the Alignment box, select the alignment to use for the table.
3. In the Float box, specify whether you want text to flow around the left or right of the table. If you do not want text to flow around the table, select Default.
4. Under Borders, in the Size box, enter the width of the border in pixels.
5. In the Cell padding box, enter how much space to allow between the contents and inside edges of cells, in pixels.
6. In the Cell spacing box, enter how much space to allow between the cells in the table, in pixels.

Set the cell layout

You can set the layout of a cell and its content by changing cell properties.

1. In Page view, select the cells for which you want to set the layout.
2. Right-click, and then click Cell Properties on the shortcut menu.
3. In the Horizontal alignment and Vertical alignment boxes, select the alignment you want for the contents of the cell.
4. To set the cells as header cells and emphasize them, select Header cell. By default, the emphasis is bold text.
5. To prevent Web browsers from wrapping text in the cell, select No wrap.

Convert text to a table

You can convert text into a table if it has been delimited (separated into rows and columns by separator characters).

If your text is not delimited, type separator characters where you want to divide text into columns and rows. For instance, use commas to divide columns, and use paragraph marks to mark the ends of rows.

For example, the following text:

Name, City, Age
Jeff Smith, Los Angeles, 30

Converts to:

In addition to converting text to a table with rows and columns, you can also create a one-celled table that contains all the selected text. For example, if you are using a table for page layout, you might want to keep all selected text together in the table.

1. In Page view, select the text you want to convert to a table.
2. On the Table menu, point to Convert, and then click Text To Table.
3. Specify the column separator character that you used, or click None to create a one-celled table.

Tip   Because HTML does not directly support tab characters, it is recommended that you not use tab characters as your text delimiter.

Insert a table caption

You can add a caption — a title — to a table to label it or summarize its content for a site visitor. A table caption can be displayed above or below the table. You can also align the caption and format it like you would any other text.

1. In Page view, position the insertion point in the table.
2. On the Table menu, point to Insert, and then click Caption.
3. Type the text for your caption.

Tips

• To position the caption below the table, right-click the caption, and then click Caption Properties on the shortcut menu. Click Bottom of table, and then click OK.
• To change the alignment of the caption, select the caption, and then click Align Right or Align Left on the Formatting toolbar.

Format headings in a table

To emphasize certain cells in your table, such as the first row or column, you can format the cells as table headers. By default, table headers appear in bold. However, you can modify the table header style (th) and define additional properties for your table headers, such as shading.

1. In Page view, select the cell, row, or column you want to format as a header.
2. Right-click, and then click Cell Properties on the shortcut menu.
3. Select the Header cell check box.

Set the color of table borders

A table border can be one color or two colors. When you use two colors, the table border has a three-dimensional appearance.

You can set the border color for the entire table and for individual cell borders. When you set border colors both for individual cells and the entire table, the cell color will take priority.

Note   The border size must be greater than zero; otherwise, the border will not be displayed.

1. In Page view, move the insertion point inside the cell or table for which you want to set the border color.
2. Right-click, and then click Cell Properties or Table Properties, depending on whether you want to set a border color for a cell or table.
3. Do one of the following:
   • To set one color for the border, under Borders, select a color from the Color list.
   • To set a two-color border for a three-dimensional effect, under Borders, select colors from the Light border and Dark border lists.

     The color from the Color list will not be used. However, if you select only a Light border or a Dark border, the color selected from the Color list will be used as the second color.

   • Make sure the border size is greater than zero, otherwise the table border will not be displayed.

Set the background color in a table

You can set the background color for a table. You have the option of setting the background color for the entire table, for individual cells, or both. When you set background colors both for individual cells and the entire table, the cell color will take priority. In the example below, both tables have background colors, but the second table also has background colors for three cells:

Tip   You can also set a background color for a selected table or group of cells by clicking Fill Color on the Tables toolbar. To display the Tables toolbar, point to Toolbars on the View menu, and then click Tables.