Michael’s Corner

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This month…

From the Vault

Originally published January 2005

Table Style Setup Features

A Table has three parts: The Title cell, the Column Head cells, and the Data cells. Most of the action happens in the Data cells, of course, and you can opt out of the Title and/or Column Heads if all you need is a matrix of data.

The first step is to name a New table style, then specify the style parameters in the New Table Style dialog box.

Make a new Table Style

1. From the Styles toolbar, click the Table Style Manager button to open the Table Style dialog box.
2. Click the New button and enter a name for the table style, then click Continue to open the New Table Style dialog box.

After naming the table style, you configure the various properties for the Data, Column Heads, and Title cells. There is a tab for each of the three cell areas. As shown here, each area can have a separate text style assigned to it.

The property information is the same on all three tabs, with the exception of the 'Include Header Row' and 'Include Title Row' check boxes on those respective tabs.

Configuring the properties for the Data, Column Heads, and Title

Cell Properties area

Make the desired edits to the Cell Properties, including the selection of a text style. If you would like to make a new text style, click the ellipsis button to open the Text Style dialog box.

The default text height presumes you will be inserting the table into a Layout. Make the necessary changes if your table is going into Model space.

The Text Color and Fill Color can be specified in this area, both of which are dependent upon your output device.

Tip: Set the Alignment to Middle Center for the Data cell properties and it will transfer to the Column Heads and Title cell properties, too.

Border Properties area

Specify the Grid Lineweight first, then click the button for the lineweight application.

Note: The Grid Lineweight only displays when the LWT button is pushed in on the Status bar.

General area

When you have a table in which revision numbers are logged, it may start from the bottom just above the title block and build up. That is the intent of the Table Direction option for Up or Down.

Cell Margins area

The Horizontal and Vertical values are the nominal distances of "white space" around the text or block in each cell.

Note: Click the Modify button in the Table Style dialog box to make changes to the table style properties. If you have already placed a table, the modified properties will be applied to all tables using that style.

Click Close to save and close out of the Table Style dialog box.

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