 Netscape
Composer Tutorial
Tables
Tables are useful for presenting
information you want to display in a grid, such as a calendar, or in a
spreadsheet, such as financial data. But you can also use tables whenever
you want to have greater control over page layout than you normally would.
For example, you could combine graphics in a table to create a resume or a
newsletter. Or, you could create a table that encompasses an entire page,
and then nest tables within the main table for even more layout control.
Quick Links:
Inserting a Table
Summary
To insert a table:
- Place the insertion point where you want the
table to appear in your document.
- Choose Table from the Insert menu
or click the Table button on the Format Tools toolbar.
- In the New Table Properties dialog, set the
properties you want.
- Click OK to accept the settings and close the
dialog box. Click Apply to preview the settings you've specified and
then click Close to accept them and exit the dialog box.
New Table
Properties dialog
About the New Table Properties dialog
Lets you create a table and specify attributes
such as number of rows and columns, border line width, cell spacing and
padding, table width and height, color, and captioning. Click OK to make
the specified changes and close the dialog box. Click Apply to preview
the changes you've specified and then click Close to accept the changes
and exit the dialog box.
Number of rows - The number of rows in the
table. Type a number in the box.
Number of columns - The number of columns
in the table. Type a number in the box.
Table alignment - Lets you select a
left-justified, centered, or right-justified alignment for the table
within the document.
Include caption - Lets you inserts space
for a centered line of text above or below the selected table.
Border line width - The size (in pixels) of
the border lines around cells. Type a number in the box. Type 0 to make
the border invisible.
Cell spacing - The space (in pixels)
between cells in the selected table. Type a number in the box.
Cell padding - The padding (in pixels)
within each cell. This sets the top, bottom, right, and left margins of
each cell in the selected table. Type a number in the box.
Table width - The width of the selected
table. You can specify table width as a percent of the window width or
as a number of pixels. If you specify the width as a percent of the
window, the table width changes whenever the window changes. Type a
number in the box and select "pixels" or "% of
window."
Table min. height - The minimum height of
the selected table. This is the smallest height the table can have. If
you type more text in the table, the table automatically resizes to fit
the text you enter. You can specify table height as a percent of the
total window height or as a number of pixels. If you specify the height
as a percent of the window, the table height changes whenever the window
height changes. Type a number in the box and select "pixels"
or "% of window."
Table Background - Select a background
color for cells in the selected table. You can use the document's
default background color as specified in Page Properties|Appearance,
or define a custom color. You can also use an image as the background of
the table.
Note: If you are inserting a table within a
table (called nesting tables), you can also set the minimum height and
width of the nested table as a percentage of the parent cell (the cell
of the table in which the nested table resides). The nested tables
height and width changes whenever the parent tables height and width
changes. Type a number in the box and then select "% of parent
cell."
Selecting and Deleting
Tables
To select a table: place the insertion point inside
the table and then choose Edit|Select Table. Then you can cut or
copy the table to paste somewhere else in your document.
To delete a table: place the insertion point
inside the table and then choose Edit|Delete Table.
Adding and Deleting Rows,
Columns, and Cells
To add a row, column, or cell: place the insertion
point in the table where you want the addition to appear. Then choose Insert|Table|Row
(or Table|Column or Table|Cell).
To delete a row, column, or cell: place the
insertion point inside the row, column, or cell you want to delete. Then
choose Edit|Delete Table|Row (or Delete Table|Column or Delete|Table|Cell).
Setting Table
Properties
Once you've created a table, choose Format|Table
Properties to set various properties for rows and cells, or modify the
properties you set for the table itself.
Note: The settings you choose in the Table
properties dialog box always override the settings used when you first
created the table.
To set table properties:
- Place the insertion point in the table.
- Choose Format|Table Properties and then
select the Table tab.
- In the Table Properties dialog, set the
properties you want.
Table
Properties dialog box
About the Table Properties dialog box
Lets you specify attributes such as border line
width, cell spacing and padding, width, height, color, and captioning
for the selected table. Click OK to make the specified changes and close
the dialog box. Click Apply to preview the changes you've specified and
then click Close to accept the changes and exit the dialog box.
Table alignment - Lets you select a
left-justified, centered, or right-justified alignment for the table
within the document.
Include caption - Lets you inserts space
for a centered line of text above or below the selected table.
Border line width - The size (in pixels) of
the border lines around cells. Type a number in the box.
Cell spacing - The space (in pixels)
between cells in the selected table. Type a number in the box.
Cell padding - The padding (in pixels)
within each cell. This sets the top, bottom, right, and left margins of
each cell in the selected table. Type a number in the box.
Table width - The width of the selected
table. You can specify table width as a percent of the window width or
as a number of pixels. Type a number in the box and select
"pixels" or "% of window."
Table min. height - The minimum height of
the selected table. This is the smallest height the table can have. If
you type more text in the table, the table automatically resizes to fit
the text you enter. You can specify table height as a percent of the
total window height or as a number of pixels. If you specify the height
as a percent of the window, the table height changes whenever the window
height changes. Type a number in the box and select "pixels"
or "% of window."
Table Background - Select a background
color for cells in the selected table. You can use the document's
default background color as specified in Page Properties|Appearance,
or define a custom color. You can also use an image as the background of
the table.
Note: If you are inserting a table within a
table (called nesting tables), you can also set the minimum height and
width of the nested table as a percentage of the parent cell (the cell
of the table in which the nested table resides). The nested tables
height and width changes whenever the parent tables height and width
changes. Type a number in the box and then select "% of parent
cell."
To set row properties:
- Place the insertion point in the row you want
to modify.
- Choose Format|Table Properties and then
select the Row tab. The Row properties panel appears, allowing you
to specify properties such as horizontal and vertical text
alignment, and text color.
- Set the properties you want.
- Click OK to accept the settings and close the
dialog box. Click Apply to preview the settings you've specified and
then click Close to accept them and exit the dialog box.
Row
Properties dialog
About the Row Properties dialog
Lets you specify attributes such as horizontal
text alignment, and vertical text alignment, and text color for the
selected table row. Click OK to make the specified changes and close
the dialog box. Click Apply to preview the changes you've specified
and then click Close to accept the changes and exit the dialog box.
Text alignment - Position of text
relative to the top, bottom, and sides of cells in the selected table
row. You can specify horizontal and vertical alignment or leave the
alignment as it was set when the table was created.
Row Background - Select a background
color for cells in the selected table row. You can use the document's
default background color as specified in Page Properties|Appearance,
or define a custom color. You can also use an image as the background.
Setting Cell
Properties
To set cell properties:
- Place the insertion point in the cell you want
to modify.
- Choose Format|Table Properties and then
select the Cell tab. The Cell properties panel appears, allowing you
to specify properties such as spanning additional rows and columns,
horizontal and vertical text alignment, text style and wrapping,
cell width and height, and cell color.
- Set the properties you want.
- Click OK to accept the settings and close the
dialog box. Click Apply to preview the settings you've specified and
then click Close to accept them and exit the dialog box.
Note: If you are modifying a table within
a table (called a nested table), you can also set the minimum
height and width of the cell in the nested table as a percentage of
the parent cell (the cell of the table in which the nested table
resides). The height and width of the cell in the nested table changes
whenever the parent cell's height and width changes. Type a number in
the box and then select "% of parent cell."
The Cell
Properties dialog
About the Cell Properties dialog
Lets you specify attributes such as spanning
additional rows and columns, horizontal and vertical text alignment,
text style and wrapping, cell width and height, and cell color for the
selected cell. Click OK to make the specified changes and close the
dialog box. Click Apply to preview the changes you've specified and
then click Close to accept the changes and exit the dialog box.
Text alignment - Position of text
relative to the top, bottom, and sides of the selected cell. You can
specify horizontal and vertical alignment or leave the alignment as it
was set when the table was created.
Cell spans - Lets you set the selected
cell to span more than one column or row. Type a number in the rows
box to span additional rows. Type a number in the columns box to span
additional columns.
Header style - Centers the text in the
selected cell and sets its style to bold.
Nonbreaking - Lets you set the text in
the selected cell to wrap to the next line when it reaches the preset
width of the cell. Turning "Wrap text" off causes the cell
(and the table) to expand to fit the text you type.
Cell width - The width of the selected
cell. You can specify cell width as a percent of the table width or as
a number of pixels. If you specify the width as a percent of the
table, the cell width changes whenever the table width changes. Type a
number in the box and select "pixels" or "% of
table."
Cell min. height - The minimum height of
the selected cell. This is the smallest height the cell can have. If
you type more text in the cell, the cell automatically resizes to fit
the text you enter. You can specify cell height as a percent of the
total table height or as a number of pixels. If you specify the height
as a percent of the table, the cell height changes whenever the table
height changes. Type a number in the box and select "pixels"
or "% of table."
Cell Background - Select a background
color for the selected table cell. You can use the document's default
background color as specified in Page Properties|Appearance, or
define a custom color. You can also use an image as the background.
Displaying Tables
If you plan to create large tables with many
columns and rows, you might want to consider displaying tables flat
in order to save time and your computer's memory. You can still
edit individual cells and modify their properties when the table is
flattened, and when you browse your document the tables display
normally. Select View|Display Tables (when the item is checked
it's selected) to display tables normally in the edit window. When View|Display
Tables is unchecked, the Composer displays a table as one long series
of cells in successive order. Borders and colors are not displayed.
The following example shows a 2-column, 3-row table with a normal
display (View|Display Tables checked) on the left, and the same
table with a flattened display on the right.
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