Building tables that flow across pages in Layout by Zaweba
Tables in Layout by Zaweba repeat header rows across frames, merge cells, alternate fills and import CSV, xlsx and Grid by Zaweba sheets.
Price lists, timetables, results tables, specification sheets. Tables are some of the hardest things to make look good in print, and some of the most read. Layout by Zaweba treats them as part of the text, with controls for how they break across pages, how cells look and how data gets in from a spreadsheet.
Making a table
You can insert a new table, or convert existing text to one. Converting is handy when the data arrives as tab separated lines in an email or a Word file: select it, convert, and each line becomes a row and each tab a new cell.
Tables can also be imported directly from CSV, TSV and .xlsx files, and from Grid by Zaweba sheets. For a price list or a set of results kept in a spreadsheet, that saves retyping and the mistakes that come with it. Grid by Zaweba is a spreadsheet that saves its workbooks as .zagr, which is an .xlsx inside, so figures maintained there can come straight into the layout.
Tables that run across frames and pages
Long tables rarely fit in one frame. Header rows repeat at the top of each frame the table continues into, and footer rows repeat at the bottom, so a reader on page three still knows what each column means. Body rows can break across frames, so a tall row doesn't force a big gap.
This is what makes multi page tables readable. Without repeating headers, a long timetable or catalogue table turns into rows of anonymous numbers after the first page.
Shaping rows, columns and cells
Merge and split cells for headings that span several columns, or to divide a cell. Set cell insets to give text room from the edges. Strokes can be set per edge of a cell, so a table can have only horizontal rules, only an outer border, or a heavy line under the header.
Alternating fills and strokes shade every other row or column, which helps the eye follow a line of figures across a wide table. Diagonal lines in a cell mark empty or not applicable entries in some table styles. Cell text can be rotated, which saves space for narrow columns with long headings. Graphic cells hold pictures, such as product thumbnails in a catalogue.
Row height can be set as at least a value, so rows grow with their content, or exactly a value, so every row is the same height. Columns can be given exact widths, or distributed evenly across the table. Rows can be sorted, which is useful after an import.
Styling tables consistently
Table and cell styles keep tables in a document matching. A table style sets the overall look, and cell styles set the look of header cells, body cells and totals. Change a style and every table follows.
Mistakes people make with tables
Formatting each table by hand leads to a document where no two tables match. Use table and cell styles.
Too many rules make tables busy. Often a light rule between rows and a heavier one under the header is all a table needs.
Forgetting header rows on long tables leaves later pages hard to read. Set them as header rows, not just bold text in the first row.
Retyping data that already exists in a spreadsheet invites errors. Import it.
Squeezing too many columns into a narrow page makes text tiny. Consider rotating long headings, splitting the table, or turning the page.
Tables and the rest of the document
Tables sit inside text frames and flow with the story. They carry their header cells and summaries into tagged PDFs for accessibility, keep their structure in EPUB and HTML, and go across as tables when pages are exported as slides. For large sets of records, such as a full product range, data merge and catalogue publishing build pages from the spreadsheet directly.
