Designing with Tables

Tables have many uses especially with web pages. Think about using tables for the following types of layout:

1. Print Layout - Insert a table and set it to 640 x 480 pixels so that pages will print in portrait format
2. Tabular columns such as those used for spreadsheets
3. There is no tab in HTML. Use tables to align columns of data instead

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Inserting & Aligning Tables

1. Single-click on the Common Objects Panel located on the Insert Panel
   1. Single-click the Insert Table icon
   2. Enter the number of rows and columns desired
   3. Enter the width in one of two ways: in Pixel dimensions or by Percentage
   4. Enter a pixel value for Cell Padding. Cell Padding is the space allowed between the cell borders and the text
   5. Enter a pixel value for Cell Spacing. Cell Spacing is the space allowed between the cells
   6. Enter 0 if no border is desired. For 3-D effects enter a border size of 2 or more. Border width is measured in pixels.
2. Single-click the OK button to insert the table
3. Single-click on the table to select it
1. Single-click on the down-arrow on the Align icon which is located on the Properties Panel and select the table alignment desired

[Insert Table Window]

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Formatting Cells

Cell Alignment

Data entered into table cells align in two ways, horizontally and vertically. The default setting for horizontal alignment is left. The default setting for vertical alignment is middle. This can cause your text to misaligns when one cell wraps to two lines but while others contain text that occupies one line only. To correct vertical text misalignment, set the vertical alignment to either top or bottom, whichever you prefer.

1. Expand the Properties Panel in order to display all the options available
2. Place the I-beam within the cell that you wish to format (You can select several cells at once by dragging through them)
3. Single-click on the down-arrow in the Horiz field and scroll to select the desired alignment. Remember that the default setting is left.
4. Single-click on the down-arrow in the Vert field and scroll to select either Top or Bottom. Remember the default setting is Middle which works well if the data in the cell does not wrap to a second line.

Cell Background Color

1. Place the I-beam in the cell desired (drag through several cells if a group of cells is desired)
2. Locate the Background Color icon on the expanded Properties Panel
3. Single-click the down-arrow to display the Color Palette
4. Place the eyedropper tool on the Color Swatch desired and single-click to select the desired background color

[Table Cell Formatting]

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Merging Cells

1. Drag through the cells on the table that you wish to merge (combine into one cell)
2. Locate the Cell category on the expanded Properties Panel
3. Single-click on the icon that looks like the one on the right to complete the merge

[Merge Cells]

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Adding Rows and Columns

1. Place the I-beam in the row or column where you wish to insert a row or a column
2. Right-click and select Table
3. Single-click on Insert Row or Insert Column whichever is desired

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Deleting Rows and Columns

1. Place the I-beam in the row or column where you wish to insert a row or a column
2. Right-click and select Table
3. Single-click on Delete Row or Delete Column whichever is desired

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Sorting Table Data

1. Drag through the rows and/or columns which contain the items that you wish to sort
2. Single-click on Commands on the Main Menu Bar
3. Single-click on Sort Table
4. Single-click on the Order field and select either Alphabetically for text or Numerically for numbers
5. Single-click on the Ascending or Descending order, whichever is desired
6. Single-click on the OK button to complete this process

[Sort Table Window]

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Horizontal Rules (Lines)

You can use Horizontal Rules (horizontal lines) to separate major content areas.

1. Single-click on the Horizontal Rule icon which is located in the nest Common Objects Panel in the Insert Panel

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