Working with Tables

Tables are commonly used to organize text and numeric data. Sometimes, tables are used to arrange text or images on the page, such tables are usually made invisible.
Moving, resizing and other common operations work with tables like with other objects.

• Inserting and Removing Tables
• Inserting Rows and Columns
• Selecting the Table and its Elements
• Resizing Columns and Rows
• Merging and Splitting Cells
• Changing Color of Cell Background
• Typing Text into Cells
• Inserting Images into Cells
• Clearing Cells

Inserting and Removing Tables

To insert a table into the document:

1. Open the Table tab of Inspector (menu: Window > Inspector > Table).
2. Set necessary number of rows and columns.
3. Click the Insert Table button.

To remove a table, select it and press the Delete key.

Inserting Rows and Columns

To insert a row, select a cell. Then open the context menu and choose the Add Row Above or Add Row Below command.

To insert a column, select a cell. Then open the context menu and choose the Add Column Before or Add Column After command.

The Rows and Columns controls on the Table tab of the Inspector change the number of rows and columns in the selected table.
When the Fixed Table Height option is set, changing Rows will not affect the size of the table.

The Tab key adds a new row when the bottom-right cell is currently highlighted.

Selecting the Table and its Elements

To select a table, click on it.
To select an element of the table (cell or line), select the table and click on the element.

The Tab key selects the next cell (in Z order). When the last cell is reached, pressing Tab adds a new row.

Pressing Shift-Tab key selects the previous cell (in Z order). When the first cell is reached, pressing Shift-Tab moves the selection to the last cell.

Resizing Columns and Rows

To resize a column or a row, select the border line that separates it from another column or row and drag it with the mouse.

When the Fixed Table Height option is set, rows next to the line, you are moving, will change their size. The size of the whole table will not be affected.
If the option is not set, the table will be resized while you resize the row. Other rows will retain their width.

Merging and Splitting Cells

Some cells in the table may be bigger or smaller than other. This can be used to make header that covers several smaller cells.

To make cells of different size, Merge and Split commands are used.

To merge cells, select them and choose the Merge Cells command from the context menu.

To split the cell, select it and choose the Split into Rows or Split into Columns command from the context menu.

Changing Color of Cell Background

To change background color of one or several cells:

1. Select cell(s) whose background you want to change.
2. Set the Fill option on the Fill & Shadow tab of the Inspector.
3. Set the drop-down option to Color Fill.
4. Click the Color button in Inspector and choose color.

Typing Text into Cells

To start typing text, double click on the cell.

Text formatting tools from the Text tab of Inspector work with tables: select cell(s) and change settings.

Inserting Images into Cells

To insert the image, select the table, then drag the image from the Clipart panel and drop into the cell.

Another way to insert the image:

1. Select the cell.
2. Set the Fill option on the Fill & Shadow tab of Inspector.
3. Set the drop-down option to Image Fill.
4. Drag an image into the box on the left from the Browse button or click the Browse button to select an image file on your hard disk.

Scale type affects how the image will be modified when inserted into the cell.

• Fill - does not change the aspect ratio of the image. A part of the image may not be seen in the cell.
• Fit - the whole image gets into the cell, the image sides proportion will not change. Blank space may be left inside the cell.
• Stretch - the whole image gets into the cell, the image may be deformed.
• Tile - does not change the aspect ratio of the image. If the cell is not big enough, the image will be partially cut off. If the cell is bigger than the image, it will be filled with multiple copies of the image.

Clearing Cells

You can remove the content (text and/or image) of the selected cell. For this, select a cell and press the Del key (or choose Clear Cells in the context menu of the table). If multiple cells are selected, all of them will be cleared.

Clearing cells is useful when you want to use an existing table as a template for a new one. In this case, you will clear a part or the whole table to fill it with new data.

Note: If the table is selected (not one or several cells), pressing the Del key will remove the table.