Formatting a table

If you select a table using the Insert table or by clicking on the corresponding symbol in the Default-Create toolbar, the following formatting will be set automatically:

All cells are marked with the style Table Contents linked.
If you select Heading the first row will get the style table heading. This means – if you have not made any changes to the templates – that the text in these cells will be centered, bold and italicized.

Format cells individually

In OOo-Writer you have the possibility to set the properties for each cell of a table individually. For example, you can

Format characters: Change font size, font or background color,
set different indent values or
determine the text alignment.

When you select a cell, the horizontal ruler shows you the indent marks. You can move them by clicking and dragging, just like in a normal paragraph.

To change the format of a cell or range of cells, do the following:

Select the cell or the desired cell range. You can select a single cell by clicking in it or select a range by holding down the left mouse button.
Click with the right mouse button in the selection and go in the context menu to Table . or choose Table> Table properties in the menu bar.
In the pop-up menu or dialog box Table Format select the property you want to change.

Figure 4 shows an example of a table whose cells are formatted differently. The "0" is right-aligned, while the "5" is left-aligned, and the "4" has been centered and given a positive indentation.

Insert rows and columns

To insert any number of rows, do the following:

Place the cursor in the row over or. under which you want to insert new rows, and right-click. In the pop-up menu select Line> Insert .
Set in the field Quantity enter the desired amount of lines to be inserted. At position decide between Before and Then. Click on OK, to close the dialog and insert the lines.

Accordingly, the procedure for inserting columns:

Place the cursor in the column next to which you want to insert the new columns and right-click. In the context menu select Column> Insert .
Again, enter the desired Number from columns on. At Position you can switch again between Before and Then select. Click on OK, to close the dialog.

A click on the icon Insert row the already described toolbar Table (Figure 1) inserts a row below the selection. A click on the Column insert inserts a column after the selected one. Regardless of how they were inserted, new rows or columns have the same formatting as the selected row or column.

Merge and split cells

To merge a group of cells, only two steps are necessary:

Select the cells that should be joined.
Right-click and select cells> Join or go via the main menu Table> Connect cells.

To split a cell into several cells:

Place the cursor in the cell.
Click with the right mouse button and choose Cells> Split or use in the main menu Table> to close Split cells.
Select how the cell should be split. A cell can be split either horizontally (creates more rows) or vertically (creates more columns). You can specify the number of new cells to be created.
Confirm with OK.

Join and split tables

To join two tables, perform the following steps:

delete all paragraphs between the tables. For the last one you have to use the <Del>-key to use the <Back>-button does not work here.
Place the cursor in the first row of the second table.
Click with the right mouse button and choose Merge tables. You can also Table> Merge tables use the menu.

You can only separate tables horizontally, proceed as follows:

Place the cursor in the row that should become the top one in the second table. Ignore the headers at this point, we will come to that in step 3.
Click with the right mouse button and select Split the table. You can also Table> Split table in the menu bar.
In the dialog box that appears, tell OOo-Writer how to proceed with the heading. The following options are available:
Copy heading: OOo-Writer takes exactly the heading as it is in the original table, if necessary. also define several rows.
Own heading, with template: Here the text of the original headings is copied, but the style Table heading applied. If you have made additional formatting, it will not be taken into account.
Own headingThe first line of the second table is treated as a heading, so it is repeated on each page. However, the row will be Table content formatted.
No heading: Again, no heading is copied, nor is the first row repeated on a new page.
Click on OK.

The table will then be split into two tables, separated by an empty paragraph.

So that you can see the paragraphs that need to be deleted, select View> Control character or click on the ¶ symbol in the standard toolbar.

Table spacing and alignment

You can define how the table is aligned between the page margins and which spaces should be kept free around the table.

Right-click in the table and select from the context menu Table or go to the menu bar and select Table> Table properties. In the dialog Table format click on the tab Table.

On this tab you can

a names for the table. This has no effect on the ad, but makes it easier to find the table again if you have the Navigator use. This can be especially useful if your document contains many tables,

A table name must not contain spaces. To give a meaningful name you can use underscores or hyphens.

the width set the entire table either absolutely or relative to the area between the page margins. However, this option is only available if the Alignment is not set to Automatically has been set (see below),
specify how the table should be Aligned if it does not occupy the entire width between the page margins.

At Alignment means:

Automatically, that the table extends over the entire area between the page margins,
Left, that the table is aligned to the left margin of the page,
From left, that you want in the Spacing> To the left set the spacing of the table to the left margin of the page,
Right, that the table is aligned to the right page margin,
Centered, to center the table exactly and
Manual, that you have the option, under Spacing> To the left and Spacing> To the right to determine the exact position of the table.
The fields Spacing> To top or. Down set the Spacing of the table to the top and bottom fixed.

Set the text flow

The tab Text flow in the dialog box Table format is divided into two sections. In the upper you determine the Text flow – especially the breaks – in the table and around it, below Alignment specify the vertical orientation of the text within the cells.

When you place your table on a new page or. in a new column, set the check mark at Wrap, select whether page or Column and set the option In front. If a new page or column is to start after the table, proceed in the same way and set the option then.

If you insert a page break before the table, so that the table starts on the new page, you can change the page style by ticking the corresponding check box and specifying a new template. As with any manual page break, you can specify the page number using the appropriate field.

Keep the table together on one page by selecting the check box Allow table separation at page and column ends disable. In this case the following option is not active.
If you don’t want to have a page or column change within each line, you have to check the box Allow line breaks at page and column ends disable.
If you want the following paragraph to always be directly below the table, activate Keep together with the following paragraph.
Use the check box Repeat heading together with the text box The first . Rows, to specify the number of rows to be repeated on each page.
Use the list Text direction, to specify the flow of the text in the cells. The most common setting here is left-to-right for western languages.

The expression "Use the settings of the parent object" means that the formatting of the paragraph before the table will be used.

At Alignment> Vertical Alignment specify whether the text in the selected cells should be aligned at the top, in the middle or at the bottom.

In a line defined as a heading, OOo-Writer never performs a line break. So, if you have a single-line table that you want to go across multiple pages or columns, make sure that at Repeat heading no check mark is set.

Determine the size of rows and columns

You can specify the height of rows and the width of columns in a table in several ways, z. B. by dragging the rows or columns to the desired size. When the cursor is in a table, the dimensions of the table are shown in the rulers. The horizontal ruler shows the column separators, the vertical ruler shows the row separators.

To change the width of a column or the height of a row, use one of the following methods.

Within the table:

Hold the mouse pointer over the cell border, this will display the cursor as a double arrow. Then drag the border with the mouse button pressed down to the desired cell height or. -wide.

Using the rulers:

To change the column width using the ruler, click on the desired column separator and drag it to the new place.
To change the row height via the ruler, proceed analogously, only with the corresponding row separator.

Also the menu Table> Automatically adjust offers you some possibilities for quick formatting

Optimal column width or Optimal row height adjusts the cells according to the content.
Distribute columns evenly or. Distribute rows evenly sets all cells to the same width and height.

For an exact control of the width of the columns use the tab Columns of the dialog box Table format (Figure 7).

The following settings are possible here:

Adjust table widthIf you change the width of a column without checking this box, OOo-Writer adjusts the other columns so that the width of the entire table remains constant. If the total width is to be adjusted to the columns, this check mark must be set.

If on the tab Table Format> Table the alignment to Automatic is set, this option is not available. The table then always goes across the entire width between the page margins.

Change columns evenly causes all columns to be changed when one column is changed, so that the proportions are maintained.
Space still available shows how much more the table can be enlarged until the page borders are reached. This value cannot be edited.
At Column width you can enter the exact value for each column. if you use more than six columns, use the right and left arrow keys to scroll.

Set table borders

You have the possibility to set borders for a whole table or a group of cells within a table. Additionally, shading can be defined for the whole table.

In the dialog box Table format select the tab Border (Figure 8).

Outlines are basically defined by three characteristics in OOo-Writer:

Where they are located (top, bottom, right or left).
How they look (style and color).
How big the empty space around them is (distance to the content).
At Line arrangement defines where the border is located. If a group of cells is selected, the border is assigned to these cells only. Either select one of the Default-suggestions or click the corresponding lines in the Custom to place the lines exactly according to your wishes.
With Line defines how the border should look like in style and color. Just play here with the possibilities that OOo-Writer offers you.
distance to the content defines how big the distance between border and cell content should be. The spacing can be defined individually for left, right, top and bottom. Check Synchronize to get the same spacing on all sides.
Shadow can be assigned only to the whole table. A shadow also has three properties, namely
its Position,
its width (Distance) and
its Color.
Each of these properties can be set under the Shadow set the width of the dialog box individually.
If the option Merge adjacent line styles is checked, OOo-Writer tries to link two adjacent borders in a visually appealing way.

If you want to reset all borders in your table, just select the whole table, call this dialog and click under Line order> Default click on the leftmost sympol to remove all frames.

Select background colors and images

The background of a whole table, a row but also of each single cell can be provided with a color or a graphic. When you select an image, you can position it in the cell, row, or table, insert it to fill the area, or tile it over the area.

To set a background, perform the following steps:

Select the cells in question. If you are changing the background for a row or table, place the cursor anywhere in the appropriate row or table.
If you click with the right mouse button and go to Table . from the context menu or select from the main menu the command Table> Table properties . from.
In the dialog window Table format select the tab Background (Figure 9) from.
In the selection field For decide whether the settings affect a cell, row or the whole table. When you Cell select, the changes will be assigned to all selected cells.
At As determine whether you want to have a color or a graphic as a background.
To assign a color, select now under Background color select a color tone that you like and finally click on OK.

If you want to assign a graphic as a background, the procedure is slightly different. Proceed as follows after step 5 instead of step 6:

File

Select .

Go to type you decide how exactly your graphic should be displayed:
If you select Position you can specify in the frame on the right exactly where the graphic will be placed in the cell, row or table. simply place the point where you want the image to be displayed.
If you use Area the graphic will be stretched over the whole area (cell, row or table).

Do you have Tile is selected, the graphic is repeated next to and below each other until the entire area is filled.
Set the checkmark at Preview, if you want the graphic to be displayed in the area above the check box.
To insert the graphic, click on OK.

Figure 9 shows an example of the background of a cell with an unlinked – i.e. embedded – graphic displayed in the preview area.

In the case of a background image embedded in the document, the File area under the Select button says "unlinked graphic". If the image was only linked, you can see here the path to the corresponding file.

Number formats

The number format can be set for a whole table or a group of cells. So you can z. B. define that in certain cells currency amounts and in others dates are displayed in a meaningful format.

The Number recognition defines whether numbers in text tables are recognized and formatted as such. If the Number recognition is not activated, the numbers will be formatted as text and automatically left-aligned. This option can be selected via Tools> Options> OpenOffice.org Writer> Table in the area Input in tables turn off or on.

Select the desired cells, click with the right mouse button and choose in the context menu Number format . , to open the corresponding dialog box.

Depending on which Category selected from the list on the far left, the dialog box offers Number format different options.

For each category that you select on the left, OOo-Writer provides a background color under Format predefined selection options ready. you can select this option in most cases under Options further adjustments are to be made.
For some categories, such as z. B. Currency, you can set the country setting.
For other categories, such as z. B. Date, you can select the language from the Language change.

Press<Shift>+<F1> and then hover the mouse pointer over each field for detailed help.

Vertical alignment

The default alignment for text entered into a cell is left and top. Numbers are aligned to the right and bottom.

The example in Figure 11 shows three cells with the default formatting for Text, Currency and Number.

To center the contents of a cell vertically, do the following:

Select the cell(s). Right-click in the selected area and select from the context menu Cell> Center.

Add a caption

You can add a label to each table. OOo-Writer automatically numbers all labeled tables and updates each cross-reference to these tables.

To add a label to a table:

Place the cursor in the table.
Click with the right mouse button and in the context menu go to Label .

It may sound a bit strange to label a table as a figure. However, this can be useful if, for example, you want the table to be listed in the list of figures.

If you need a new category, enter the name once behind Category. In the future you will be offered the choice with.

You can also change the type of numbering change and another separator (separator) select. You can see a preview in the field below (setting numbering is also described in other chapters of this manual, z. B. in Chapter 7, "Working with Style Sheets" under "Using Numbering Templates with Outlines").
Last, determine whether the label should be placed above or below the table.

To automatically label all new tables:

Place the cursor in a table.
Right-click and choose from the context menu Labeling .
Click on the button AutoLabeling .
Select OpenOffice.org Writer table and make the settings you want (this dialog box is described in Chapter 2 of the Writer manual, "Configure Writer", described in more detail).

Once these settings are made, all tables you create in the future will be labeled automatically. You only have to add the text.

To set a cross reference to a table

You can insert a cross-reference to each labeled table. Clicking on the cross-reference takes the reader directly to the table.

Place the cursor at the point where you want to insert the cross reference.
Select Insert> Cross reference.
Set the Field type at Table. A list of all labeled tables is displayed in the Selection displayed. Select the desired table here.
In the Format choose what kind of cross reference you want to have, z. B. the caption text or only the page number.
Click on Insert, to insert the cross-reference and then click on Close, to exit the dialog box.

To add a reference in the form "Table X on page NN", simply insert two cross references (once to category and number and once to page) and write the desired text between them.

Format tables automatically

Use Table>AutoFormat . , to give your tables a uniform look. Simply apply one of OOo-Writer’s many layout suggestions to all your tables.

If you use your own AutoFormat-If you want to create templates, proceed as follows:

Create a table and format it to your needs, including borders, text spacing, fonts, and background colors.

To define a background color in a new format, make the individual cells colored, not the whole table.

Place the cursor anywhere in the table and then click on Table> AutoFormat .
In dialogue AutoFormat (Figure 13) click Add and give your new template a name.

This method does not save table and column widths in the template. Um eine Tabelle mit einer vordefinierten Vollformatierung einzufugen, speichern Sie diese als AutoText (mehr dazu in Kapitel 3 dieses Handbuchs, „Mit Text arbeiten“).

Rotate text in a table cell

text in a cell you can rotate 90 or 270 degrees. This option is very useful if you use long headings in narrow columns. Highlight the text and click Format> Characters. On the tab Position in the section Rotation/Skalierung choose the Rotation degree und klicken dann auf OK.

Hide table borders

The Table boundary is a frame of usually gray lines around the cells. These limits will not be printed and will not appear in PDF files. Its only function is to show you where each cell is located.

To display the table on the screen in the same way as it will look when printed (without limitations), right-click on the table and then select Tabellenbegrenzungen in the context menu. Repeat this step if you want to see the boundaries again. You can see if this option is active by the check mark in front of the entry in the menu. Turning off table borders may not be visible if the table has borders.