Composer Help - Inserting a Table
Tables
Tables are very useful for formatting and organising your web pages i.e. organizing text, pictures, and data into formatted rows and columns. To insert a table:
Click to place the insertion point where you want the table to appear.
Click the Table button on the toolbar or go to the Insert menu and choose Table. The Insert Table dialog box appears.
Type the number of rows and columns you want.
Enter a size for the table width, and select either pixel or percentage of the window (Optional) .
Enter a number for the border thickness (in pixels); enter zero for no border.
To apply additional table attributes or JavaScript, click Advanced Edit to display the Advanced Property Editor.
Click OK .
To change your table, see Changing a Table's Properties below.
Changing a Table's Properties
To change your table first select the table, or click anywhere inside it.
Click the Table button on the toolbar, or open the Table menu and choose Table Properties. The Table Properties dialog box contains two tabs: Table and Cell.
Click the Table tab to edit these properties:
Size: Use this to specify the number of rows and columns. Enter the width of the table and then choose "% of window" or "pixels." If you specify width as a percentage, the table's width changes whenever the Composer window's or browser window's width changes.
Borders: this specifies the number of pixels of the border line width
Spacing: this sets the space between cells, and the cell padding (the space between the contents of the cell and its border).
Note: Composer uses a dotted outline to display tables with a zero border; the dotted line disappears when the page is viewed in a browser.
Table Alignment: Use this to align the table within the page. Choose an option from the drop-down list.
Caption: Choose the caption placement from the drop-down list.
or leave it as transparent.To apply additional attributes or JavaScript events, click Advanced Edit to display the Advanced Property Editor.
Click Apply to preview your changes without closing the dialog box, or click OK to confirm them.
To view, change, or add properties for one or more cells:
Select the row, column, or cell, then open the Table menu and choose Table Properties. The Table Properties dialog box appears.
Click the Cells tab to edit the following properties:
Selection: Choose Cell, Row, or Column from the drop-down list. Click Previous or Next to move through rows, columns, or cells.
Size: Type a number for Height and Width, and then choose "% of table" or "pixels."
Content Alignment: Select a vertical and horizontal alignment type for the text or data inside each cell.
Cell Style: Select Header from the drop-down list for column or row headers (which centers and bolds the text in the cell); otherwise choose Normal.
Text Wrap: Select "Don't wrap" from the drop-down list to keep text from wrapping to the next line unless you insert a paragraph break. Otherwise, choose Wrap.
Background Color: Select a color for the cell background or leave it as transparent.
Note: To apply additional attributes or JavaScript events, click Advanced Edit to display the Advanced Property Editor
Click Ok to confirm changes.
Adding and Deleting Rows, Columns, and Cells
Composer allows you to quickly add or delete one or more cells in your table. In addition, you can set options that allow you to maintain the original rectangular structure or layout of the table while you perform editing tasks.
To add a cell or group of cells (rows and columns) to your table:
Click inside the table where you want to add a cell (or cells).
Open the Table menu and then choose Insert.
Table menu showing insert options
Choose one of the cell options, (You can also insert a new table within a table cell.)
To delete a cell, row, or column:
Click a row, column, or cell to place the insertion point. Or, select neighboring cells to delete more than one row at a time. To select neighboring cells, hold down the Ctrl key (Windows and Linux) or the Command key (Macintosh) while dragging over the cells you want to select. To select individual cells in a table, hold down the Ctrl key and click on the cells you want to select.
Open the Table menu and choose Delete.
Choose the item you want to delete.
To join (or merge) a cell with the cell on its right:
Click inside the cell on the left, open the Table menu, and choose Join with Cell to the Right.
To join (or merge) adjacent cells:
Select adjacent cells by holding down the Ctrl key (Windows and Linux) or the Command key (Macintosh), and then dragging over adjacent cells that you want to join.
Open the Table menu, and choose Join Selected Cells.
To split a joined cell back into two or more cells:
Click inside the cell, open the Table menu, and then choose Split Cell. The contents of of the cell will be in one cell.
Refer to Selecting Table Elements for information on how to select non-adjacent cells, rows, and columns.
Changing the Default Table Editing Behavior
By default, when you delete one or more cells, Composer preserves the table's structure by adding cells at the end of a row, wherever needed. This allows you to delete one or more cells but still maintain the table's original rectangular layout, or structure. Otherwise, deleting cells can result in a table with empty spaces, or whose outline appears irregular due to an uneven number of cells.
To change the default table editing behavior:
Open the Edit menu, choose Preferences, and then choose Composer.
In the Table Editing section, set the following preferences:
Make sure that "Maintain table layout when inserting or deleting cells" is checked to ensure that you don't get an irregularly-shaped table.
Choose the way the Delete key will behave (remove an entire cell or just remove the cell's contents).
Click OK.