Formatting a table

To add a table title
Adding space
Applying borders and shading to a table
To distribute rows and columns evenly
To format the corners of a table or cells
To show captions in rows

To add a table title

In the Object Library palette, click the Standard category and drag the Text object above the table.
Double-click the default text and type the title.
Set the font properties.

You can also merge the cells in the first row of the table and type the title in the combined cell.

Adding space

To add space around a table

You can add blank space around the edges of a table by using margins.

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Select the table. See To select a table, row, column, cell, or section.
In the Layout palette, set the margins for Left, Right, Top, and Bottom.

To add space around cells

You can add space around cells by using margins.

Select the cell. See To select a table, row, column, cell, or section.
In the Layout palette, set the margins for Left, Right, Top, and Bottom.

To add space around rows

You can add space around rows by using margins. For example, in the following table, margins are set to 0.25 inch around the row.

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Select the row. See To select a table, row, column, cell, or section.
In the Layout palette, set the margins for Left, Right, Top, and Bottom.

Applying borders and shading to a table

Borders and shading can add interest and emphasis to a table. You can add borders to a table or an individual row, column, or cell. You can use shading to fill in the background of a table.

You can add a striped or alternating shading pattern to the rows. You can select the number of rows or columns to include in a stripe pattern and apply your color choices to the pattern.

To apply and remove borders and shading

Select the table. See To select a table, row, column, cell, or section.
To apply a border and shading, do one of the following actions:
- To place borders only on particular sides, in the Border palette, select Edit Individually from the Edges list. Now you can set the border for each side.
- To place the same border on all sides, select Edit Together from the Edges list.
Select an option from the list of line types and select a color from the color picker.
To apply shading, select a style from the Style list and select a color from the color picker.
To remove a border or shading do the following action:
- In the Border palette, select Edit Together from the Edges list.
- Select None from the list of line types.
To apply a striped or alternating shading to rows
- In the Object palette, click the Row Shading tab and select Apply Alternating Row Shading.
- Select the shading color for the first row or first set of rows.
- Select the shading color for the next row or next set of rows.
Note: If you use the Border palette to set shading for a cell, it overrides the row shading set for the table.
To remove the striped or alternating shading from rows
- In the Object palette, click the Row Shading tab and deselect Apply Alternating Row Shading.

To remove the border from around the entire table

Select the table and, in the Border palette, select None from the list of line types.

To distribute rows and columns evenly

You can make multiple rows or columns the same size. All rows adjust to the height of the tallest selected row. All columns adjust to equal distances based on the width of the table. The table does not grow.

Select the rows or columns you want to make the same size. See To select a table, row, column, cell, or section.
Select Table > Distribute Rows Evenly or Distribute Columns Evenly.

Note: If you used the Merge Cells command, the original columns still exist but are hidden (so that you can split the cells again if you want). To make the columns the same size after you have merged cells, delete the hidden columns first by using the Table > Delete > Column command.

To format the corners of a table or cells

You can format a table or specific cells in a table to have rounded or notched corners.

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Select the table or the cells. See To select a table, row, column, cell, or section.
In the Border palette, select one of the options for Corners.
In the Radius box, type a number. For example, the previous example uses .1 inch.

To show captions in rows

By default, captions for fields are not shown when a field is in a cell. For example, the following objects have captions, but they are hidden when the field is in a cell.

Check Box
Date/Time Field
Decimal Field
Signature Field
Drop-down List
Image Field
List Box
Numeric Field
Password Field
Text Field

You may want to show the caption in some tables. For example, in the following form, a table is used to present the information. Each row below the header row is one cell.

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Select the cell. See To select a table, row, column, cell, or section.
In the Layout palette, select a position for the caption from the Position list.