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Tables

Tables are a good way of presenting data and small pieces of information to your audience. In Paligo, you can add tables to your topics and they can have multiple columns and rows, with optional titles, headers, footers, and footnotes. You can also create complex tables that have merged cells that span across multiple rows or columns.

A PDF page showing a table presented in portrait mode. The table header is parallel to the top of the page.

Example of a table in a PDF output.

Note

Larger tables, especially wide tables, can be difficult to use. This is especially true on smaller devices such as smart phones and tablets, but it also applies to larger displays and printed documents. So when you are creating tables, consider your audience and how they will use the information.

If you have large tables, you could consider breaking the tables up into a series of smaller tables. These can make it easier for your readers to find and compare the information. In some cases, it may be better to present the information in different way, such as in a list format.

To learn about using tables in Paligo, first make sure you understand the difference between tables and informal tables.

You can then learn how to create tables, edit them so that they have the appropriate rows and columns, and also style them.

Merge and Split Table Cells

To create more complex tables, use the Merge and Split features.

With Merge, you can convert two or more adjacent cells into a single cell that spans multiple rows or columns. For example, you could merge a cell with the cell directly above it in a column. This results in a single cell that spans two rows.

A table with 3 columns and 2 rows. Column A has 2 cells, one for each row. Column B has 2 cells, one for each row. Column C has 1 cell that covers both rows.

With Split, you can turn a single merged cell back into separate cells. Using the same example, you could select the merged cell in Column C and then split it. Paligo will divide the merged cell back into two cells.

Table with 3 columns and 2 rows. Column A has two cells, one for each row. Column B has two cells, one for each row. Column C has two cells, one for each row.

Merge Table Cells

To merge adjacent table cells:

  1. In the Content Manager, select the topic that contains the table.

    Paligo opens the topic in the editor.

  2. Click in one of the cells that you want to merge.

  3. Press and hold down the Shift key and then press and hold down the left mouse button. Drag the cursor over the cells you want to merge.

    A table with 3 columns and 3 rows. In the third column, the cells for the top row and middle row are both highlighted yellow.

    Paligo adds a yellow highlight to the selected cells.

  4. Right-click to display a table context menu and then select Merge cells.

    select-merge-cells-option.png

    Paligo merges the selected cells so that they become a single cell that spans multiple rows or columns.

    Table with 3 columns and 3 rows. The first two columns have 3 cells, 1 for each row. The last column has 2 cells. The top cell is merged and so covers 2 rows. The bottom cell is for the third row.

To divide a merged cell back into many separate cells, see Split a Table Cell.

Split a Table Cell

To divide a merged cell back into multiple separate cells:

  1. In the Content Manager, select the topic that contains the table.

    Paligo opens the topic in the editor.

  2. Right-click in the merged cell that you want to split and then select Split cells from the table context menu.

    A merged table cell is highlighted. A table editing menu is shown and the split cells option is highlighted.

    Paligo divides the merged cell so that it becomes multiple cells again.

    A table with 3 columns and 3 rows. In the third column, the cells for the top row and middle row are both highlighted yellow.

Note

You can only split cells that have been previously merged.

Sort a Table

Use the Sort options in the table context menu to change the order of a list:

  1. Right-click in the column that you want to re-sort. Paligo displays the table context menu.

    Tip

    If you only want to sort a few rows, press and hold the Shift key and then select those rows. You can then apply the sort options (see next step).

  2. Select Sort followed by Sort ascending or Sort descending, depending on the order you want.

    sort-table.png

Note

  • If the column contains any cell that starts with an alphabetical character, Paligo will sort the table alphabetically.

  • If every cell in the column starts with a number, Paligo will sort the column numerically.

  • Paligo cannot sort cells that are merged over rows.

Sorting Automatically in Different Languages

While the sort command in the editor will sort the table in your source language, that order may not be suitable for translated content.

For example, if you were to sort a column that only contains numbers, the sort order would work regardless of translations. But if the column contains words, then the alphabetical order could be correct for the source language, but incorrect for the translations. This is because some languages have different orders of the alphabet due to special characters.

To avoid this issue, Paligo will reapply the sort order during the publishing process. It re-sorts any table that has sorting in place, by default. If you prefer, you can disable the automatic re-sorting in the Layout Editor settings.

Note

Auto-sorting works for PDF, HTML, HTML5 and most help desk outputs.

Set Up Table Headers

A table header is a row, usually at the top of a table, that is styled differently to the other rows. Typically, header rows are where you categorize each column, so that your readers know what information is shown in the table. For example, if you had a table for temperatures over a week, you might have a table header with "Day" in one column, "Min Temp" in the next column, and "Max Temp" in the last column.

When you use the table editor to create a table, Paligo gives you the option to add a header. But you might create a table with no header and then later decide you need to add one. Alternatively, you may decide that you need a different type of header, for example, a header inside the table or the first column as the header.

The following sections explain the various ways of setting up table headers to meet your requirements.

Add a Table Header to a Table

To add a header row to a table, use the table context menu:

  1. In the Content Manager, select the topic that contains the table.

    Paligo opens the topic in the editor.

  2. Right-click in the table that needs a header.

    Paligo displays the table context menu.

  3. Select Header, footer and title and then select Insert table head.

    Paligo adds a table header row to your table.

    added-header.png

  4. Select Save. Save icon.

Note

You can only add one header to a table. But it is possible to set the first column to also look like a header, and you can also set individual cells to look like headers.

Caution

Alternatively, you could use the source code editor and manually change cells (td element) into table header cells (th). But if you take this approach, you need to be careful when changing the start and end tags, otherwise you could make the XML invalid.

Make a Cell Look Like a Table Header

You can make any individual table cell look like table header cell. This can be useful if you want a complex table where cells inside the table also look like header cells.

Note

Although you can set Paligo to make a table cell look like a table header cell, it is still a regular cell in the structure. It does not change to use the th element instead of the td element.

  1. In the Content Manager, select the topic that contains the table.

    Paligo opens the topic in the editor.

  2. Click in a cell that you want to look like a table header cell.

  3. In the Element Structure Menu, select the td element for the cell and then select Go to element.

    Element Structure Menu. The td element is selected, revealing a menu. The Go to element option is highlighted.

  4. In the Element attributes panel, give the td element the class attribute. Set the value of the class attribute to:

    tableheader

    Element attributes panel. A td element is selected and it has been given a class attribute. The value of the class attribute is set to tableheader.

  5. Repeat steps 2-4 inclusive for each cell that you want to look like a table header cell.

  6. Select Save. Save icon.

When you publish, Paligo will style the cell in the same way as a table header cell.

Make a Column Look Like a Table Header

You can make the first column of a table look like a table header. This is useful if you want a table with the header running vertically down the side, instead of the standard header row across the top.

A table with 3 rows and 3 columns. The left column is set up to be the table header. There is no header row across the top, only the header left column followed by two regular columns.

To make the first column in a table look like a table header:

  1. In the Content Manager, select the topic that contains the table.

    Paligo opens the topic in the editor.

  2. Click in a cell in the table.

  3. In the Element Structure Menu, select the table or informaltable element and then select Go to element.

    Element Structure Menu. The informaltable element is selected and the Go to element option is highlighted.

  4. In the Element attributes panel, give the table or informaltable element the tabstyle attribute and set its value to:

    rowheader-firstcol

    Element attributes panel. The informaltable element is selected and it has been given the tabstyle attribute. The attribute value is set to rowheader-firstcol

  5. Select Save. Save icon.

When you publish, Paligo will style the cells in the first column in the same way as table header cells.

Note

If your table already contains a header row, adding a table header column will make it look like it has both vertical and horizontal headers.

a 3 column, 3 row table, with a header row at the top. The first column is also set to look like a table header.

To remove the table header row, click in any cell in the table header and then select the thead element in the Element Structure Menu. From the menu, select Cut to remove the thead element.

Element structure menu. The thead element is selected revealing a menu and the cut option is highlighted.

Background for individual cells

In single-sourcing, you should really not apply any styling to your source content, but rather keep content and layout separately.

In some rare cases you may still find the need to give a certain cell a different background color. But if you were to apply a specific color, and doing this in multiple places, it would be hard to change it later. Instead you can apply a generic value that can be set in the Layout Editor: 'bg1', 'bg2', or 'bg3'. This way you can determine in the Layout Editor what the color should be and change it everywhere you've used it.

  1. Select the table cell you want to make into a header (td).

  2. Add a style attribute, and set the value to 'background-color:bg1' (or 'bg2' or 'bg3' depending on which ones you will set in the Layout Editor.

  3. Open your custom layout in the Layout Editor, and choose the color in the Table/General section.

    Note

    This is only necessary for PDF layouts. In HTML layouts you will get the value as a class name, and can use that in your CSS to style it.

(Should you still want to set a specific background color as a one-off, that's also possible.)

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