Editing Table Properties in DITA

To customize the look of a table in DITA, place the cursor anywhere in a table and invoke the Table Properties (Ctrl + T (Command + T on macOS)) action from the toolbar or the Table submenu of the contextual menu (or DITA menu). This opens the Table properties dialog box.

The Table properties dialog box allows you to set specific properties to the table elements. The options that are available depend on the context and location within the table where the action was invoked.

Note: Some properties allow the following special values, depending on the context and the current properties or values:

<not set> - Use this value if you want to remove a property.
<preserve> - If you select multiple elements that have the same property set to different values, you can choose this value to keep the values that are already set. In some cases it can also be used to keep the current non-standard value for a particular property.

Edit Table Properties for a CALS Table Model

For a CALS table model, the Table properties dialog box includes four tabs of options:

Table tab - The options in this tab apply to the entire table.
Row tab - The options in this tab apply to the current row or selection of multiple rows. A message at the bottom of the tab tells you how many rows will be affected.
Column tab - The options in this tab apply to the current column or selection of multiple columns. A message at the bottom of the tab tells you how many columns will be affected.
Cell tab - The options in this tab apply to the current cell or selection of multiple cells. A message at the bottom of the tab tells you how many cells will be affected.

The options in four tabs include a Preview pane that shows a representation of the modification.

Figure 1. Table Properties Dialog Box with Cell Tab Selected (DITA CALS Table Model)

The options in the four tabs include the following:

Horizontal alignment (Available in the Table, Column, and Cell tabs)

Specifies the horizontal alignment of text within the current table/column/cell or selection of multiple columns/cells (@align attribute). The allowed values are as follows:

left - Aligns the text to a left position.
right - Aligns the text to a right position.
center - Aligns the text to a centered position.
justify - Stretches the line of text so that it has equal width.
Note: The justify value cannot be rendered in Author mode, so you will only see it in the output.
char - Aligns text to the leftmost occurrence of the value specified on the @char attribute for alignment.
-dita-use-conref-target - Normally, when using a @conref, the values of attributes specified locally are preserved. You can choose this option to override this behavior and pull the value of this particular attribute from the @conref target. For more information, see https://www.oxygenxml.com/dita/1.3/specs/langRef/attributes/ditauseconreftarget.html.

Vertical alignment (Available in the Row and Cell tabs)

Specifies the vertical alignment of text within the current row/cell or selection of multiple rows/cells (@valign attribute). The allowed values are as follows:

top - Aligns the text at the top of the cell.
middle - Aligns the text in a vertically centered position.
bottom - Aligns the text at the bottom of the cell.
-dita-use-conref-target - Normally, when using a @conref, the values of attributes specified locally are preserved. You can choose this option to override this behavior and pull the value of this particular attribute from the @conref target. For more information, see https://www.oxygenxml.com/dita/1.3/specs/langRef/attributes/ditauseconreftarget.html.

Column separator (Available in the Table, Column, and Cell tabs)

Specifies whether or not to include column separators (borders/grid lines) in the form of the @colsep attribute. The allowed values are: 0 (no separator) and 1 (include separators).

Row separator (Available in all four tabs)

Specifies whether or not to include row separators (borders/grid lines) in the form of the @rowsep attribute. The allowed values are: 0 (no separator) and 1 (include separators).

Frame (Available only in the Table tab)

Allows you to specify a value for the @frame attribute. It is used to specify where a border should appear in the table. The allowed values are as follows:

none - No border will be added.
all - A border will be added to all frames.
top - A border will be added to the top frame.
topbot - A border will be added to the top and bottom frames.
bottom - A border will be added to the bottom frame.
sides - A border will be added to the side frames.
-dita-use-conref-target - Normally, when using a @conref, the values of attributes specified locally are preserved. You can choose this option to override this behavior and pull the value of this particular attribute from the @conref target. For more information, see https://www.oxygenxml.com/dita/1.3/specs/langRef/attributes/ditauseconreftarget.html.

Edit Table Properties for a Simple, Choice, or Properties Table Model

For a Simple, Choice, Properties table model, the Table properties dialog box only allows you to edit a few options.

Table tab

Frame

Allows you to specify a value for the @frame attribute. It is used to specify where a border should appear in the table. The allowed values are as follows:

none - No border will be added.
all - A border will be added to all frames.
top - A border will be added to the top frame.
topbot - A border will be added to the top and bottom frames.
bottom - A border will be added to the bottom frame.
sides - A border will be added to the side frames.
-dita-use-conref-target - Normally, when using a @conref, the values of attributes specified locally are preserved. You can choose this option to override this behavior and pull the value of this particular attribute from the @conref target. For more information, see https://www.oxygenxml.com/dita/1.3/specs/langRef/attributes/ditauseconreftarget.html.

Row tab (not available for Properties tables)

Row type: Allows you change the row to a body or header type of row.