Keeping tables together

[johnquiggin]

When I create a table, I normally want it all on one page. But I can't make Nisus respect this preference. Even with "Keep with Next" selected my tables are split across pages. Any suggestions?

[MBP]

I noticed something like this too so I am curious as to any responses. Thanks for the question. There is so much to learn here with this new App.

[martin]

Unfortunately there's no option to automatically control how table rows are kept together. You'll have to fix it up manually by inserting newlines or a page break, sorry.

[MBP]

Thanks Martin. Let me see if i can figure this out.

[mrennie]

I would like to make the following feature requests:

• Nisus Writer Pro ought to include support for header rows that can be repeated at the top of every new page (if the table spans across multiple pages).
• This is not really related to this topic, but Pages has a lovely feature that automatically colorises the background of alternate table rows. This makes tables much easier to read. I would love to have that feature in Nisus Writer Pro, too.

Thanks for reading this.

[ptram]

O, if we can add suggestions: table styles would do what MRennie asks for, and let us exchange them between documents and templates.

Paolo

[greenmorpher]

mrennie sez:

This is not really related to this topic, but Pages has a lovely feature that automatically colorises the background of alternate table rows. This makes tables much easier to read. I would love to have that feature in Nisus Writer Pro, too.

It'd be a neat thing, but selecting columns and adding shading (Table Cell Shading) is pretty straightforward, though, and once you have columns filled when you add new rows, the cells are filled or not according to the pattern set.

We could well use more sophistication all round in the tables, but one thing stands out when Martin (in this case) talks about fixing things up manually.

We need a vertical ruler so we can set such things up by measurement.

We also need to be able to set up table parameters by measurement.

Cheers, Geoff

Geoffrey Heard
The Ad Doctor Online

Win business with the recession-busting "How to make great ads for (sm)all business: 99 real world advertising ideas to kickstart *your* business today". See http://www.worsleypress.com

[Elbrecht]

The beast is back -

and right so! But Geoff don't loose measurement yourself -
"BoldItalic" is definitely un-measurable, by no way never...

WE NEED A VERTICAL RULER SO WE CAN SET THINGS UP BY MEASUREMENT.

Note: In NisusWriter Pro I would have done it my way - with real Small Caps!

HE

[johnquiggin]

Some excellent suggestions. But, getting back to basics, if we could
(i) manually control where (if at all) tables split,
and
(ii) require tables to appear at the top of a page, with text flowing around them (the automatic equivalent of the old typesetting instruction Table X Near Here), rather than with a forced page break

these would be huge steps forward

[greenmorpher]

Good one. Also the ability to add a caption to a table (or graphic) -- above or below, whichever is the normal style. Figures above, tables below, isn't it -- or the other way about?

Of course, you can fake this with a table by having an extra row (above or below), with white lines and the column dividers removed.

Cheers, Geoff

Geoffrey Heard
The Ad Doctor Online

Win business with the recession-busting "How to make great ads for (sm)all business: 99 real world advertising ideas to kickstart *your* business today". See http://www.worsleypress.com

[greenmorpher]

I wrote:

Of course, you can fake this with a table by having an extra row (above or below), with white lines and the column dividers removed.

On second thought, I don't see why that is actually "fake"~!

On third thought, you can set up a caption for a graphic by adding a little table of just one row under it with white lines and type the caption into that.

Cheers, Geoff

Geoffrey Heard
Publisher, Editor, Business Writer
The Worsley Press

Get "Type & Layout: Are you communicating or just making pretty shapes?" to deliver your words with real zing; and "How to Start and Produce a Magazine or Newsletter" to learn to step safely in the publishing minefield. Amazon or www.worsleypress.com

[greenmorpher]

AND THINKING FURTHER -- such captions would be easier to set up still if they and the tables or graphics they were serving could be set up by measurement.

AND now shifting from user to marketing mode -- a rat cunning Nisus would do a little one cells variation on the table tool which would come up with no outline but set to the same width of a selected table or graphic and which would (by default) be attached to the top or bottom of the table or graphic and extend the boundaries for text wrap externally of the object to which it was attached.

This would be called the "Caption Tool".

The rat cunning Nisus would promote this tool as PDC (Pretty Damned Clever) and denigrate all those apps (if any) which failed to have Caption Tools.

[greenmorpher]

Note how much nicer the above illustration would look, and how much more utility would be added in terms of where type wouldstart or another graphic would be added, if we had a VERTICAL RULER down the left-hand side of the window.

(smiling politely, not laughing!)

Cheers, Geoff

Geoffrey Heard
Publisher, Editor, Business Writer
The Worsley Press

Get "Type & Layout: Are you communicating or just making pretty shapes?" to deliver your words with real zing; and "How to Start and Produce a Magazine or Newsletter" to learn to step safely in the publishing minefield. Amazon or www.worsleypress.com