Microsoft FrontPage 2003

Tables: Additional Options

FrontPage allows you to do many things with tables. The basic table alone may not be very appealing, but you can manipulate its elements to create a greater impact.

Converting a Table into Text
Converting Text into a Table
Using Captions
Drawing a Table
Inserting Tables Inside of Tables

Converting a Table into Text

This feature converts table text into standard text separated by line breaks.

WARNING: Converting table text into standard text will also remove all the cells inside the table.

Select the desired table
From the Table menu, select Convert » Table to Text...
The table disappears leaving only text.

Converting Text into a Table

You can make text into its own table and separate the text by paragraphs, tabs, commas, or other formatting.

Select the desired text
From the Table menu, select Convert » Text To Table...
The Convert Text To Table dialog box appears.
To identify which character separates the text into cells, select the desired option
HINT:If you select the Commas option, the text before each comma will be inserted into its own cell.
EXAMPLE: 9/1 (Monday), 9/2 (Tuesday), 9/3 (Wednesday)
Click OK

Using Captions

A caption is text that appears above or below a table. The purpose of table captions is similar to the purpose of most picture captions (i.e., they explain or clarify).

Adding a Caption

Place the insertion point into the table
From the Table menu, select Insert » Caption
The insertion point appears above the first row of the table.
Type the caption
When finished, place the insertion point anywhere outside the caption

Adjusting the Position of a Caption

Add a caption
Place the insertion point in the caption
From the Table menu, select Table Properties » Caption
The Caption Properties dialog box appears.
Under Position, select Top of table or Bottom of table
Click OK
To easily left or right align the caption, on the Formatting Toolbar, click ALIGN LEFTor ALIGN RIGHT

Drawing a Table

The Draw Table feature of FrontPage allows you to create a table by clicking and dragging the mouse, much like drawing boxes in a graphics program. With this feature, you can make a good-looking table, but you cannot ensure that rows and columns are distributed evenly. Refer to Table Formatting: Distributing Rows and Columns Evenly for more information.

From the Table menu, select Draw Table
The Tables toolbar appears and the cursor becomes a pencil.
OR
On the Tables toolbar, click DRAW TABLE
The cursor becomes a pencil.
NOTE: If the Tables toolbar does not appear, from the View menu, select Toolbars» Tables
Click and drag the mouse to create the outside edges of the table
Where you start dragging will be the top left corner; where you release the mouse button, the lower right.
To draw a row or column, click one of the table edges and drag the pencil to the opposite edge
HINT: You can also draw rows and columns that do not span the entire table. Just draw between existing rows or columns.
When finished drawing all the columns and rows, click DRAW TABLE
OR
Press [Esc]
The pencil disappears.

Inserting Tables Inside of Tables

You can insert a table within a table. This may make the information less accessible to users. Unless used strictly for layout, nested tables should be used on a limited basis.

Draw a table
Place the insertion point in the desired cell
From the Table menu, select Insert » Table...
The Insert Table dialog box appears.
Complete the Insert Table dialog box as appropriate
Click OK