Spacing a table in a topic

[livetoski]

well, it's not so much indent the table as it is that I want to space the table evenly top and bottom from text. I imagine this is a style sheet issue, and I've tried a few things with no success. Shouldn't I be able to place a table in a topic, and somehow guarantee that it's space the same from the bullet list below and the paragraph above? No?

[LTinker68]

Yes, you can do it through the stylesheet. If you want all tables to be spaced the same amount from the text above and below it, then in the main topic stylesheet (not the table stylesheet), go to the table tag, and set the margin-top and margin-bottom values (in the Box category).

[livetoski]

Thank you! Exactamundo!!

[livetoski]

Now I have another problem... which I had before, but was hoping would be solved by the spacing issue.

When I have two tables in a row, it seems that I need a paragraph tag between them, or the table around the text of the second table is removed, the text remains, but it is no longer in a box. Poof!

Sometimes this is the case, other times I can make it happen and I see NOTHING in the code that tells me why. Dang! Any idea about that?

[livetoski]

Solved the problem by inserting tables, I had been copying and pasting, to put a new table in, and that is not allowed, apparently. It's crappy if you want a variation on the same content theme.

[KevinDAmery]

It should be allowed, but you do have to be careful where you do the paste. If your cursor is inside the table tag for table 1, when you paste table 2 you can get odd results.

Adding a paragraph between, pasting the table, then deleting the paragraph between should avoid any chance of that from happening.

[livetoski]

Just to let you know, adding a paragraph, pasting a copied table and deleting the paragraph tag still removed the table settings. It's all very weird. I am playing it safe, and inserting the table from now on. Thanks.

[doc_guy]

Moderator note: I split this topic from the one it was attached to previously. This topic deals with spacing of a table with regards to the text above and below it. The previous topic was about indenting a table. I did this for organizational reasons and to help users who may search for this information down the road.

[doc_guy]

I'll add one issue to be aware of: the spacing you are talking about DOES NOT work for Word output. It DOES work for PDF and WebHelp outputs. Word doesn't respect the margin settings for a table, which is a major pain in the....

[ktbCA57]

Is there a way to indent tables - other than changing alignment from left to center, etc..?

I've been trying to find a setting and don't see anything that looks like it will do the trick. I looked thru this thread and i see information about spacing and such.. but don't see where the "indenting" issue was actually addressed.

Any suggestions?

[KevinDAmery]

I would go to the Table tag in the main stylesheet (not one of the table stylesheets) and adjust the Margin-left attribute.

You can also create classes of the Table tag if you need to use different left margin numbers for different tables. Then you just apply the appropriate class to each table to get the correct left margin.

[ktbCA57]

I would go to the Table tag in the main stylesheet (not one of the table stylesheets) and adjust the Margin-left attribute.

You can also create classes of the Table tag if you need to use different left margin numbers for different tables. Then you just apply the appropriate class to each table to get the correct left margin.

Hi Kevin..

I've tried both things.. and i can't get anything to work.. which "left margin" do i change.. the only component with a setting like that is under "box" (that i see anyway).. and i tried that and nothing changed... i tried every "left" setting i could find except the "Cell Padding-left".. but nothing has changed.

I created a class just for this table as I have a few different tables in my project... all with different formatting... this one i needed to be more indented than others...


here's what the code shows for this particular setting - specifically from the Stylesheet (not the Table CSS, of course)..

table.TableStyle_Basic_LEFTalign
{
margin-right: auto;
margin-left: 0.75in;
left: 0.75in;
padding-left: 0.75in

Can you see anything that i can change that might do the trick?

THANKS!

[KevinDAmery]

Oh, I know what it is (and it's a really annoying thing that I've been bugging Madcap about since the dawn of time... well ok, two years). When you use a table style, Flare applies a bunch of style code directly in the topic HTML. Since this is "closer" to the content than your CSS, it takes precedence, so any changes you make in the stylesheet won't take effect.

What you need to do is open the topic in a text editor and remove any margin code that you find in the table tag. Now, if this sounds tedious and unnecessary, I'd say you're right. There is no reason that I can think of why they should do it this way, but they do

If you (like me) would like to see them change it, please report it as a bug. If enough of us do it maybe they'll eventually see that we really really really really don't like it....

http://www.madcapsoftware.com/bugs/submit.aspx

[ktbCA57]

What you need to do is open the topic in a text editor and remove any margin code that you find in the table tag. Now, if this sounds tedious and unnecessary, I'd say you're right. There is no reason that I can think of why they should do it this way, but they do

WOOOHOOO... IT WORKED! THANK YOU! WHEW! and yes.. i do find it tedious (as i do so many other things I have to change in the code)... but at least it's a way to do it! THANK YOU THANK YOU!

and yes.. I will send a request to "change/fix" this!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

[ktbCA57]

btw... have you found this to be the best way to indent images as well? I have trouble using a paragraph setting for that.

[KevinDAmery]

I haven't had to do this for images. I've just created a paragraph class with the proper indent then included the img tag inside it, and it's worked for me in CHM, Word, and PDF outputs. Just remember that in order for this approach to work, you have to put the img tag inside the p tag. The easiest way to do this is to hit enter (which creates a p tag) then insert the image. The code in the topic looks something like this:

Code: Select all

<p class="MyIndentClass">
<img src="../../Resources/Images/MyPicture.png" />
</p>

[ktbCA57]

nevermind.. i figured this one out on my own.. FOR A CHANGE.... and yes.. i found where to make the margin change with the image associated to a paragraph class.

I know you are all shocked that i figured something out on my own.. ME TOO!

THANKS!

[ktbCA57]

When you use a table style, Flare applies a bunch of style code directly in the topic HTML. Since this is "closer" to the content than your CSS, it takes precedence, so any changes you make in the stylesheet won't take effect.

OK.. i submitted this as a bug.. about the time Kevin informed me of the issue... and recently got an email from MadCap to tell me that this issue had been fixed in v 5.0... HOWEVER.. it still isn't working for me.. i STILL have to go in and manually add that indent in the text editor to move the tables around..

Has anyone gotten 5.0 to work as far as recognizing set table indents? if so, what am i most likely missing? i know this wasn't supposed to work for tables already IN the project.. but i can't get it to work when i add a new table!

any ideas?

thanks,

kb

[phanna]

Thank you so much Kevin! I've been fighting with the same issue and your fix well, fixed it! I agree that this is evil.