On 4/26/13 4:12 PM, Scott Kostyshak wrote:
On Fri, Apr 26, 2013 at 3:00 PM, Marshall Feldman <[email protected]> wrote:
Hello,
The standard format for formal tables uses spanners to indicate columns with
similar, related content. I am using LyX with the "formal" tables option set
to on. But I don't see how to introduce spanners into a table..
For example, suppose a table has two lines of headings. Suppose further that
row 1 has "Revenue" as a heading and that below this the table has two
headings, "Sales" and "Interest." So we would like the line beneath
"Revenue" to span two columns with a solid line, and for there to be enough
space at the edges of the spanned columns for the reader to make out that
the spanner is indeed separate from adjacent columns. See this page for
examples.
So how does one handle spanners in LyX?
Hi Marshall,
If I understand correctly, what you refer to as "spanners" LyX would
refer to as "multi-column". In a table, select a couple of rows and
click on "multi-column" in the table toolbar (which is at the bottom
of the screen and is activated when the cursor is in a table).
Best,
Scott
Thanks, Scott.
Well it's not exactly multicolumn, at least not how I understand this
term. A cell that's multicolumn spans more than one column. This relates
to spanners, but it's only part of the issue.
A spanner is a line under the heading for the multicolumn cell. The line
does not run the full width of the original columns that went into the
multicolumn cell. Since the spanner typically serves as a heading
indicating which columns fall under the heading, there has to be some
way to distinguish the columns falling under the heading from other,
adjacent columns. This is why the spanner line is shorter than the
combined widths of the original columns: whitespace on either side of
the line separates it from lines in adjacent cells.
I'll try to draw a picture:
*Greetings* Century
_Holiday_ --------------------------- --------------
<= These dashed lines are "spanners"
_Coming_ _Going_ _18_ _19_ _20_ _21_
Mardis Gras Want beads? Happy Mardi Gras X X
Xmas Merry Xmas Merry Xmas X X X
Thanks for your help.
Marsh
