Table Formatting

Named table formats allow you to control the basic layout and appearance of each table.

When inserting a table of any type, you are prompted to select from one of the available table formats (defined in the structure application template). You can modify the definition of these table formats or add new named formats to the template. Be sure to update both the “Topic” and “Book” structure application templates so the same table formats exist in both places.

The assigned table format name defines the basic formatting of the table. This name is applied to the outputclass attribute of the “table” object element (tgroup for table elements).

Tip: Previous structure applications included a fixed list of table formats in the element definition, which was cumbersome to maintain. The latest DITA-FMx structure application uses a modified EDD structure that allows for the value of outputclass to be used as the Initial Table Format. This means that when adding new formats, you just need to update the template, and not the EDD. If you’re using a custom EDD, be sure to import the EDD from the DITA-FMx EDD into your EDD.