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Participant
June 26, 2008
Question

Table rulings - help!

  • June 26, 2008
  • 3 replies
  • 341 views
I'm working in Framemaker 7.0, running on XP, and have a problem with a particular table. It runs across multiple pages and I need an outside border at the end of each page. I've already goofed around with settings in Table Designer (where it says: Draw Bottom Ruling on Last Sheet Only)and in Custom Rulings and Shading, but can't seem to figure out why it won't put a border at the end of each page.

PS. This is a document created by someone else awhile ago.

Any help is greatly appreciated!
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    3 replies

    June 26, 2008
    Anita, have you tried the following to determine where there might be ruling overrides on the cells:

    -- highlight one of the cells in the bottom row of the first page.

    -- Select Table > Custom Ruling and Shading, then click on "Show Current Settings".

    -- do the same thing to one of the cells in the top =body= row of the following page

    Compare the settings to see if either of the cells has any overrides on it that are affecting the "bottom ruling" setting.

    Also, if the table happens to have been imported from Word, there could be some "hidden" settings on the cells that are impossible to eradicate through the FM dialogs, and even saving the file as MIF and reopening it will not clear these rogue settings. In this case a good option is Rick Quatro's Table Cleaner, from http://www.frameexpert.com --look in the Plugins section.
    Known Participant
    June 26, 2008
    Anita:

    My experience has been that this a longstanding (as in versions 5 to 7, and I assume version 08) bug.

    More than once I tried Van's recommendation of getting back to square one, but the next time the page break falls in a different part of a painstakingly "fixed" table the problem often ( but not always) reappears.

    For me, then, I've just learned to live with it as yet another of those permanent FrameMaker "curios" that may well never be fixed...

    Cheers & hope this helps,
    Riley
    Known Participant
    June 26, 2008
    Anita,

    I make tables all the time and they all display a border at the bottom of the page. Try this to get back to square one:

    In the Table Designer CLEAR the Draw Bottom Ruling on Last Sheet Only box, that is UNchecked.

    Select the entire table, and select the menu Table > Custom Ruling & Shading.

    In the dialog box, CHECK all boxes and select From Table in all lists and dropdowns.

    Click Apply.

    This makes all the rules and shadings match what the table style dictates. If some cells requires special rules and shadings, then you have to select those cells and use the custom rules and shadings box to set them the way you want.

    I am guess that maybe the previous writer gave some rows no rules and that is where the page is breaking, but just a guess.

    There should always be a rule at the bottom of the page unless you check Draw Bottom Ruling on Last Sheet Only in the table designer OR add custom borders of none at the row where the page breaks.

    Good luck,
    Van