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December 17, 2015
Answered

Using Framemaker 7.2. Creating a table at the top of the first page

  • December 17, 2015
  • 2 replies
  • 1292 views

When I try to create a table with four lines and two columns, it appears on the top of page 2 rather than page 1 where I want it. I cannot find a means to anchor it at the top of the first page. What am I doing wrong?

Dennis....

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Stefan Gentz

By the way, in FrameMaker 2015, there is also a table format "catalog" like you know it from the paragraph and character style catalog. This makes it very easy to assign table designs to tables (see here).

2 replies

Stefan GentzCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
Community Manager
December 17, 2015

By the way, in FrameMaker 2015, there is also a table format "catalog" like you know it from the paragraph and character style catalog. This makes it very easy to assign table designs to tables (see here).

Community Manager
December 17, 2015

Hi Dennis,

You can specify in the table designer, where the tables starts. Click into the table and open the table designer. In the "Basic" section, you find the "Start" drop-down. Select "Anywhere" instead of "Top of Page". You might also need to adjust the "Orphan Rows" setting. If it is too high, long tables will not break over pages properly.

Please also make sure, that the paragraph containing the table anchor is not set to "Top of Page" (Paragraph Designer > Pagination > Start > Anywhere vs. Top of Page).

You can find comprehensive information about formatting tables here: FrameMaker tables, especially here: Table position and spacing.

*Stefan.

December 17, 2015

Hi Stefan...

Thank you for your assistance with this. While "Anywhere" is a rather ambiguous term, it's surprising to me that it seems to ALMOST do what I needed. Why "anywhere" gives the results it does seems odd to me. However, there is a gap above the table; it does not start at the top of the column as desired. Why is this?

Community Manager
December 17, 2015

In the Table Designer you find in the "Basic" section the group "Indents & Spacing". Check the value for "Above". The default value is "12 pt". You can set it to "0 pt" if you do not want to have any space.

In the same dialog at the bottom: Check if you have a Title: Above Table. This might add additional space reserved to enter a table title. If so, you might want to set it to "No Title.

You might also want to check the paragraph containing the table anchor (make sure to see special characters by activating View > Text Symbols). I have made good experience in setting up a paragraph format like "Anchor" that I use exclusively to hold table and image/graphic anchors. Set the font size for this format to 2.0 pt (which is the minimum value).