Inspiring

Answered

Is it possible to set table column widths without dragging?

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
January 26, 2022
2 replies
532 views

Hi all. InDesign is amazing, but how can I set table column widths without dragging their borders with the mouse?

I mean (= I hope to find) a window where I can specify the width of each column, either in picas/points or percentage. Does it exist somewhere?

Or, what is the "mainstream" or recommended way to create tables like "40-15-15-15-15"? (The values are given as percentage.) I have a document where some tables should be "40-15-15-15-15" and some "52-12-12-12-12". I'm trying to figure out how to create them properly and how to handle such cases in the future.

How to

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Correct answer SJRiegel

There is a free script you can get to help with this. It also has the option of storing the set of column widths in a table style, so they can be automatically applied to other tables.

L

Laubender

Community Expert

Hi John,

I'd suggest a script by Gerald Singelmann:

Auto Column
https://github.com/gsingelmann/indd_autocolumn

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

Frans v.d. Geest

Community Expert

Ah yes, forgot about that one, and I have it even installed!

Frans v.d. Geest

Community Expert

Yes, if you choose Window/Text and Tables/Tables, you can set an exact (or minimum) width for columns.

In the Table panel, specify Column Width and Row Height settings.
Choose Table > Cell Options > Rows And Columns, specify Row Height and Column Width options, and then click OK.

Doe JohnsAuthor

Inspiring

Hi, Frans. Sorry, but I don't see an option to adjust the width of all of the columns in one step there.

Here is a screenshot from Libreoffice Writer. This is an example what I'm trying to find:

I prefer percentage, but I can deal with picas/points if necessary. The key advantage is that I can set all of the values in one step.

InDesign workflow, from what I see, is different. You cannot specify all of the values in one step; instead, you will need to select a target column/columns first, so there will be at least 2 steps (or more). For a table like 40-15-15-15-15% it will be two steps, and for a table like 20-10-40-20-10% it will be 5 steps, right?

Not as really handy as I hoped it to be 😕😕

Frans v.d. Geest

Community Expert

You have to select the columns first, then enter the value.

But, guessing here, you want to pre-define a 'style' with different values and apply that to a table? There is a plug-in called Smart Styles from Woodwing that can create such styles.

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