Skip to main content
N
Nate5E73
Participating Frequently
October 23, 2020
Answered

InDesign Table Grid Lines Disappear when Exported to PDF

  • October 23, 2020
  • 3 replies
  • 3203 views

Hi,

 

I am currently using InDesign to create a document, and I have created a certain table in this document. This table has several rows and columns, and in some cells there are text and in other cells there are images directly inserted into the cell. My problem is that for no apparent reason some of the grid lines between the cells completely disappear or become invisible when I export to PDF. Furthermore, these specific lines become thinner when I zoom out in InDesign, but other lines do not. Does anyone have a solution to this?

InDesign:

 

PDF:

Thanks.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Eugene Tyson

Eugene, I sent you the link in a private message. I only included the relevant page of the document.


Thank you - and I take it that you don't want those files shared publicly so I will respect that and not share the file unless you specify this.

 

Just to note - there's nothing wrong with what you have done - it's an  onscreen viewing issue, when I zoom in and out on both InDesign and PDF the row strokes are intact, but clearly there's a viewing issue with the strokes. 

 

On inspection - you can see the areas interacting with the stroke edges as these images do not have a transparent background, and interfere with the visibility of the stroke width of the table. 

 

 
 
 
 

 

I'd be on the side of filing this as a BUG!

https://indesign.uservoice.com/forums/601180-adobe-indesign-bugs

 

 

3 replies

L
Community Expert
LaubenderCommunity Expert
Community Expert
October 23, 2020

Hi Nate,

if some of the cell borders look thinner than the others it could be that your PDF viewing app is "smoothing" lines or enhance edges for screen representation. You can do not much to prevent this. The only solution would be to have two stacked tables. One with the contents, text and graphics without borders; plus another table stacked on top with no contents and borders only.

 

At least that's my experience with phenomenons like that.

 

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

    Barb Binder
    Community Expert
    Barb BinderCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 23, 2020

    Put the file on dropbox and add the link in your reply (public) or message one of us individually (private).

     

    ~Barb 

    ~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
      E
      Community Expert
      Eugene TysonCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      October 23, 2020

      Have you placed the image into the cell as anchored text

      Or did you convert the cell to a graphic cell?

       

      If it's anchored it might be just going over the edge of the table, so the white background is blocking the image.

      Try reducing the size of your image frames in the cells

       

      or

       

      Try converting it to a graphic cell. https://www.adobepress.com/articles/article.asp?p=2418568

        N
        Nate5E73Author
        Participating Frequently
        October 23, 2020

        I am pretty sure that these are graphic cells, considering as I have the option to convert them to text cells. Do you have any further solution?

          E
          Community Expert
          Eugene TysonCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          October 23, 2020

          Can you share the file?

          Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
          Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices