Terrible Tables

Question

I think Tables in PowerPoint are, shockingly, better than InDesign's, which are confounding. Is there a definitive source on how tables in ID work and how to circumvent their unnecesary complexities and failings?

Barb Binder · Accepted Answer

Hi @jeffhalmos:

First of all, yes... select (make blue) what you want to change. All the time. To make a stroke thicker, thinner, change the color, or disable it it has to be blue in the proxy. If you like a stroke the way it is and don't want to change it while you are changing something else within the selection, it needs to be gray. There's no negotiating with InDesign on that one.

Secondly, yes... the proxy in the Control panel is a shortcut for Table > Cell Options > Strokes and Fills.

I also do layout work and here's my approach to table formatting:

Select the table and set up the table level commands in Table > Table Options. (Most of these controls—but not all—can be saved as a Table style.)
Next, select individual cells and customize them with Table > Cell Options. (These controls can be saved as Cell styles.)

This will get you started. When all that feels comfortable, then start exploring table and cell styles. That's where the power lies.

~Barb

Barb Binder · Answer

Hi @jeffhalmos:

I hear your frustration—and see that you already understand what needs to happen next.

I'm guessing you are not strugging with adding a table, or rows or columns or content—because that's about the same for both—but instead struggling with the formatting? Powerpoint tables are perhaps more intuitive for you but they don't offer the formatting control that InDesign, a professional publishing application, does.

For example, a table can be set up in InDesign to format itself with a single click. In my example below, I'm assigning a table style to a new default table, which is calling in nested cell styles which are calling in nested paragraph styles. One click: fully formatted.

This isn't a canned preset, it's designed to look exactly the way the job requires, and once look has been set up, we can reuse the formatting on multiple tables. If something isn't correct, changing the style definition updates all the tables in that document. Pretty cool, but there's a learning curve.

Derek has already shared some good learning resources. If you have access to LinkedIn learning, you'll find plenty of short tutorials on working with tables that will take you from where you are now to mastering them. You just need to give yourself a little bit of time.

If you run into any specific issues, please come back and ask us. We can always help you through them.

~Barb

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