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Inserting and Editing Tables

Oxygen XML Web Author provides support for inserting and editing tables in the four built-in frameworks (DITA, DocBook, TEI, and XHTML). A variety of features and operations are available depending on the particular document type (framework).

Inserting Tables

You can use the Insert Table action on the toolbar or from the contextual menu to insert a table at the current cursor location. This opens a dialog box that provides some insertion options depending on the particular document type (framework).
  • DITA - For DITA documents, you can choose between a CALS and Simple table and optionally enter a value for the <title> element (a title displayed at the top of the table). The CALS table model provides more advanced functionality while the Simple model is most commonly used for basic tables.
  • DocBook - For DocBook documents, you can choose between a CALS and HTML table and optionally enter a value for the <title> element (a title displayed at the top of the table). The CALS table mode provides more advanced functionality while the HTML model is used to insert a formal (captioned) table.
  • TEI - For TEI documents, it inserts a basic table and you can optionally enter a value for the <head> element (a title or heading displayed at the top of the table).
  • XHTML - For XHTML documents, it inserts a basic HTML table and you can optionally enter a value for the <caption> element (a title or caption displayed at the top of the table).

Table Editing Toolbar/Contextual Menu Actions

The toolbar and contextual menu contains the following table editing actions:

Insert Row Above (Available only in the contextual menu)
Inserts a new table row with empty cells above the current row.
Insert Row Below
Inserts a new table row with empty cells below the current row.
Delete Row(s)
Deletes the table row located at the cursor position or multiple rows in a selection.
Insert Column Before (Available only in the contextual menu)
Inserts a new table column with empty cells before the current row.
Insert Column After
Inserts a new table column with empty cells after the current column.
Delete Column(s)
Deletes the table column located at the cursor position or multiple columns in a selection.
Join Cells
Merges the selected table cells.
Split Cell
Splits the selected table cell.
Convert CALS table to Simple table (Available for DITA documents only)
Converts an existing CALS table to a DITA Simple table.
Convert Simple table to CALS table (Available for DITA documents only)
Converts an existing Simple table to a DITA CALS table.
Table Properties (Available for DITA and DocBook documents only)
Opens a dialog box where you can configure various properties for the current table. For more information, see Editing Table Properties in DITA.

Selecting/Moving Columns and Rows

To select an entire row or a column of a table, place the mouse cursor in one of the cells for that row or column and click the widget that appears outside the table (to the left of rows and above columns). The cursor changes to a move icon () allowing you to reposition the row or column.

Selecting Cells

To select a single cell in a table, triple-click inside the cell. You can also use the Shift key along with the mouse or arrow keys to select multiple rectangular blocks of cells or to deselect cells from a selection.

Copy/Cut and Paste

To paste copied table content into the same table or another table, copy/cut selected cells, rows, or columns (using the usual keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+C/Ctrl+X or contextual menu actions), then paste the copied content (again, using the usual keyboard shortcut Ctrl+V or the Paste Specialcontextual menu action). You can also use the copy or cut actions for tables located in other documents.

Deleting Content

To delete the content of a cell, select the cell (triple-click) and press the Delete or Backspace key on your keyboard. To delete an entire row or column, select it by using the widget outside the table and press the Delete or Backspace key on your keyboard or place the cursor inside the row or column and use the Delete Row(s) or Delete Column(s) actions from the toolbar or contextual menu. This will delete both the content and the row or column.

To delete a selection of multiple cells, rows, or columns, select them using the Shift key along with the mouse or arrow keys and press the Delete or Backspace key on your keyboard or for multiple rows or columns, you can use the Delete Row(s) or Delete Column(s) actions from the toolbar or contextual menu. This will delete both the content and the table structure for the current selection.

Navigating Cells

Along with the normal mouse navigation, you can also navigate between cells by using the arrow keys on your keyboard. By default, when using the arrow keys to navigate between table cells, the cursor jumps from one cell to another.

Merge or Split Cells

To merge multiple selected cells into one, using the Join Cells action from the toolbar or contextual menu. To split a selected cell, using the Split Cell action from the toolbar or contextual menu.