InDesign for QuarkXPress Users [Electronic resources]

Table Terminology

Before we describe how to create a table, we should discuss what a table is and how it differs from tabular material. A table is a grid of

cells , arranged in horizontal

rows , and vertical

columns (see Figure 74-1). In QuarkXPress the cells can contain text or graphics; InDesign only has text cells, but allows table cells to contain inline graphics. In InDesign, a cell can expand as text is added to it by default, or it can be set to an absolute size; XPress's cells cannot auto expand.

Tables have their own specialized terminology, so it's worth taking a moment to be clear what the different parts of a table are called. The line which may surround a table is called the table's

border . Each cell has a

fill (cell color in XPress), and it is surrounded by

strokes (gridlines in XPress). While QuarkXPress cannot make cells or gridlines transparent (only solid color or a blend), InDesign lets you set the fill or stroke to None (transparent), a color, or a gradient. InDesign even lets you set the stroke attributes on each side of the cell individually, which XPress does not.

Tables versus Tabs

Desktop publishers have long used tabs to create simple tables (see Chapter 49). However, tablesespecially as they're are implemented in InDesignare much more powerful. Here are some reasons to use tables.

• You can have multiple lines of text in a single cell, which is impossible with tabs.

• Adding background colors and rules is much easier with tables.

• Alignment and spacing can be set very precisely inside and outside of InDesign tables.

• Editing a table is much easier than editing tabular material. You can easily select cells, rows, columns or the entire table to make changes quickly.