RE: alignment in tables

Subject: RE: alignment in tables
From: Pieter Rijken <pieter.rijken@xxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 08:43:09 +0200
Ken Holman wrote:
> 
> At 99/05/18 16:09 +0200, Pieter Rijken wrote:
> >I cannot get the alignment of text in tables right.
> >The table I want to format consists of 3 columns.
> >Text in the first and third column is left aligned,
> >while the contents of the second column should be
> >right-aligned.
> >
> >An example table in SGML looks like:
> >...
> >I'm trying to display this as:
> >
> >first row         second row  third row
> >\-------/  \---------------/  \-------/
> >column 1       column 2        column 3
> >
> >I try to achieve this with the following DSSSL script
> >...
> >But this does not work. All columns are left-aligned! I only 
> seem to get
> >the alignment correct when the 'display-alignment' characteristic for
> >'make-table' is specified. Unfortunately, this then applies 
> for all three
> >columns! :-(
> >Also, the characteristic 'row-cell-alignment' does not do anything!?
> >
> >What are these alignments for, and why does only the alignment
> >specified for the entire table seems to work?
> 
> Because "display-alignment:" is documented to be the alignments of the
> *areas* themselves, not the *content* of the areas.  An important
> distinction that is a common misunderstanding.
> 
> The text in a table belongs inside an area whose area needs 
> to have the
> quadding set to what you desire.  Fortunately, quadding is an 
> inherited
> characteristic so you have the opportunity to set it anywhere 
> before you
> use it.
> 
> >BTW, I'm using the TeX backend.
> 
> Same with the RTF backend ... you may find there are no 
> problems in this
> area at all with the TeX backend if you use the example below 
> (actually, I
> would be interested to hear your results, please, since I'm 
> not using the
> TeX backend).
> 
> I hope the example below helps.
> 
> ......... Ken
> 
> 
> T:\dsssl>type test.sgm
> <!DOCTYPE table [
> <!ELEMENT table - O (row+)>
> <!ATTLIST table columns NUMBER #REQUIRED>
> <!ELEMENT row - O (cell+)>
> <!ELEMENT cell - O (#PCDATA)>
> ]>
> <table columns="3">
>   <row>
>     <cell>first column</cell>
>     <cell>second column</cell>
>     <cell>third column</cell>
>   </row>
> </table>
> 
> T:\dsssl>type test.dsl
> <!DOCTYPE style-sheet PUBLIC "-//James Clark//DTD DSSSL Style 
> Sheet//EN">
> 
> (root
>     (make simple-page-sequence
>         page-width:     8.5in
>         page-height:    11in
>         left-margin:    .5in
>         right-margin:   .5in
>         header-margin:  .5in
>         footer-margin:  .5in
>         top-margin:     1in
>         bottom-margin:  1in
>         (process-children)))
> 
> (element table
>     (make table
>           table-border: #t
>           cell-after-column-border: #t
>            (make table-column
>                  quadding: 'start)
>            (make table-column
>                  quadding: 'end)
>            (make table-column
>                  quadding: 'start)
>            (process-children)))
> 
> (element row
>     (process-children))
> 
> (element cell
>     (make table-cell
>         (make paragraph
>           (process-children))))
> 
> ;end of file
> T:\dsssl>jade -c p:\jade\jadecurr\catalog -t rtf -o test.rtf test.sgm
> 
> T:\dsssl>
> 
Thanks a lot. It works!!
I'm still puzzled about the 'cell-row-alignment:' characteristic of
'table-cell'. The DSSSL standard says in section 12.6.27.6:

"cell-row-alignment: is one of the symbols start, end, or center,
specifying the alignment of the content of the cell in the row
progression direction. The initial value is start."

If I understand it correctly, it is about the "content of the cell"!?

Anyway, the 'quadding:' characteristic works fine.

pieter


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