[Solved] Position tables side by side?

[Hagar Delest]

I need to set up either tables side by side or text boxes side by side. Doesn't matter how I do it but there seems to be no way to drag and position a table box like any of my other programs.

Is there a way?

Thank you.

[Dave]

Put each into side-by side frames? A bit fiddly, but possible.

[endlyss]

Thanks Dave.

Thought I might have been missing something obvious.

[acknak]

I don't quite understand how "tables side-by-side" can be equivalent to "text boxes side-by-side": if a text box is adequate, then you can simply use a table to get two table cells (i.e. two text boxes) in a row.

However, assuming that you really need two tables in a row, then Dave's suggestion of frames is good, or you can just put them inside a larger table with only one row. Things do get a bit twitchy with nested tables (sometimes it's hard to select what you need), but it can be done with some perseverance.

You can also use a two-column section.

[keme]

Acknak's sample, with the frames approach added to illustrate all options discussed.

[jrkrideau]

Acknak's sample, with the frames approach added to illustrate all options discussed.

Very pretty indeed.

[endlyss]

Thanks!

I don't know why I didn't think of that!

With some programs you drag and create a movable text box other programs have other ways of creating either text boxes or tables but I think that all the ones I have used you are able to drag them around.

Thanks again.

[acknak]

Nice, keme. Thanks!

Your example shows when frames have the advantage, and that sort of situation hadn't occurred to me.

[keme]

Thanks!

I don't know why I didn't think of that!

With some programs you drag and create a movable text box other programs have other ways of creating either text boxes or tables but I think that all the ones I have used you are able to drag them around.

Thanks again.

Just make sure you insert a frame (from the Insert menu), not a text box (the T icon on the drawing toolbar).
Text boxes behave like graphical objects, and text formatting and layout operations inside them are limited.

[foxcole]

With some programs you drag and create a movable text box other programs have other ways of creating either text boxes or tables but I think that all the ones I have used you are able to drag them around.

Those programs were not word processors, they were page layout or desktop publishing programs.

Maybe this will help explain: Tables in word processors such as Writer or MS Word are text objects, not graphical objects. They're treated like really big letters. You can't drag and drop a letter just anywhere on a page in a word processor, it has to be part of a paragraph. Same with tables. You can select a table and drag it to a different paragraph the same way you can select and drag a character, but that's the limit.

[endlyss]

Thanks so much for not only answering a question but giving me an education! I really appreciate it.

I am also very glad to know the difference of how word processors work and desktop publishing programs operate. Very enlightening. That will be important knowledge in the future I am sure in the use of both types of software.

Also very happy to be finding a way to possibly escape or limit total reliance on another (unnamed) system.

[flowery]

Acknack,

Thank you for the tables_sidebyside[1].odt example at last i came across something that i need when creating a specific document.

I need to know how to make the blue frame and cell borders to be invisible when printing the document.

That and my own quick fix for the cells in the tables inside the frames were to make the cell borders white, but I would like to see something to show that there are cells located in the frame. As for the frame border I would like for it to be the same as the cells, invisible when printed and something to indicate that there is a frame that outlines the two tables that have been placed side by side.

[acknak]

The property dialogs for both tables and frames have a "Border" tab where you can set the borders to "none", or change the border color to white. You may need to use white borders if you need spacing between the edge of the frame and its contents: Writer will not include that space when the border is "none". I don't understand the reasoning there, but if you need the space, you have to use an invisible (white) border.

Table > Table Properties > Borders

Select the frame, then Format > Frame/Object > Borders

By default, Writer will display the borders of tables and frames using gray lines that only appear in the editing view, so you can see that a table/frame is present even if it has invisible borders. If you are not seeing those guide lines, you may need to change a setting or two. Check that Tools > Options > OO.org > Appearance > General > Object boundaries is set to YES (checked).

[flowery]

I am sure now that the frame border is adjustable, but how does one select it? I thought that it may be because i changed the center frame line, but when trying to get hold of the frame in the original tables_sidebyside[1].odt file, I was unsuccessful in selecting the frame so that I could Format > Frame/Object > Borders.

Is there a way to select just the frame so that I can adjust the border color to transparent/white?

[acknak]

Is there a way to select just the frame so that I can adjust the border color to transparent/white?

Selecting things in a Writer document can be a challenge.

Here are two possible approaches to select the frame (these will work for any text frame in Writer):

1) Start with nothing selected.
2) Left-click exactly on the frame border.

Or,

1) Left-click anywhere within the frame content (the table in this case). You should see the editing cursor move to where you clicked.
2) Press Escape ("Esc"). In this situation, Esc changes from the content to the nearest enclosing text frame, if there is one.

The last-ditch approach, just in case the other two aren't working, is to use the Navigator (View > Navigator/F5).

[flowery]

Well I can't get none of those options to work with the text box from that example file.

Maybe it isn't a text box? I tried to make my own last night and it wasn't as pretty as the whey that your example has. I can create a text box, insert a table, but there is no spacing between the text box frame border and the table. That and i still have the problem where if one cell has more lines than the one next to it, the one next to it will automatically have a blank line space to compensate.

That navigatior option is nifty, but I don't know if I fully understand it.

[flowery]

When I try to create a split frame, I am unable to insert a table in the right side as it won't allow my cursor to enter that area of the frame.

I can click on that area, but there is no blinking cursor.

Is there a way to allow this?

When creating a split frame, is there a option that i should be choosing so that I can insert a table on both sides?

[acknak]

Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean by a "split frame".

The usual names for these things are...

Frame (or Text Frame) -- what you get from Insert > Frame. This is a floating rectangular area that is able to hold any kind of text document content.

Text box -- what you get by clicking the "T" icon on Writer's Drawing toolbar. This is a floating rectangular graphics object--like the other shapes and objects inserted through the Drawing toolbar. It holds text only, with limited formatting. The text in the box is not managed by Writer as part of the document, and It can't contain tables, images, or anything else, other than text.