Formatting Tables

Presenting content in tables is a normal part of writing for any purpose. If you've worked in MS Word, you know that adding a table to a document is relatively simple. The same is true for Confluence but, there are some things you may need to know.

If you already have a table that you've created in another application, outside of Confluence, you can copy and paste it into Confluence. The same is true for tables you wish to add from a website–copy and paste. However, the end result may not be exactly what you either A). wanted or, B). anticipated. Here, we'll attempt to explain why this might be.

The first thing to bear in mind is that Confluence is a "web processor". You've heard of "word processors"–MS Word being the one most commonly encountered in business. Confluence is bound by a different set of rules which is why there can be differences in terms of procedures and outcomes when working with it. So, it's useful to see how best to work with tables in Confluence.

When you have a page you're either creating or, editing, you can find the 'Insert Table' icon on the Editing toolbar:

Clicking the Insert Table icon on the Editing toolbar results in this:

You get a drop-down menu–not unlike what you find in MS Word--with a series of rows and columns that allows you to quickly sweep your mouse to the amount of both rows and columns you'll need. For references sake, it's worth noting that the maximum table size you can create with this method is 15 X 20. That's 15 columns and 20 rows.

Above, you'll see that the Insert Table dialog box allows you to determine the amount of rows and columns your table will need. Also, there's a checkbox that sets aside a row at the top for headings in your table–something that is almost universal when assembling a table. Mind you, the heading row is counted with the total amount of rows so, if you have four rows of table content and one row of headings, the number of rows would have to change to 5. Unless you have a reason for not needing it, you can leave the checkbox checked. Were I to insert this table into my document, this is how it would look:

You'll note that the first row is slightly shaded. This helps to draw attention to the column headings so that your audience will be better able to put the table data into its proper context. Also, using this method, you can create a table with a lot more rows and columns than you can using the 'mouse-sweep' process, shown above.

Once you have a table on your page, you can either start typing in the content for the cells or, you can copy and paste it in from another source.

Company

Contact

Country

Alfreds Futterkiste Maria Anders Germany Centro comercial Moctezuma Francisco Chang Mexico Ernst Handel Roland Mendel Austria Island Trading Helen Bennett UK Laughing Bacchus Winecellars Yoshi Tannamuri Canada Magazzini Alimentari Riuniti Giovanni Rovelli Italy

Here, I've gone to a website and just grabbed some example text that was formatted into a table on that page. It's interesting to note that this table has three columns and seven rows (including the heading row). What I called up–using the mouse-sweep method–was a 2 X 5 table. So, you should be compelled to wonder how it is that I got a table that fit my copied and pasted content. Here's why:

This is the Table Tools toolbar. It appears in the Confluence creation space the moment you create a table. By default, it's set to 'Responsive'–which means that Confluence will automatically add rows and/or columns to fit the content you are pasting in. All you have to do is click the upper-leftmost cell within the table and paste in the text. Note that if you select a cell other than the upper leftmost as your 'target' cell, the pasted content will go in, starting from that cell–which will likely throw everything off. The good news is that you can choose Undo from the toolbar or, CTRL-Z from the keyboard, to remove the improperly-placed text and start again by selecting the upper-leftmost cell and pasting there.

Aside from 'Responsive', the other choice you have is 'Fixed Width':

Fixed width means that the cells in the table have a set width and anything you paste or type into them will have to fit. This option can lead to some very unexpected and, typically, unwanted outcomes. So, you'll probably leave the option of 'Responsive' where it is.

Let's go back to the table I added a few minutes ago:

Company

Contact

Country

You'll notice that all of the table content is left-justified. If I wished to change this, I can highlight the cell, or cells, I wish to change and use the appropriate alignment buttons on the Formatting toolbar.

Here, I've centered the headings by highlighting them with my left mouse cursor and using the center-alignment button.

Company

Contact

Country

Alfreds Futterkiste

Maria Anders

Germany

Centro comercial Moctezuma

Francisco Chang

Mexico

Ernst Handel

Roland Mendel

Austria

Island Trading

Helen Bennett

Laughing Bacchus Winecellars

Yoshi Tannamuri

Canada

Magazzini Alimentari Riuniti

Giovanni Rovelli

Italy

The same can be done with any or, all, of the text in the various cells.

Something else you'll notice is that tables justify to the left of the page when they're inserted in Confluence. The same is also true for images or graphics. How do you center them on the page?

The answer to this involves a little bit of finesse. Here, at the ITS Research Lair, dedicated scientists wearing freshly laundered lab coats have determined that the 'friendliest' way to do this is to place your mouse cursor immediately to the left of the table, or image, and use the Indent button on the Formatting toolbar to move the item to the right.

If this seems a bit like using 'Kentucky Windage' to place items on the page, you are correct! If you miss, by placing an item too far to the right, you can use the Outdent button to move it back toward the left.

The Table Toolbar:

After the choices for Responsive/Fixed Width is the 'Insert Row Above' button. With this button, all you have to do is select a row in your table by clicking in any of the cells within that row, then left-click the icon and a blank row will be added above. You can also do this by using the Alt + Up Arrow key combination on your keyboard.

The 'Insert Row Below' button will add a new row below your cursor.

The 'Remove Current Row' button will remove any row from a table into which you have set focus by clicking a cell.

Cutting, Copying and Pasting Rows are the button commands for cut, copy and Paste. You can also copy a row by using CTRL + Shift + c on the keyboard. Cutting is CTRL + Shift + x. Pasting the content of a row that you have either copied or cut is done by using CTRL + Shift + v.

Cutting, Copying and Pasting Columns are the button command options for columns for cut, copy and paster. Unfortunately, there aren't any keyboard shortcuts for working with these.

These buttons all for adding a column to the left, to the right and removing a column. Each of these works the same as the controls for rows: left click any cell within a column you wish to either add a column to the left or right of or, delete from a table.

These are the options for merging or splitting cells that have been merged. Select all the cells you would like to merge and select the appropriate option.

There are two: one is for columnar headings (the leftmost of the two) and the other is for row headings. Click into the row or column that you wish to add headings above or next to and select the necessary icon.

Moving one further to the right, you will encounter the 'Change Cell Color' button. This enables you to select a cell, or range of cells, within a table and alter the background color. You can also remove color from a cell or, range of cells, by clicking on the down-arrow to the right of the button.

This is a 'Remove Table' button. This button will remove your table. Click anywhere in the table and select this icon to remove the table for the page.

This is the 'Table Settings' icon. The lone option this provides is to insert a numbered column in your table. One uses this by clicking a cell anywhere in your table then, left-clicking the icon will drop down an option to check a box wherein you will then place said numbered column as the leftmost in the table.