TDX Knowledge: Add a Table to an Article

When you need to use a table in a knowledge base article, follow these guidelines and formatting instructions to make the content accessible to all users.

This article covers:

• Guidelines for Using a Table
• Inserting a Table in an Article
• Setting Column Widths
• Adding or Removing Rows and Columns from a Table
  • Adding a Row or Column
  • Deleting a Row or Column
• Merging Cells in a Table

Guidelines for Using a Table

• Only use a table when you need to convey a relationship between two or more items.
• Make the table accessible
  • Organize the information in the table to have either the first row or column act as a header. 
  • Include a caption that briefly describes the content of the table.
  • Add a border to the table.
• If possible, do not use more than three columns. Tables with more than three columns are difficult to navigate on mobile devices.

Inserting a Table in an Article

1. Place your cursor in the article where you want the table to be added.
2. Click the Table button  in the editor toolbar. A Table Properties window opens.
3. Specify the number of Rows and Columns.
4. Select Add borders.
   
5. Open the Headers dropdown.
6. Designate a header row, column, or both:
   • For a row select First Row.
   • For a column select First Column.
   • For both the first row and first column select Both.
   • For guidelines on table captions, see Accessible U Tables. Refer to Designate Row and/or Column Headers in the Dos and Don'ts section.
7. Add a table caption in the Caption text box. 
   • For guidelines on table captions, see Accessible U Tables. Refer to Provide Contextual Information in the Dos and Don'ts section.
8. Click OK.

Setting Column Widths

To set the width of a column, you can designate that width within the Cell Properties of the first cell.

1. Right-click on the first cell in the column.
2. Select Cell from the menu. 
3. Click Cell Properties.
4. Set the cell width in the Width textbox. 
   • Width can be set by percentage of the table (50 percent of the table, 80 percent of the table, etc) or by number of pixels.
5. Click OK.

Adding or Removing Rows and Columns from a Table

Adding a Row or Column

1. Right-click on a row/column in the table.
2. Select Row (or Column) from the menu.
3. Choose to either Insert Row/Column Before or Insert Row/Column After the selected row.

Deleting a Row or Column

1. Right-click on the row/column you want to delete.
2. Select Row or Column from the menu.
3. Select Delete Rows or Delete Columns.

Merging Cells in a Table

1. Right-click on the cell you want to merge. 
   • Or, highlight two cells you want to merge. 
2. Select Cell from the menu. 
3. Choose Merge right or Merge down to merge one cell with another
   • Or, if you highlighted two cells select Merge Cells to merge the two together. 
4. To undo a merge, select Split Cell Vertically or Split Cell Horizontally.