From the course: InDesign 2024 Essential Training

Adjusting rows and columns - InDesign Tutorial

From the course: InDesign 2024 Essential Training

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Adjusting rows and columns

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- [Instructor] I have version B of this table document open from the exercise files, and this is where we left off in the last movie. Now I want to adjust these rows and columns, but if I choose the selection tool, and start trying to drag one of these column dividers, it doesn't move the divider, it moves the whole text frame. That's not what I want. So let's undo it. Command or control + Z. Remember that tables are always inside text frames, and therefore you have to use the type tool to do almost anything to a table. So let's grab the type tool, click inside any cell, and now I can start changing these rows and columns. For example, I can make this one a little wider or make this one narrower. You get the idea. Now, notice that as you drag one of these column dividers, it's changing all the columns to the right. They all move together. If you want to move a column divider without moving the ones to the right, you can hold down the shift key. Shift drag moves just that one column without changing the overall width of the table. Now, on the other hand, the shift key does something different if you use it on the outside edge. In this case, dragging the outside of the table by itself with no modifier key just changes that one column. That's because there's nothing to the right of it to change. But if you hold down the shift key, and drag that right edge, well now something different happens. It does just the opposite. Shift drag on the right edge moves all the columns proportionally. Now, in this case, I just want the table to fit inside my margins, so I'm going to drag this right column without holding down the shift key. Okay. I'd like the last three columns to be the same width, so I'll simply drag over three of those cells, which selects them. Then I'll go to the table menu, and I'll choose distribute columns evenly. That forces InDesign to make the widths exactly the same. Now, notice that when you choose one or more cells, the control panel changes to give me a bunch of table formatting features. Over on the left, this controls the text formatting inside the cell, but here in the middle, you can adjust the number of rows and columns. See how we can add them just by clicking these arrows or changing these numbers? I can remove them too. Of course, InDesign is going to warn me that it's going to remove some, and I'm okay with that. As I've mentioned before, the control panel gives you more features when your screen is wider. So if you can't see some of these features, you can open the table panel by going to the window menu, coming down to type in tables, and then choosing table. Here are the same features. For example, this lets you set the width of the columns or the height of this row. Right now the height is set to at least, and this means it's going to be at least this height over here. If you put more text in there, it could grow, but it won't be smaller than that minimum amount. If you want to specify an exact height for the row, you can change this from at least to exactly. Then you specify the height over here. But for now, I'm going to leave this set to at least. There are other ways to change the number of rows and columns in your table. For example, if you know you want a new row in a specific place, just click in one of those cells, then go to the table menu, and come down to the insert sub menu. Here you can choose row. It'll ask you how many rows you want, and whether you want them above or below the selected cell. I'll click okay. Of course, you can delete rows and columns too just place your cursor inside one of those cells, go to the table menu, and choose from the delete sub menu. Okay. Now, once you have your basic table structure down, it's time to start paying attention to formatting it, making it more attractive. At least I hope you want to make it more attractive than this and that's what I'm going to cover in the next movie.

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