LT Unlimited

Break Table Into Columns

Tables can be split up into columns while remaining one entity, just like mtext objects. The easiest way to do this is with the light-blue triangular grip at the bottom of the table. (It's the one in the middle of the row pointing upward. The other two re-size the table's rows or columns.)

If you don't like the way the default break looks, the Properties palette is full of options.

• Enabled just means that table breaks are turned on. If you set it to No, the table goes back to one big long column.
• Direction (right, left, or down) controls the placement of the additional columns.
• Repeat top/bottom labels controls the display of header rows (so that the extra columns get headings too). See this post for more on that.
• Manual positions lets you decide whether the columns can be moved independently of one another.
• Manual heights lets you decide whether each column can have its own height or whether they should all be the same (although the last one may be shorter).
• Break height is the height of the column (if Manual heights is set to No).
• Spacing is the distance between columns.

With all these options, you should be able to get your long tables to fit in any space you need them to.

Repeat First Row in Table

Since the ability to break tables into columns was introduced in LT 2008, a lot of people have wondered how to get the first row(s) to repeat across each column, the way you can in Excel when you print a spreadsheet on multiple pages.

The answer is in two pieces -- the cell style and the table properties. If you want a table row to repeat across columns, you have to make sure that in the Cell styles part of the Table Styles Manager, the Type is set to Label.

Also, in the properties of the Table itself, the Repeat Top Labels item must be set to Yes.

Now you should be able to use the triangular grip at the bottom of the table to break the table into columns, and see the title and header rows repeat in each column.

For (many) more tips like this, check out the Annotation webcast tomorrow at 10:00 PDT!

Auto-fill Table Data

Tables in AutoCAD LT have been greatly improved since their introduction in LT 2006, with every version incorporating more and more features.

One helpful feature is the AutoFill grip. The image below shows the four familiar dark blue resizing grips as well as the light blue AutoFill grip.

Once you have cells selected you can left-click on the AutoFill grip to increment or copy the data in the cell to adjacent cells. (You can specify which method to use with options in the right-click menu available inside AutoFill. In other words, left-click to start AutoFill, then right-click to see the options.) The grip tooltip says "click and drag", but remember that those are two separate actions. You don't have to keep holding the mouse button down.

If you only select one cell, as shown above, the increment value is 1.

If you want a different increment value, all you need to do is fill in the second value in your series, select both cells, and LT does the rest.

Bonus Tip: AutoFill works with dates as well as numbers.

Quickly Create AutoCAD Table from Excel Data

If you already have a table or schedule in Excel, you can quickly convert it to an AutoCAD table. Simply open Excel, select the cells you want, and Ctrl+C. Switch to AutoCAD, go to Edit-->Paste Special, and select “AutoCAD Entities”. Voila – there’s your table.

Now, it may not look exactly the way you want it to. Select the table, right-click, and choose “remove property overrides” to get it to match a defined table style. The column and row sizes may still be off, but it’s a lot quicker to grip-edit them to the right size than it would have been to re-create the table!

Shade Table Cells

It’s possible to give individual cells in your AutoCAD tables a shaded background! Simply left-click on the cell to select it, open the Properties window, and look for “Background Fill”. Select the color you want, and you’re done. Keep in mind that any color that prints black will obscure any text in the cell. Most company's pen tables have a "screened" color or two (ours is color 8) that will print lighter, so it can be used for emphasis without hiding the text. If you're printing in color, though, you're only limited by your creativity.

Table Grips & Right-Click Menus

The grips and right-click menus available for tables depend on what part of the table you have selected.

Single-left-clicking on one of the table lines selects the whole table. The grips that show up now let you change the overall width and height of the table (expanding rows and columns equally), or to change the width of an individual column. The right-click menu contains the global table options, such as “size all rows equally”.

Single-left-click in an empty space or on text, though, and you get a whole new set of options. Now, just a single cell is selected. Grips here change only the height or width of the appropriate row or column, and the right-click menu contains cell-specific commands such as alignment and formatting.

If you left-click in an empty space, but hold down the button and drag, you can select a range of cells. The grips work the same as the overall table grips (rows and columns are resized equally), but the right-click menu is the same as for a single cell. However, if you select multiple cells, right-click, and pick “inserts rows/columns”, AutoCAD will insert multiples rows/columns – as many as you have selected.

(This tip applies mostly to 2007+; tables first appeared in 2006, but had very limited functionality.)

Line Break in Table

To force a line break within text in a table cell, use ALT+Enter. (As with most other AutoCAD table functions, it’s just like Excel.)