Technical writing/Tools/Wiki Tables
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Why make tables?
[edit | edit source]Tables are a very easy way of organising information.
Basic markup
[edit | edit source]All tables begin with {| and end with |}.
The most common markup used is known as the "pipe" - which looks like this |.
Building a basic table
[edit | edit source]The following code will build a basic table.
In the first line we set the widths of the borders and the space between cells.
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"
On the second line we enter the title of the table.
|+ 2006/07 Premier League Table
The following lines create the column headings, when creating the column headings we use a "!" instead of a pipe.
|-
!Position
!Club Name
!Points
Now we create the rows and the information that goes in them. Each line starts with a pipe and each row of information is seperated by a |-.
|-
|1 || Manchester United || 89
|-
|2 || Chelsea || 83
|-
|3 || Liverpool || 68
|-
|4 || Arsenal || 68
|-
|5 || Tottenham || 60
|-
|6 || Bolton || 59
Notice that each cell is split by a double pipe ||. Usually there would be no space between the pipes, here the space is there to make reading the code easier.
This will create a basic table, which looks like this.
Useful extras
[edit | edit source]Table width:
In the first line of the table it is possible to define the table's width, for example:
{| width=1000pt border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"
Column width:
To define the column width just add a percentage of the overall width to the column heading lines, as follows:
! width=25% | Position
! width=50% | Club Name
! width=25% | Points
The table now looks like this:
Position | Club Name | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Manchester United | 89 |
2 | Chelsea | 83 |
3 | Liverpool | 68 |
4 | Arsenal | 68 |
5 | Tottenham | 60 |
6 | Bolton | 59 |
Common mistakes
[edit | edit source]One of the most common mistakes people make with tables is forgetting to put pipes in the code.
Also common is forgetting to finish the table with |}
See also
[edit | edit source]- For a complete guide to making tables see here