Defining the Appearance of Tables
Modifying the appearance of tables is different from modifying other elements in your content, such as paragraphs. The properties of tables are controlled by different layers. Some objects are in front of, or behind, other objects within the table. For example, the background property of the entire table is the first layer. The body, header, and footer properties reside in the next layer, which is on top of the background property. Paragraph properties are on top of that, followed by character properties, which are on the topmost layer.
With this model, you may have difficulty achieving the results you want when you try to adjust the appearance of a property for a table. You may need to experiment with the different property layers to fine-tune the appearance of tables. For example, if you try to create a transparent table by properly setting the body background property, but the table is not transparent, another layer may not be transparent. You need to make sure the background property is properly set for each layer in the table, including the table header, the paragraph, and the character styles.
Paragraph styles, such as CellHeading, CellBody, CellStep, and CellBullet give you additional control over formatting within tables in your generated output. When defining the left margin for a paragraph style used in a table, consider the size and weight of the font. For example, bold table headings need less pixels in their left margin than non-bold table text paragraphs so that both types of text align with each other.
The Prototype Style for Tables
The Prototype style is the parent to all other styles. When you set a property for the Prototype table style, other table styles inherit the value of that property. You can then override that value for specific styles as needed. The Prototype table style allows you to quickly change a default property and apply that change to all table styles within your Stationery project.
Setting the Background Color or Image of a Table
You can specify a color to use as the background of a table. You can also make the background transparent or specify an image to use as the background. In addition, you can specify alternative colors or images to alternate the appearance of rows or columns. Alternate shading of rows or columns is a useful layout to help minimize the number of lines and amount of information displayed, while organizing the data in a way that users can easily read and understand.
The background image for a table is behind other elements in a table. If you set a background color for the table, you cannot see the background image for the table. In addition, make sure the image is stored in the Files folder so it is part of the project.
To set the background color or image of a table
  1. Open your Stationery design project.
  2. On the View menu, click Style Designer.
  3. In Table Styles, select the table style you want to modify.
  4. On the Properties tab, click Body Background.
  5. If you want to specify a color for the background of a table, select a color in the Color field, or type the RGB value of the color you want, such as #FFFFFF. To make the table transparent, click the Web tab in the Color field, and then click Transparent.
  6. If you want to specify an image for the background of a table, complete the following steps:
    1. Save the image file in the Files folder for the project. ePublisher copies files from the Files folder when you generate the project.
    2. In the Image field under Background Image, select the image you want to use. ePublisher lists only the image files stored in the Files folder.
    3. Specify the tiling, scrolling, and position properties to position the image as you want it.
  7. If you want to alternate the appearance of rows or columns in the table, specify the appropriate values for the Alternate Information properties. For more information about a property, click Help.
Setting the Border Style and Color of a Table
The border properties modify the appearance of the border that surrounds the outside of the table. However, some browsers display this information in different ways. For example, some browsers use the color and not the style of the border properties to define all other borders inside the table, unless that color has been previously defined.
For example, if you choose a red, dotted border for your table, the preview pane displays the outer edge of the table as a red, dotted border. All table cells inside the table have a red, solid border, unless the border properties for Body and Header (if applicable) are also defined. Not all browsers display the table the same way, so verify the results in multiple browsers when defining the table border and style.
To set the border style and color of a table
  1. Open your Stationery design project.
  2. On the View menu, click Style Designer.
  3. In Table Styles, select the table style you want to modify.
  4. On the Properties tab, click Border.
  5. Click the tab for the side of the table you want to display a border, and then specify the color, style, and width for that border. For more information about a property, click Help.
Setting the Width and Height of a Table
You can define a fixed width and height for a table style. Make sure all the content of your tables will fit within the fixed height and width you specify. You can also use the table cell widths defined in your source documents.
To set the height and width of a table
  1. Open your Stationery design project.
  2. On the View menu, click Style Designer.
  3. In Table Styles, select the table style you want to modify.
  4. If you want to define a fixed width and height for the table style, complete the following steps:
    1. On the Properties tab, click HTML.
    2. Specify the appropriate values for the Width and Height properties. For more information about a property, click Help.
  5. If you want to use the cell widths defined in your source documents, on the Options tab, set Use document cell widths to Enabled.
Setting the Vertical and Horizontal Alignment within a Table
You can specify the vertical and horizontal alignment of content within table cells. To define the vertical alignment, set the Alignment property for the table. To define the horizontal alignment, set the Horizontal alignment property for the paragraph style of the text in the table. These property values take effect unless a value is set at the paragraph style level, or a value is set for the table Body, Header, or Footer properties, if applicable.
To set the alignment of content within a table
  1. Open your Stationery design project.
  2. On the View menu, click Style Designer.
  3. In Table Styles, select the table style you want to modify.
  4. If you want to define the vertical alignment, complete the following steps:
    1. On the Properties tab, click Table.
    2. Specify the appropriate value in the Vertical field under Alignment.
  5. If you want to define the horizontal alignment, complete the following steps:
    1. In Paragraph Styles, select the paragraph style you want to modify.
    2. On the Properties tab, click Text.
    3. Specify the appropriate value in the Horizontal field under Alignment.
Adjusting the Space Within and Around a Table
After creating the external borders for your table, you can define the padding to specify the distance between the content and the borders within the table. This feature, which is enabled through CSS, is not supported by all browsers. View the output in several different browsers to verify your results.
You can also define the space around the table by adjusting the margin properties. Modifying the margin properties adjusts the space outside of the border area. For example, if you create a border for a table and you increase the size of the margins around the table, the border remains the same distance from the content of the table. However, the effective size of the table increases since there is more space between the table border and the other elements on the page.
To adjust the padding and margin of a table
  1. Open your Stationery design project.
  2. On the View menu, click Style Designer.
  3. In Table Styles, select the table style you want to modify.
  4. On the Properties tab, click Table.
  5. Specify a value and select the unit of measure for the Left, Right, Top, and Bottom padding properties.
  6. On the Properties tab, click Margin.
  7. Specify a value and select the unit of measure for the Left, Right, Top, and Bottom margin properties.
Modifying Header, Footer, and Body Rows of a Table
In addition to modifying the appearance of an entire table, you can modify portions of a table, such as the header row, the footer row, and rows within the body of the table. To modify the appearance of a section of a table, you need to correctly define the parts of the table in your source documents. For example, in Microsoft Word, you need set the table property to define the header row. If you do not create a header row for a table in your source document, you cannot modify the header row appearance in your output. The first row of a table is not, by default, a header row.
To define the appearance of the header rows, specify the appropriate values for the Header and Header background properties for your table styles. These property values override the values specified for the Table, Border, and Background properties.
To define the appearance of the body rows, specify the appropriate values for the Body and Body background properties for your table styles. These property values override the values specified for the Table, Border, and Background properties.
To define the appearance of the footer rows, specify the appropriate values for the Footer and Footer background properties for your table styles. These property values override the values specified for the Table, Border, and Background properties.
Tables created in Microsoft Word do not identify footer rows. To control footer rows with Microsoft Word and ePublisher, set up your table in your source document to reflect the desired appearance, or use footer paragraph styles in the footer row of the table. Then, ePublisher can use the table set up from your source document and you can use the footer paragraph styles to modify the appearance as needed.
Tables created in Adobe FrameMaker identify the footer rows of tables, which allows you to specify the Footer and Footer background properties to modify footer rows for online delivery.
Modifying Cells of a Table
Modifying certain aspects of a table cell may also require you to modify the properties associated with the paragraphs that reside in the table cell. For example, if you make a table background color transparent, you may also need to modify the background color of the paragraphs in the table to make those cells transparent.
Cell spacing is used to create a transparent space between cells of a table. This capability allows you to create unique border structures, as the background color of a table can be seen through the space between table cells, which can have a different background color.
To adjust the spacing between cells
  1. Open your Stationery design project.
  2. On the View menu, click Style Designer.
  3. In Table Styles, select the table style you want to modify.
  4. On the Properties tab, click Table.
  5. In the Cell spacing field, specify an appropriate value.
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Last modified date: 01/28/2026