Parent page: Working with Tables

A Draftsman document allows a generic Table to be placed on the drawing and subsequently configured in the Properties panel, and in the table cells themselves. The layout and content of the custom Table is free to be defined as required by its intended purpose, and offers a flexible way to include additional information in any Draftsman document. The table's visual style is configurable in the Properties panel.

A placed Table with a range of cell formatting.
A placed Table with a range of cell formatting.

Tables can be included in both Sheet Templates and Document Templates.

A Table is placed from the main menu (Place » Table), or from the Table icon () on the table drop-down of the Active Bar. Launching the Table command will open the Insert table dialog, where the number of rows and columns for the new table can be specified. After clicking OK in the Insert table dialog, the new table is attached to the cursor and can be placed in the desired location with an additional click.

Nominate the number of cells in the Table's rows and columns – these can be modified later via a cell's right-click Table commands.
Nominate the number of cells in the Table's rows and columns – these can be modified later via a cell's right-click Table commands.

The position of a placed Table may be graphically changed by selecting the table object in the design space then dragging it to a new location using its Move handle, i.e. the icon at the top-left corner. Note that the table cannot be graphically resized, but will automatically scale to accommodate the font and cell/column properties as specified in the Properties panel.

Drag a selected table's Move icon to reposition it in the design space. Right-click in a cell to access row/column manipulation options.Drag a selected table's Move icon to reposition it in the design space. Right-click in a cell to access row/column manipulation options.

A Table object is selected when a cell or its title is clicked, however, the Delete command will apply to the specific element that is clicked. 

Content is added to a Table by typing or pasting it into a cell. Use Ctrl+Enter to add a new line within a cell.

Data is entered by typing (or pasting) directly into the cells, while the Table's graphics and text attributes are defined in the Properties panel. The Table object offers a wide range of text and structure editing features, which can be implemented on a cell row or column basis using standard Shift/Ctrl or drag selection techniques.

Special Strings in Table Cells

A Table supports the inclusion of document Parameters as Special Strings. Project, System, PCB and User Parameters will be converted to their Values when entered as a Special String in the Table cells. Draftsman document Parameters are accessible under the Parameters tab in the Properties panel, when in Document Options mode.

The table's handling of Parameter strings also includes the ability correctly transfer Special String data to and from a spreadsheet, by using standard copy/paste techniques.

  • When pasting Special Strings into a spreadsheet from Draftsman, the target spreadsheet cells will be populated with the string’s interpreted Value.
    ► Demonstration video.
  • When pasting Special String data from a spreadsheet into Draftsman, the pasted text will be interpreted as a Special String Value – providing the Special String is matched to an available System, Project or User parameter.
    ► Demonstration video.

When preparing Special String entries in a spreadsheet you will need to prefix each Value entry with an apostrophe, so the cell content will be treated as text data. For example, the special string for the Units parameter would be entered as:  ‘=DocumentUnits

Alternatively, all spreadsheet cells could be set to Text format.

Table Structure

Right-click in a cell and select the Table menu from the context menu to access the cell configuration commands. These provide a full set of Table manipulation functions for adding and removing Columns/Rows and Merging Cells.

The right-click Table commands offer a range of standard table manipulation functions.
The right-click Table commands offer a range of standard table manipulation functions.

  • When merging cells and the cells in the selection have text within them, after the merge, only the text in the left-most/top-most cell (as applicable) will remain in the merged cell.
  • When unmerging cells and multiple merged cells are included in a selection of cells, note that using this command will apply (unmerge) only the left-most/top-most merged cell.

By using both the Table commands and the options available in the Table's properties, a custom Table can be created to suit a wide range of information needs in a Draftsman document. The Table shown below, for example, has been constructed to show the information taken from a board Stack Report.

A Custom Table can be constructed to host a wide range of different PCB assembly and fabrication information.
A Custom Table can be constructed to host a wide range of different PCB assembly and fabrication information.

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