Using the Editor - Insert a Table

Insert a Table

Learn how to insert tables in Cascade.

• Interactive Walkthrough
• Instructions
  • Create a Table
  • Insert a Header
  • Insert a Footer
  • Add a Caption
• Best Practices
  • When to Use Tables
  • When to Avoid Tables
• Additional Resources

Interactive Walkthrough

Instructions

Throughout this section, you will learn how to create a table with a header, footer, and caption. By the end, you should have a table like this:

Create a Table

To create a table:

1. In the menubar, click the "Table" dropdown
2. Under table, hover over the grid
3. Select the number of rows and columns you want

Rows and columns can be added or removed later. For now, create a "3×3" table.

In the editor, the table will initially appear too narrow to see the cells. To fix this, click the square in the bottom-right corner of table and drag it to resize the table.

You can now click on any cell to add content to. Try adding the following content:

Insert a Header

Before we can add a header, we need a new row at the top of the table.

To add a new row (before):

1. Click on a cell in the first row
2. In the popup, click "Insert row before"

This will create a new row at the top of the table. Add the "Rank", "Name", and "Score" text to the new cells.

To add a header:

1. In the table, right-click the top row
2. Hover over "Row" and click "Row Properties"
3. Click the "Row type" dropdown and select "Header"

Next, each cell needs to be a header cell:

1. Right-click the first cell in the header row
2. Click the "Cell type" dropdown and select "Header cell"
3. Click the "Scope" dropdown and select "Column"

Repeat for the second and third cells in the header row:

Insert a Footer

Now we need a new row at the bottom of the table for our footer.

To add a new row (after):

1. Click on a cell in the first row
2. In the popup, click "Insert row after"

This will create a new row at the bottom of the table.

To add a footer:

1. In the table, right-click the bottom row
2. Hover over "Row" and click "Row Properties"
3. Click the "Row type" dropdown and select "Footer"

Add "Average Score" to the first cell in the footer, then enter "16pts" to the "Score" column. Change the cell type of "Average Score" to "Header cell". This cell will need to be merged with the cell to the right of it.

Merge a Cell

To merge a cell:

1. In the table, right-click the cell you want to merge
2. Hover over "Cell" and click "Merge Cell"
3. Select the number of rows and columns to merge
   • Entering "2" in "Rows" will merge the selected cell with the cell to the right
   • Entering "2" in "Cols" will merge the selected cell with the cell to the bottom

Merge the "Average Score" cell with the cell to the right:

Add a Caption

Captions are used to summarize the data in a table and allow users of assistive technology to jump between tables while navigating. For accessibility, it is recommended that all tables are provided a caption.

To add a caption:

1. Click the table and select "Table Properties" in the popup
2. Check the "Caption" box, then click "Ok"
3. Enter a caption in the new field that appeared above the table

Add "Annual robotics competition results" to the caption field:

Best Practices

Tables present a variety of accessibility challenges compared to other formats. They are often:

• Difficult to navigate on smaller devices
• Provide less structure for assistive technologies
• More complex than necessary

When to Use Tables

Tables are best used for presenting extensive, detailed data. To ensure clarity:

• Use text to describe simple relationships among data
• Present only significant data
• Break complex tables into simpler tables

When to Avoid Tables

Avoid using tables for page layout or formatting, such as two-column layouts. If your data requires only two or fewer rows and columns, consider using a paragraph or a list instead.

Additional Resources