Adding Tables to a Page with GT Editor / CKEditor

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Drupal Version

When (and When Not) to Use a Table

Tables should only be used for the display of tabular data (data that is connected to one or more headings).

Do not use tables for any of the following reasons:

  • Displaying a list of items (use an unordered or ordered list instead)
  • Creating a multi-column page layout (use proper page layout tools instead)

If you are not sure about how to present a certain type of information, please check with your communications manager, your website developer, or even the Georgia Tech Drupal Mailing List for assistance.

How to Place and Configure a Table Using GT Editor or CKEditor

  1. Place your cursor where you want the table to appear.
    • If you want the table on it's own line, create that blank line and place the cursor on it
    • If you want the table to float left or right of existing text, place your cursor at the beginning of that line of text
  2. Select the Table button in the toolbar: 
  3. In the pop-up control panel, fill in the fields as appropriate:
    • For Rows and Columns.  (You can adjust this again later if needed.)
    • Leave the Width field blank to allow for automatic sizing of the table, or enter 95% to force a full-width table with a little bit of right-hand spacing
    • Set Headers to something other than None.  All tables must have at least one row or column of headers (if not both) to be compliant with accessibility laws.
    • To float the table to the Left or Right of existing content, select the appropriate option under Alignment
    • Under Summary, enter a short summary of what the table represents and what message you expect your website visitors to get from the data in the table.  This is very important for people with vision disabilities who cannot directly view the table and thus cannot see the visual arrangement of the data.
    • Use the Caption field to give the table a visible title.  If the caption can properly summarize the intent of the table and its data, then you could use it alone and leave Summary blank, but at least one or the other should be used (and you can use both, if that works best for your needs).
  4. Select the OK button and you should see your empty table generated within the content of your page.
  5. Now, you can add content to each cell of the table by clicking on or tabbing to a cell.

How to Modify an Existing Table

You can modify the configuration of an existing table by right-clicking on the table and using the pop-up contextual menu.  Through this menu,  you can add columns, add rows, manipulate individual cells, and adjust the display and formatting settings for the table.

Available table contextual menu options:

  • Paste
  • Cell ->
  • Row ->
  • Column ->
  • Delete Table
  • Table Properties