4

i have two tables, each of them has 4 columns. one is just below the other. i want to know how to make every column of the below table have same width of the column of the above table. it looks like this:

|-------|-------|-------|-------|
|       |       |       |       |
|-------|-------|-------|-------|
|       |       |       |       |
|-------|-------|-------|-------|
|       |       |       |       |
|-------|-------|-------|-------|

some space lines are here.

|-------|-------|-------|-------|
|       |       |       |       |
|-------|-------|-------|-------|
|       |       |       |       |
|-------|-------|-------|-------|

adding one more hline will make one table septable, which it looks like two tables with good vertical alignment.

\documentclass{article}

\begin{document}
\begin{tabular}[b]{|c|c|c|c|}
\hline
\textbf{Item-No.} & \textbf{name} & \textbf{cross section} & \textbf{grade}\\
\hline
\textbf{W1} & Z-column & HN350x175 -- 346x174 & Q235\\
\hline
\textbf{W17} & Horiz. support transversal hoist beam & HW100x100 & Q235\\
\hline
\hline
\textbf{P11} & longitudinal hoist beam & HN300x150 -- 300x150 & Q235\\
\hline
\end{tabular}

\end{document}

but one more thing, how to add vertical spacing between the tables?

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4
  • 4
    The simplest thing would be to put the text between them into a \multicolumn{4}{l}. Would this be OK for your document?
    – Martin Scharrer
    Mar 17, 2011 at 14:38
  • Or simply use fixed width columns?
    – Alan Munn
    Mar 17, 2011 at 16:41
  • @Martin: there is no text between the two tables, just several space lines. i have added an example in the original text. now it looked like two tables. but i don't know how to add vertical space between them.
    – warem
    Mar 18, 2011 at 5:16
  • @Alan: the tex source code is generated from a C program. in the programming status, i don't know how i can find a appropriate column width for every column.
    – warem
    Mar 18, 2011 at 5:18

1 Answer 1

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5

The simplest way to add some vertical space between the two logical tables while having the same column width is to only use one real table and add the vertical white space as \multicolumn row which includes a \vspace to make it as high as required. Note that the \multicolumn is required to disable the vertical borders in the normal cells. Without this a simple empty cell with \vspace would be enough.

You can adjust the white space with the argument of \vspace{<distance>}. The value wont be the exact distance because the cell \strut is also in effect, which adds also a certain depth. If you need exact distances you have to calculate this in.

Example Code:

\documentclass{article}

\begin{document}
\begin{tabular}[b]{|c|c|c|c|}
\hline
\textbf{Item-No.} & \textbf{name} & \textbf{cross section} & \textbf{grade}\\
\hline
\textbf{W1} & Z-column & HN350x175 -- 346x174 & Q235\\
\hline
\textbf{W17} & Horiz. support transversal hoist beam & HW100x100 & Q235\\
\hline
%
\multicolumn{4}{c}{\vspace{1cm}}\\
%
\hline
\textbf{P11} & longitudinal hoist beam & HN300x150 -- 300x150 & Q235\\
\hline
\end{tabular}

\end{document}

Result:

Result

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6
  • 1
    "…\multicolumn is required…" You could also use: \noalign{\bigskip} (or some other vskip)
    – morbusg
    Mar 18, 2011 at 10:51
  • @morbusg: Good idea. I meant something like "use \multicolumn instead of \\\hline\vspace{..}\\" to avoid the vertical cell border.
    – Martin Scharrer
    Mar 18, 2011 at 10:55
  • @Martin: Ah, I see, makes sense. However, with \noalign, I believe you wouldn't need to worry about the \strut?
    – morbusg
    Mar 18, 2011 at 11:17
  • @morbusg: Yes, \noalign would be better in this specific case (I simply didn't think about it). However, I think beginners would understand \multicolumn easier. Also it can also be used if some text between the tables should be added.
    – Martin Scharrer
    Mar 18, 2011 at 11:24
  • @Martin: thank you for your good and clear explanation. i have used \multicolumn in my table. but i didn't think out in this way to add vertical spacing.
    – warem
    Mar 19, 2011 at 0:38

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