Using tabularx and xcolor

Question

Is tabularx compatible with xcolor? I did the following:

\documentclass{memoir}
\usepackage[svgnames,hyperref,]{xcolor} % colors for hyperref
\begin{document}
  \begin{tabularx}{1.00\linewidth}{X} \toprule
  a
  \\
  b
  \\
  {\color{red}c} \\
  d
  \\
  e
  \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabularx}
\end{document}

But "c" is displaced so that it takes two rows. Changing the column type to l fixes it.

Is there an easy fix to making xcolor work with tabularx?

Answer 1

Columns with column type p and X that is based on p are implented via a \vtop, which is a \vbox, but aligned to the top baseline. \color does not start a paragraph, but it creates a whatsit (\special). Because of the vertical mode, it becomes the first element in the \vtop. Also the tabular environments add struts, therefore the cells in a row have at least the height of the strut.

You can avoid this by starting a paragraph:

• implicit by \textcolor{red}{c} or

• explicit with \leavemode{\color{red}c}