Vertical Alignment or Centering

Question

\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|c|}
\hline
 & \multicolumn{2}{c|}{Demand} &  \multicolumn{1}{|c|}{} &  \multicolumn{1}{c|}{}  \\  \cline{2-3}
 AAA& Group 1 & Group 2 &BBB & CCC \\ \cline{2-3}
\hline
 &   &  & &\\
\hline 
& &  & &\\
\hline
\end{tabular}

This is probably a simple exercise but the problem I have here is I cannot vertically center AAA BBB and CCC within their box. I would really appreciate some help.

Answer 1

You can either use the functionality of multirow, or merely raise/lower the contents into place, making sure you also remove any vertical height as a result of the movement. Below, \vertcenter does exactly that, moving the contents up by half of the regular baseline skip (.5\normalbaselineskip):

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{booktabs,multirow}

\newcommand{\vertcenter}[1]{\raisebox{#1}[0pt][0pt]}
\begin{document}

\begin{tabular}{ | *{5}{c|} }
  \hline
  & \multicolumn{2}{c|}{Demand} &  \multicolumn{1}{|c|}{} &  \multicolumn{1}{c|}{}  \\
  \cline{2-3}
  \multirow{-2}{*}{AAA} & Group 1 & Group 2 & \vertcenter{.5\normalbaselineskip}{BBB} & \vertcenter{.5\normalbaselineskip}{CCC} \\
  \hline
  A & B & C & D & E \\
  \hline 
  5 & 4 & 3 & 2 & 1 \\
  \hline
\end{tabular}

\bigskip

\begin{tabular}{ *{5}{c} }
  \toprule
  & \multicolumn{2}{c}{Demand} \\
  \cmidrule{2-3}
  AAA & Group 1 & Group 2 & BBB & CCC \\
  \midrule
  A & B & C & D & E \\
  5 & 4 & 3 & 2 & 1 \\
  \bottomrule
\end{tabular}

\end{document}

I've also included a booktabs version of the table, which removes most of the horizontal and vertical rules, in lieu of a more polished finish. As such, there's no real need for vertical re-adjustment of the headings (in my opinion).