Prevent table rows from being split across pages

Question

I have a twocolumn document with a very long supertabular table.

Within the table, I have "subsections" that I want clumped together; not split over multiple pages. For this example, each "subsection" is three rows, an X and then two lines of letters, like this:

X
a b c d e
f g h i j

This is the MWE:

\documentclass[12pt, twocolumn]{article}
\usepackage[a4paper, margin = 25mm, tmargin = 20mm]{geometry}
\usepackage{supertabular}

\begin{document}

\begin{supertabular}{ c c c c c }
    \textbf{X}        \\
    a & b & c & d & e \\
    f & g & h & i & j \\
    \ \\
    \textbf{X}        \\
    a & b & c & d & e \\
    f & g & h & i & j \\
    \ \\

    % ...lots of rows...

    \textbf{X}        \\
    a & b & c & d & e \\
    f & g & h & i & j \\
    \ \\
    \textbf{X}        \\
    a & b & c & d & e \\
    f & g & h & i & j \\
    \ \\
\end{supertabular}

\end{document}

This is what the table looks like at the moment:

As shown, the final "subsection" in the first column is split into both columns.

This is what I want it to look like:

Is there a way to wrap table rows in an "un-split-able" container?

I've looked into samepage and minipage and I've seen this post, but they don't work within tabular environments.

Perhaps something like this?

\begin{supertabular}{ c c c c c }
    \begin{contain-rows}
        \textbf{X}        \\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
    \end{contain-rows}
\end{supertabular}

Answer 1

I was not able to achieve the result using supertabular, but using a calstable from the package cals, works well.

I defined a centred calstable with one column. Each cell consists of a new standard tabular environment with five centred columns (you may use a calstable instead). I emptied the calstable’s header row to ensure that yo did not get the same row at top of each page. However, this will probably give you approximately one extra line at the top of each page. This can be reduced, and I can provide code if you are interested in my solution.

Here is the result and the code:

\documentclass[12pt, twocolumn]{article}
\usepackage[a4paper, margin = 25mm, tmargin = 20mm]{geometry}
\usepackage{cals}

\begin{document}

\begin{calstable}[c]  % Centred CALS tabular

% Set the column width for one column calstable
\colwidths{\textwidth}

% Set up the tabular
\makeatletter
\def\cals@bodyrs@width{0pt}  % Remove rule between header and tabular body
\def\cals@cs@width{0pt}      % Remove inside vertical rules (cs=column separator)
\def\cals@rs@width{0pt}      % Remove inside horizontal rules (rs=row separator)

% R1H1
\thead{%           The first row are heading and will be repeated on every page
\brow
\erow
}
\tfoot{\lastrule\nointerlineskip
\strut\par}
%R2B1
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
\makeatletter
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{X}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{Z}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow

%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{Z}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
%R3B2
\brow
\cell{\begin{tabular}{ccccc}
        \textbf{Z}&&&&\\
        a & b & c & d & e \\
        f & g & h & i & j \\
        \end{tabular}}
\erow
\makeatletter
\end{calstable}\par
\end{document}

Answer 2

The xtab package provides a drop-in replacement of supertabular that seems to respect \\*.

\documentclass[12pt, twocolumn]{article}
\usepackage[a4paper, margin = 25mm, tmargin = 20mm]{geometry}
\usepackage{xtab}

\begin{document}

\begin{xtabular}{ c c c c c }
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\[2ex]
    \textbf{X}        \\*
    a & b & c & d & e \\*
    f & g & h & i & j \\
\end{xtabular}

\end{document}