Center table on page

Question

I would like to center a table on the page, not only the content. But I can't find the right keyparameter or command.

I have follwing table

\documentclass[11pt]{scrartcl}
\usepackage{multirow}

\usepackage[a4paper]{geometry} 
\geometry{a4paper,tmargin=3.5cm, bmargin=2.5cm, lmargin=2cm, rmargin=2.5cm, headheight=3em, headsep=1.5cm, footskip=1cm} 


\begin{document}
Erstellen Sie folgende Tabelle in der Datei \emph{A2.tex}. Verwenden sie
  dazu die Befehle \texttt{\textbackslash multirow},  \texttt{\textbackslash
  multicolumn}, \texttt{\textbackslash hline} und \texttt{\textbackslash cline}.

    \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|}
        \hline
        \multirow{3}{*}{Zelle A}& Zelle B & \multicolumn{2}{|c|}{Zelle C} \\
        \cline{2-4}
        &\multicolumn{2}{|c|}{Zelle D}& Zelle F \\
        \cline{2-4}
         & Zelle H & Zelle I & Zelle J \\
         \cline{1-4}
        \multicolumn{4}{|c|}{Zelle K} \\
        \hline
    \end{tabular}

\end{document}

How can I center the whole table horizontally?

David Carlisle · Accepted Answer · 2017-07-15 16:14:32Z

21

You can also enclose the tabularenvironment within a table environment. Not only will it allow you to center it (using the command \centering) but also to add a caption, a label for cross-reference, and to tweak the placement on the page.

So, for the most basic use :

\begin{table}[h]
\centering
  \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|}
    \hline
    \multirow{3}{*}{Zelle A}& Zelle B & \multicolumn{2}{|c|}{Zelle C} \\
    \cline{2-4}
    &\multicolumn{2}{|c|}{Zelle D}& Zelle F \\
    \cline{2-4}
     & Zelle H & Zelle I & Zelle J \\
     \cline{1-4}
    \multicolumn{4}{|c|}{Zelle K} \\
    \hline
  \end{tabular}
\end{table}

If you really need the table to be where you added it in the source, the other answers (most notably the center environment) will probably prove less irritating.

edited Jul 15, 2017 at 16:14

David Carlisle

665k60 gold badges1458 silver badges2275 bronze badges

answered Nov 10, 2012 at 17:45

T. Verron

12.9k3 gold badges55 silver badges80 bronze badges

What's the reason why a tabular environment should be inside a table environment?
– egreg
Nov 10, 2012 at 18:11
What's the reason why it shouldn't? Tables are usually added to a text as an illustration, not as part of the text itself (when I say "usually", I mean I can't find any counterexample -- it doesn't mean there is none). Not adding the table environment causes the table to be typeset as part of the text, and requires the user to use tricks for alignment, vertical spacing and such.
– T. Verron
Nov 10, 2012 at 18:16
1

There are cases where a table is part of the text flow and has no caption. Agreed that tabular material can cause troubles with pagination, it's not at all mandatory to enclose it in a table environment. I don't think that using center is so a big deal.
– egreg
Nov 10, 2012 at 18:19
@T.Verron This is such a case. The table is part of a LaTeX exercise. (“Create the following table […]. For that use the commands […].”)
– Qrrbrbirlbel
Nov 10, 2012 at 19:00
@Qrrbrbirlbel : Huhu... I shouldn't have quit german. Editting my answer in consequence.
– T. Verron
Nov 10, 2012 at 19:15

Add a comment |

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-04-13 12:36:04Z

With the commands \centering and \hfill you can accomplish something like this quite easily. In this instance the center environment might be a better fit, as it adds vertical space before and after its conent. See the image to compare.

Note that \centering needs a paragraph to work.

I also added the line

\newcommand*{\befehl}[1]{\texttt{\textbackslash #1}}

to the preamble. Now you don't have to write \texttt{\textbackslash <befehl>} everytime but the shorter \befehl{<befehl>}.

Putting the tabular (with our without \centering) inside the table environment makes it a float (What are floats and how to position them? → How to influence the position of float environments like figure and table in LaTeX?) which means that LaTeX put your table probably at a place where it doesn't follow your paragraph, but it offers you a caption. (Caption without floating? → Label and caption without float)

Code

\documentclass[11pt]{scrartcl}
\usepackage{multirow}

\usepackage[a4paper]{geometry} 
\geometry{a4paper,tmargin=3.5cm, bmargin=2.5cm, lmargin=2cm, rmargin=2.5cm, headheight=3em, headsep=1.5cm, footskip=1cm} 
\newcommand*{\befehl}[1]{\texttt{\textbackslash #1}}

\begin{document}
Erstellen Sie folgende Tabelle in der Datei \emph{A2.tex}. Verwenden Sie dazu die Befehle \befehl{multirow},  \befehl{multicolumn}, \befehl{hline} und \befehl{cline}.

Text before Text before Text before Text before Text before Text before Text before Text before

{\centering% !
    \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|}
        \hline
        \multirow{3}{*}{Zelle A} & Zelle B & \multicolumn{2}{|c|}{Zelle C} \\ \cline{2-4}
                                 & \multicolumn{2}{|c|}{Zelle D} & Zelle F \\ \cline{2-4}
                                 & Zelle H &       Zelle I       & Zelle J \\ \cline{1-4}
        \multicolumn{4}{|c|}{Zelle K}                                      \\ \hline
    \end{tabular}\par% !
}% !
Text after Text after Text after Text after Text after Text after Text after Text after Text after 

Text before Text before Text before Text before Text before Text before Text before Text before 
\begin{center}
    \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|}
        \hline
        \multirow{3}{*}{Zelle A} & Zelle B & \multicolumn{2}{|c|}{Zelle C} \\ \cline{2-4}
                                 & \multicolumn{2}{|c|}{Zelle D} & Zelle F \\ \cline{2-4}
                                 & Zelle H &       Zelle I       & Zelle J \\ \cline{1-4}
        \multicolumn{4}{|c|}{Zelle K}                                      \\ \hline
    \end{tabular}%
\end{center}
Text after Text after Text after Text after Text after Text after Text after Text after Text after 

Text before Text before Text before Text before Text before Text before Text before Text before 

{\noindent\hfill% !
    \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|}
        \hline
        \multirow{3}{*}{Zelle A} & Zelle B & \multicolumn{2}{|c|}{Zelle C} \\ \cline{2-4}
                                 & \multicolumn{2}{|c|}{Zelle D} & Zelle F \\ \cline{2-4}
                                 & Zelle H &       Zelle I       & Zelle J \\ \cline{1-4}
        \multicolumn{4}{|c|}{Zelle K}                                      \\ \hline
    \end{tabular}%
 \hfill} % !

Text after Text after Text after Text after Text after Text after Text after Text after Text after 
\end{document}

Output

enter image description here

A center environment seems the best choice, because it also provides some vertical space. — egreg, Nov 10, 2012 at 18:12

hgb · Accepted Answer · 2013-10-01 20:22:40Z

9

None of the suggestions here worked for me. My wider table always trailed to the right. But I found a solution here: http://www.latex-community.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=19674 The \makebox command works beautifully.

\makebox[\linewidth]{
\begin{tabular}{|l|p{3cm}|p{6cm}|p{6cm}|}
%table contents
\end{tabular}
}

answered Oct 1, 2013 at 20:22

hgb

911 silver badge1 bronze badge

1

Then it is possible similar to How can I center a too wide table?
– Werner ♦
Oct 1, 2013 at 20:40
Same here, the accepted solution by T. Verron did not work in my case but this one did. Thanks for posting this answer!
– Gabriel
Mar 12, 2015 at 18:43

Add a comment |

David Carlisle · Accepted Answer · 2017-06-09 17:34:59Z

In order to horizontally center a big object, the center environment is very useful, as it also provides automatically some vertical space above and below the object; so your input could be

\documentclass[11pt]{scrartcl}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[ngerman]{babel}
\usepackage{multirow}

\usepackage{geometry} 
\geometry{a4paper,tmargin=3.5cm, bmargin=2.5cm, lmargin=2cm, rmargin=2.5cm, headheight=3em, headsep=1.5cm, footskip=1cm} 


\begin{document}
Erstellen Sie folgende Tabelle in der Datei \emph{A2.tex}. Verwenden sie
  dazu die Befehle \texttt{\textbackslash multirow},  \texttt{\textbackslash
  multicolumn}, \texttt{\textbackslash hline} und \texttt{\textbackslash cline}.
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|}
    \hline
    \multirow{3}{*}{Zelle A}& Zelle B & \multicolumn{2}{|c|}{Zelle C} \\
    \cline{2-4}
    &\multicolumn{2}{|c|}{Zelle D}& Zelle F \\
    \cline{2-4}
     & Zelle H & Zelle I & Zelle J \\
     \cline{1-4}
    \multicolumn{4}{|c|}{Zelle K} \\
    \hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
Erstellen Sie folgende Tabelle in der Datei \emph{A2.tex}. Verwenden sie
  dazu die Befehle \texttt{\textbackslash multirow},  \texttt{\textbackslash
  multicolumn}, \texttt{\textbackslash hline} und \texttt{\textbackslash cline}.

\end{document}

(I've added also some useful packages, you can notice that the rendering of \textbackslash is better.)

enter image description here

However, if the table is very big you can consider giving it a caption and let it float:

\documentclass[11pt]{scrartcl}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[ngerman]{babel}
\usepackage{multirow}

\usepackage{geometry} 
\geometry{a4paper,tmargin=3.5cm, bmargin=2.5cm, lmargin=2cm, rmargin=2.5cm, headheight=3em, headsep=1.5cm, footskip=1cm} 


\begin{document}
Erstellen Sie folgende Tabelle in der Datei \emph{A2.tex}. Verwenden sie
  dazu die Befehle \texttt{\textbackslash multirow},  \texttt{\textbackslash
  multicolumn}, \texttt{\textbackslash hline} und \texttt{\textbackslash cline}.
    \begin{table}[htp]
        \centering
        \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|}
            \hline
            \multirow{3}{*}{Zelle A}& Zelle B & \multicolumn{2}{|c|}{Zelle C} \\
            \cline{2-4}
            &\multicolumn{2}{|c|}{Zelle D}& Zelle F \\
            \cline{2-4}
             & Zelle H & Zelle I & Zelle J \\
             \cline{1-4}
            \multicolumn{4}{|c|}{Zelle K} \\
            \hline
        \end{tabular}
        \caption{Tabelle mit \texttt{\textbackslash multirow}}
        \label{tab:multirow}
    \end{table}
Erstellen Sie folgende Tabelle in der Datei \emph{A2.tex}. Verwenden sie
  dazu die Befehle \texttt{\textbackslash multirow},  \texttt{\textbackslash
  multicolumn}, \texttt{\textbackslash hline} und \texttt{\textbackslash cline}.

\end{document}

You can refer to it in the text with \ref{tab:multirow}.

m0nhawk · Accepted Answer · 2012-11-10 17:52:24Z

2

Consider wrapping the tabular in the center environment:

  \begin{center}
    \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|}
        ...
    \end{tabular}
  \end{center}

Or use grouping in {} with the help of \centering and \hfill:

{\centering\hfill
    \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|}
        ...
        \hline
    \end{tabular}
\hfill}

answered Nov 10, 2012 at 17:52

m0nhawk

9,3196 gold badges42 silver badges73 bronze badges

2

\hfill is redundant; the most important thing is to issue a \par before closing the brace.
– egreg
Nov 10, 2012 at 18:11

Add a comment |

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