GoBe Productive - Word Processing - Formatting

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GoBe Productive - Word Processing - Formatting

The Table frame is a specialized frame that although available in all document types is especially suited to the Word Processing environment.

The Table frame is not a full document type. It can only be used as a frame within another document. The Table frame does have its own specific PartBar and MenuBar, though.

Tables help you create interesting page layouts. They are used to organize text, numbers, or graphics in side-by-side columns. Using the Table frame you create a grid with columns and rows. It is different from the spreadsheet in that it does not have all the spreadsheet's numerical functions, yet a table can be more specifically catered to your word processing needs. Cells can be merged or split, and data is entered directly into all the cells of the table.

There are essentially two ways to create a new table frame. You can create an In-Line Table Frame or a Floating Table Frame. Remember, you can always copy or cut a table from one document or sheet to another.

The word processing document above has both an in-line and a floating table frame inserted in the document. Notice that as the table is active, the table frame PartBar and MenuBar are visible.

Reminder: When selected, the table frame is like any other graphic item. You can fill it with color, border it with a pen color, and rotate it in any direction.

### In-Line Table Frames

An in-line table frame is inserted directly into the flow of text in a full-screen word processing document. The table frame gets treated like a character and as such is affected by indentation and alignment. However, text styles, size, and font properties do not affect an in-line table frame.

In-line table frames are useful if you want the table to stay in the same position relative to the text. When inserted in-line, text inside the full-screen document wraps around the table borders.

To Create a New In-Line Table Frame

1. Position the insertion-point (blinking bar) where you want to place the new in-line table frame.
2. From the Frame menu, select Insert Frame, then select Table Frame.
3. An Insert Table dialog box is displayed.
4. Select the number of rows and columns you wish the table to have.
5. Click OK to enter the table at the insertion point position.

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Floating Table Frames

A floating table frame is placed in a special graphics layer that exists above the full-screen word processing document. A floating table frame is not directly tied to the text flow, thus it does not move with the text in the full-screen word processing document. The floating table can be moved anywhere within the document, though, by selecting it and using the mouse. You can also specify how text in the full-screen word processing document wraps around the floating table frame.

To Create a New Floating Table Frame

1. Show the ToolBar, if it is not already displayed. To show the ToolBar, select Show ToolBar from the Window menu.
2. From the Frame Tool , select Table Frame. The cursor changes to a cross-hair.
3. Draw the frame in the workspace.
4. The table created has four rows and four columns. If you want to change this, go to the Table menu after the table is created, and either Insert or Delete Rows and Columns.
5. Text in the full-screen word processing document flows around the floating table frame.

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Text Wrap

1. To specify how the text wraps around an object or frame, select the object. You know the object is selected when there are "handles" around the object.
2. Select Text Wrap from the Arrange menu. Or select the Text Wrap button from the displayed graphics PartBar. A Text Wrap dialog box with the different wrapping styles is displayed. Proceed to choose how you want the text to wrap around the object or frame.

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Table Frame MenuBar

At the very top of the Gobe Productive document window is the MenuBar. The MenuBar displays the appropriate menus for the currently active environment. Each document type has its own special menu items. However, the first five menu items in the MenuBar are common to all Gobe Productive documents. For more information about these common menus see the Menu Bar topic in The Basics section. The menu items that are specific for the table frame are the Table and the Format menus.

Table menu: Contains commands specific to a table, such as merging and splitting cells, inserting and deleting rows and columns, and distributing rows and columns evenly.

Format menu: Contains commands for formatting text and inserting special document fields such as page numbers, formulas, line breaks, etc...

To Distribute Rows and Columns Evenly

From the MenuBar you can change the cells in the table. For example, if you want your table to contain cells that are all the exact same width or height, you can ask Gobe Productive to distribute your cells evenly.

1. Select the cells in the table that you want to change.
2. To make all the rows and cells the same height, go to the Table menu and select Distribute Rows Evenly.
3. To make all the columns and cells the same width, go to the Table menu and select Distribute Columns Evenly.

To Insert or Delete Rows and Columns

1. To insert or delete a row or column, you can either select the whole row or column, or just have the insertion point (the blinking bar) in the row or column of interest.
2. To delete a row or column from the table, go to the Table menu and select Delete Row or Delete Column. The whole row or column is immediately deleted.
3. To insert a row or column, there are two methods. You can either go to the Table menu and select Insert Row or Insert Column; or you can select the appropriate tools from the PartBar. The inserted row is placed above the selected cell. The inserted column is placed to the left of the selected cell.

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Table Frame PartBar

The PartBar is the most dynamic element of the Gobe Productive suite. Located between the FormatBar and the Workspace, the PartBar changes to display the applicable tools for the table when the table is active.

Most of the tools on the table frame PartBar are the same as for a word processing document, but it also contains specific tools for the table frame.

| Environment Icon: This icon indicates that a table frame is active.
| Alignment Buttons: These buttons control the alignment of text (left, center, right, justified).
| Line Spacing: These buttons increase and decrease the spacing between lines of text. Click the increase button (right) to increase the line spacing one-half line at a time. Click the decrease button (left) to decrease the line spacing one-half line at a time. Click the edit text field to enter a value directly (lines or points).
| Check Spelling: This button starts the spell checker, and displays the SpellBar. The SpellBar is a special addition to the PartBar exclusively used for spell checking.
| Show/Hide Invisibles: Invisible characters are characters that are normally not shown in a document. Spaces, Tabs and Breaks are examples of invisible characters. This button shows you these invisible characters if they are presently not displayed in your document. If the invisible characters are shown, this button hides them.
| Vertical Alignment: This tool controls the vertical text/number alignment of the selected cells. When selected, a popup menu displays the different alignment choices: Align Top, Align Center, Align Bottom.
| Insert Column: This tool inserts a column in your table. The new column is inserted to the left of the currently selected column. You can also insert a column in the table by selecting Table from the MenuBar and then selecting Insert Column.
| Insert Row: This tool inserts a row in your table. The new row is inserted above the currently selected row. You can also insert a row in the table by selecting Table from the MenuBar and then selecting Insert Row.
| Merge Cells: If two or more cells are selected, then you can merge these cells to become one large cell. You can select cells from a row, from a column, or from both. You can also merge cells by selecting Table from the MenuBar and then selecting Merge Cells.
| Split Cells: This tools is used to split a cell into several cells. If this tool is selected, a Split Cell dialog box is displayed. Here you can enter the number of rows and columns you wish the selected cell(s) to be split into. You can select cells from a row, from a column, or from both, and then proceed to split them. You can also split cells by selecting Table from the MenuBar and then selecting Split Cells.

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