Tables

Flamed Diving

Why did the makers of Laytek go to such extraordinary lengths to make the process of making tables so very difficult?

Why?

Red Alert

It's not that difficult, but there are a few other packages that can make it easier.

Don't forget the multirow and multicolumn packages.

Time Magazine

Flamed Diving wrote: »

Why did the makers of Laytek go to such extraordinary lengths to make the process of making tables so very difficult?

Why?

You're just a noob. It's almost as simple a coding system as it could be.

Tell LaTeX you want a table.
Tell it how you want the cells aligned. Add a "|" if you want lines between.
Indicate the end of a cell with "&" and the end of a row with "\\".

Where's the complication?

Flamed Diving

You're a noob...

Red Alert

Manners please gentlemen!

Flamed Diving

Sorry RE, we are both Economics regulars so it was just a bit of banter. I will cut it out now.

Anyway, I managed to solve the issue I was having. I have been using TeXnicenter and it's such a clunky, awkward thing. I switched to using USBTeX (I had on my USB) and I got on just fine. Could anyone recommend an alternative to my current TeX program?

Time Magazine

Red Alert wrote: »

Manners please gentlemen!

Flamed Diving wrote: »

Anyway, I managed to solve the issue I was having. I have been using TeXnicenter and it's such a clunky, awkward thing. I switched to using USBTeX (I had on my USB) and I got on just fine. Could anyone recommend an alternative to my current TeX program?

(This is a nerd forum so fyi: TeXnicCenter etc aren't TeX programs. (La)TeX is itself a program (well, a collection of them), you type up the code in a typesetting program.)

I love WinEDT. It's try-before-you-buy, and then it's only 20 quid or so if you like it.

djpbarry

Flamed Diving wrote: »

Why did the makers of Laytek go to such extraordinary lengths to make the process of making tables so very difficult?

It can sometimes be a little awkward getting (La)TeX to do a table as you want it, but I'll take that any day over the hours I previously lost trying to get Word's finicky table editor to do what I wanted, especially considering the superior output from TeX.

Clinker

Flamed Diving wrote: »

Could anyone recommend an alternative to my current TeX program?

For a LaTeX editor I use GNU Emacs/AUCTeX on Windows. If you want something that feels more like a regular Windows program then I've also used TeXmaker, which is quite like WinEdt, but free. You can set up MiKTeX and TeXmaker to run from a USB memory key, so you can stick it into any computer and you have LaTeX available!

Edit: actually, if you want to use the USB method, TexMakerX (a fork of TexMaker) might be easier to set up.

Flamed Diving

Clinker wrote: »

For a LaTeX editor I use GNU Emacs/AUCTeX on Windows. If you want something that feels more like a regular Windows program then I've also used TeXmaker, which is quite like WinEdt, but free. You can set up MiKTeX and TeXmaker to run from a USB memory key, so you can stick it into any computer and you have LaTeX available!

Edit: actually, if you want to use the USB method, TexMakerX (a fork of TexMaker) might be easier to set up.

Thanks, just tried TeXmaker there. The interface is much nicer, but it reckons my tex file has figures whose size cannot be determined. Meanwhile over in TeXnicCenter land, the same file runs, with ease. No problems.



Ok, I remember that I did a cmd trick using 'pdflatex' but when I do it now it says that pdflatex.sty cannot be found.

Time Magazine

Flamed Diving wrote: »

Thanks, just tried TeXmaker there. The interface is much nicer, but it reckons my tex file has figures whose size cannot be determined. Meanwhile over in TeXnicCenter land, the same file runs, with ease. No problems.

Probably pressing the wrong compile button, or your compile button is defaulted to pdftex (or some such) rather than pdflatex.

Flamed Diving

Time Magazine wrote: »

Probably pressing the wrong compile button, or your compile button is defaulted to pdftex (or some such) rather than pdflatex.

Went to the options, and it turned out that the program didn't know where pdflatex was.

Clinker

Flamed Diving wrote: »

Went to the options, and it turned out that the program didn't know where pdflatex was.

Just a little setting up when you start using it: you've got to tell it where the TeX programmes are and viewers for DVI, PS and PDF files. But you should only need to do it once. Inverse search probably takes a little setting up too if you want it.

Red Alert

Ah don't worry Flamed Driving & Time Magazine - i'm well used to Engineering in-jokes too!

I use Aquamacs on my mac and Emacs/Auctex on my linux PC, both work great. I usually just do tables out by hand, or get MATLAB to write them out.

Clinker

One thing I often find useful in creating tables is repetition feature in the columns declaration where *{n}{cols} repeats cols n times, so that, for instance

|*{8}{c|}

is read as

|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|

eight centred columns between lines. Notice that I repeat the right line so I put in a single left line to start me off.

ulinbac

there is an add on you can download for free that lets you make the table in excel and converts it to Latex. Used it before but it is not perfect and will need a few adjustments after input, makes it a little easier though