For the following reasons, 3Rabbitz Book does not provide the function to allow a user to set the table column width(hereinafter referred to as column width) on their own.
3Rabbitz Book editor is not a WYSIWYG type. So, it is very hard to provide the function to adjust the column width easily and intuitively.
A user needs to concentrate on preparing the content. Adjustment of each column width is closer to styling works rather than content preparation.
When the content is changed, you have to adjust each column width again.
So, a user is given two ways to set the column width automatically.
- Auto
The column width is determined based on the contents.
- Fix
All the column widths are set to the same width.
The following is an example of “Fixed” width.
Type | Description |
---|---|
Owner | A owner can perform all the tasks pertaining to a book, such as deleting a book, creating a chapter and setting an access control. |
Collaborator | A joint author who can edit the contents of a chapter. |
Reviewer | A reviewer can use Web Viewer to review the contents of a book. |
The following is an example of “Auto” width.
Type | Description |
---|---|
Owner | A owner can perform all the tasks pertaining to a book, such as deleting a book, creating a chapter and setting an access control. |
Collaborator | A joint author who can edit the contents of a chapter. |
Reviewer | A reviewer can use Web Viewer to review the contents of a book. |
The following rules should apply to automatic column width setting.
When you select “Auto”, web browser will determine the column width for Web Viewer and EPUB reader will determine it for EPUB files. So, the following explanations are only applicable to PDF files.
First, the maximum width of each column is calculated.
Based on the cell contents, the maximum width is calculated. Line changes and inline images are considered.
If multiple cells are merged as one, then the maximum cell width is evenly distributed among all columns.
And the minimum width of each column is calculated.
If there is an inline image, the width of inline image becomes the minimum width of the column.
The width of every column is guaranteed to be at least equal to (table width) / (entire column counts x 2).
You can change lines for text, but can’t change lines for inline images. So, when you calculate the minimum width of the column, you have to consider the width of an inline image.
Finally, the width of each column is calculated.
When there is one column
The table width becomes the column width.
When the sum of maximum of all columns is less than the table width
In this case, the table width exceeds the sum of necessary widths for all columns, so the column width can be set by using the following method.
Add up the maximum of all columns.
Subtract the above results from the table width to calculate the extra width.
Add the (extra width/ # of columns) to the maximum of each column to determine the column width.
Also, you can distribute the extra width in proportion to the ratio to the maximum column width. However, to improve the readability, it is better to provide sufficient margin for all columns. So, equal distribution is preferred.
Starting setting the column width with a column with a greater maximum
When determining the column width, consider the ratio of each column width to the total maximum of column width.
Calculate the width so that it satisfies the minimum width of the remaining columns.
Any column with the same maximum should have the same width to each other.