Are tables problematic in RH 6 & 7?

[NewtoRobohelp]

I have always avoided tables in Robohelp. My reasons were:

1. Blank rows would still appear if you use conditional text (I see this is fixed in 6 & it sounds like it carries through to 7).

2. When I went to print, I always had problems getting the table to appear properly. Column title names would not be alligned properly or shortened in the wrong area and the table often would "roll off" the right side of the page because of somewhat large but normal left margin.

So..I have two questions:

1. Is number two above a valid concern anymore?
2. Are there any other reasons not to use tables in Robohelp or tips you can give me if we implement them?

Thanks!

[Peter Grainge]

I have not had many problems with tables in Printed Documentation, except for the top border on a page split, for which there is a fix on my site.

I suspect the cause of your problem is that large left margin.

[MergeThis]

Best practice for tables in HTML (RH or not) is to use percentages instead of absolute measures. Using this method, we have had no problems with the transform into Printed Doc.

We use:

For 2-column tables at normal paragraph level, 100% and usually 20%,80%
For 2-column tables in a list, 90% and usually 20%,70%
For 2-column tables in a second-level list, 80% and usually 20%,60%

Don't worry about any long, unbroken character strings in column 1 (such as a long database column name), because the HTML default is to grab the space it needs to prevent breaking up such a string. If the text needs 27%, for example, it will take it.


Good luck,
Leon