Table macro choices?

Table macro choices?

[Design Department]

Earlier this year I attempted to set tabular material using ConTeXt while meeting *all* the following requirements:
  > Some columns need fixed width, content must wrap to multiple lines
  > Multi-page tables
  > Column headings must repeat on every page
  > Additional header information is required on every page 
  > Additional footer information containing tabular text and graphics is required on every page
  > Forced page breaks on arbitrary selected rows
  > Horizontal rules between specified groups of rows

I was unable to meet all these requirements and reverted to LaTeX. It works, but I prefer ConTeXt and the LaTeX version takes a painfully long time to converge on optimal column widths. I'm now using TeXLive 2009, rather than 2008 - has anything changed in ConTeXt that will meet these requirements?

David
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Re: Table macro choices?

[Wolfgang Schuster]

Am 04.12.2009 um 22:58 schrieb Design Department:

> Earlier this year I attempted to set tabular material using ConTeXt while meeting *all* the following requirements:
>> Some columns need fixed width, content must wrap to multiple lines
>> Multi-page tables
>> Column headings must repeat on every page
>> Additional header information is required on every page 
>> Additional footer information containing tabular text and graphics is required on every page
>> Forced page breaks on arbitrary selected rows
>> Horizontal rules between specified groups of rows
> 
> I was unable to meet all these requirements and reverted to LaTeX. It works, but I prefer ConTeXt and the LaTeX version takes a painfully long time to converge on optimal column widths. I'm now using TeXLive 2009, rather than 2008 - has anything changed in ConTeXt that will meet these requirements?

Can you show a example from the LaTeX output.

Wolfgang

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Re: Table macro choices?

[Design Department]

On 2009-12-05, at 7:55 AM, Wolfgang Schuster wrote:

> 
> Am 04.12.2009 um 22:58 schrieb Design Department:
> 
>> Earlier this year I attempted to set tabular material using ConTeXt while meeting *all* the following requirements:
>>> Some columns need fixed width, content must wrap to multiple lines
>>> Multi-page tables
>>> Column headings must repeat on every page
>>> Additional header information is required on every page 
>>> Additional footer information containing tabular text and graphics is required on every page
>>> Forced page breaks on arbitrary selected rows
>>> Horizontal rules between specified groups of rows
>> 
>> I was unable to meet all these requirements and reverted to LaTeX. It works, but I prefer ConTeXt and the LaTeX version takes a painfully long time to converge on optimal column widths. I'm now using TeXLive 2009, rather than 2008 - has anything changed in ConTeXt that will meet these requirements?
> 
> Can you show a example from the LaTeX output.

If I remove a few sensitive items I can generate a sample PDF. Is this what you mean, Wolfgang? I've never seen attachments in mailing list - is that allowed? I could also include a link to it hosted somewhere else. That's probably the better solution but it will take a bit of time.

The LaTeX itself is a series of templates with mixed Ruby code, and so it doesn't seem practical to post the LaTeX code itself.

cheers,
David Richardson
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Re: Table macro choices?

[Wolfgang Schuster]

Am 05.12.2009 um 18:47 schrieb Design Department:

>> Can you show a example from the LaTeX output.
> 
> If I remove a few sensitive items I can generate a sample PDF. Is this what you mean, Wolfgang?

Yes

> I've never seen attachments in mailing list - is that allowed? I could also include a link to it hosted somewhere else.

Sure, many people send files but the limit is 40kb.

http://wiki.contextgarden.net/ConTeXt_Mailing_Lists#Some_guidelines_for_writing_to_the_mailing_list

> That's probably the better solution but it will take a bit of time.
> 
> The LaTeX itself is a series of templates with mixed Ruby code, and so it doesn't seem practical to post the LaTeX code itself.

You can show the LaTeX code but it won't help so much.

Wolfgang

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Re: Table macro choices?

[Design Department]

On 2009-12-05, at 7:55 AM, Wolfgang Schuster wrote:

> 
> Am 04.12.2009 um 22:58 schrieb Design Department:
> 
>> Earlier this year I attempted to set tabular material using ConTeXt while meeting *all* the following requirements:
>>> Some columns need fixed width, content must wrap to multiple lines
>>> Multi-page tables
>>> Column headings must repeat on every page
>>> Additional header information is required on every page 
>>> Additional footer information containing tabular text and graphics is required on every page
>>> Forced page breaks on arbitrary selected rows
>>> Horizontal rules between specified groups of rows
>> 
>> I was unable to meet all these requirements and reverted to LaTeX. It works, but I prefer ConTeXt and the LaTeX version takes a painfully long time to converge on optimal column widths. I'm now using TeXLive 2009, rather than 2008 - has anything changed in ConTeXt that will meet these requirements?
> 
> Can you show a example from the LaTeX output.

For Walfgang, and anyone else who has thoughts, here's a sample PDF.
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B3ld3P7qGRnwOTRmOWJhYTEtMGQ1Yy00ZGE4LTk0NmQtYzk3NmJlYWIzM2Zh&hl=en

The main point is that the tabular material runs from just a single to several hundred rows and each page *must* contain both the header and footer explanations associated with the table. Normally the pages are broken at a fixed increment of rows depending on the type of data, usually 20 or 32 per page, but other values are possible. For good measure, field technicians often want a forced page break at an arbitrary row position.

Two of the table columns contain data which may wrap to multiple lines, as illustrated.

Is all this possible without writing a new tabular macro? I could get close, but couldn't get the table footer repeating on every page or the forced page breaks. That was using the TeXLive 2008 distribution.


david
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Re: Table macro choices?

[Wolfgang Schuster]

Am 06.12.2009 um 03:53 schrieb Design Department:

> The main point is that the tabular material runs from just a single to several hundred rows and each page *must* contain both the header and footer explanations associated with the table. Normally the pages are broken at a fixed increment of rows depending on the type of data, usually 20 or 32 per page, but other values are possible. For good measure, field technicians often want a forced page break at an arbitrary row position.
> 
> Two of the table columns contain data which may wrap to multiple lines, as illustrated.
> 
> Is all this possible without writing a new tabular macro? I could get close, but couldn't get the table footer repeating on every page or the forced page breaks. That was using the TeXLive 2008 distribution.


The best I can do.

\setuppapersize[A4,landscape][A4,landscape]

\setuptables[bodyfont=8pt]

\initializeboxstack{table}

\savebox{table}{footer}{\starttable[s0|l|l|l|l|l|l|]
\NC Accept \NC \THREE No detectable indications at the time of inspection            \NC Reject \NC See remarks for explanation            \NC\NR
\NC BT     \NC Burn-through                     \NC IP  \NC Incomplete penetration   \NC SHOTS  \NC Number of shots taken                  \NC\NR
\NC CR     \NC Crack                            \NC IUC \NC Internal undercut        \NC SIZE   \NC Size of pipe                           \NC\NR
\NC EP     \NC Excessive penetration            \NC LC  \NC Low cover                \NC SOD    \NC Source to object distance              \NC\NR
\NC EUC    \NC External under-cut               \NC LOF \NC Lack of fusion           \NC STAMP  \NC Welder’s stamp                         \NC\NR
\NC EXP    \NC Single or double wall exposure   \NC MAT \NC Material being inspected \NC TECH   \NC Inspection technique                   \NC\NR
\NC HB     \NC Hollow bead                      \NC OFD \NC Object to film distance  \NC THICK  \NC Thickness of tubular wall or component \NC\NR
\NC HL     \NC High/low                         \NC P   \NC Porosity                 \NC VIEW   \NC Single Or Double wall viewing          \NC\NR
\NC IC     \NC Internal concavity               \NC S   \NC Slag                     \NC WT     \NC Wall thickness                         \NC\NR
\NC SZ     \NC Component diameter or dimensions \NC SW  \NC Single wall              \NC DW     \NC Double wall                            \NC\NR
\stoptable}

\savebox{table}{header}{\input knuth }

\starttext

\splitfloat[lines=16,inbetween=\foundbox{table}{footer}\page,after=\foundbox{table}{footer}]
  {\foundbox{table}{header}}
  %{\placefigure[none]{}{\foundbox{table}{header}}}
  {\bTABLE[split=yes]
   \dorecurse{100}{\bTR\bTD#1\eTD\bTD text \eTD\eTR}
   \eTABLE}

\stoptext

Wolfgang

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Re: Table macro choices?

[Design Department]

> The best I can do.

Thanks Wolfgang. At first glance, it appears to cover the essentials.
I'll need to hack on it for a few days to test the minor requirements that aren't so obvious in the sample PDF, but this gets me going again.

A particular advantage (if I'm interpreting this layout correctly) is avoiding the use of column spans for header and footer material (other than the actual column headings). This report has a number of different tabular layouts that I didn't show you, each with unique column counts. Much more reliable if it isn't necessary to watch colspan values in the meta-data sections (which should really be includes.)

I would think the general requirement here isn't that unusual for certain types of technical reports. This report is for a regulatory compliance application. If printed pages within a single report are ever separated, it is essential that the meta-data for the inspection be available on each page, not just the first or last. The same must be true for many scientific and technical layouts.

I particularly need to get my head around what's different from my initial approach.
Once again, thanks. I'll report on results in a few days for anyone following this.


cheers,
david


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