Add and modify table frames

Table frames are containers for tables on a page. They can reference a feature table in any map or scene in a project. The table's fields can be added or removed from the table frame at any time, and the table frame updates automatically on the layout. You can modify the format of the entire frame or individual fields by selecting them in the Contents pane.

Table frames can be static—displaying all records in the table—or they can be dynamic—updating whenever the map frame extent is changed to show only the records visible in the map extent. The behavior of the table is determined by the set query.

Insert a table frame

To insert a table frame, complete the following steps:

  1. Open a layout with a map frame.

Table frames can only point to data that exists in a map frame on the layout. If there is no map frame, the table frame is blank.

Click the upper half of the button to insert the current default table style item. Click the lower half of the button to choose from a gallery of table frame style items.

Display fields

Overflow

By default, the first 10 fields of a table are displayed. After a table frame is added to the layout, the fields can be added, removed, reordered, or turned on and off. If there is not enough space on the table for all the fields to appear, fields are dropped from the table and the overflow icon appears . If you resize the table or change the fitting strategy so all fields appear, the icon disappears.

The visibility setting for each field is honored. If a field is missing, confirm the field's visibility in the Contents pane. To switch its visibility, check its check box.

Add fields

To add fields to the table frame, complete the following steps:

  1. In the Contents pane, right-click the table frame and click Add field .
  2. Select a field from the menu.
  3. To change the order of the fields in the table frame, in the Contents pane, expand the table frame and drag the fields to the new locations.

Edit fields

Table frame fields use the formatting (aliases, significant digits, and so on) set up in the Fields view. To edit the fields in this view, complete the following steps:

  1. Right-click the table frame and click Open .
  2. On the Table tab, in the Field group, click Fields .
  3. Make the appropriate changes.

Modify a table frame

To modify a table frame, select the table frame in the Contents pane and click the Table Frame tab on the ribbon. Here you can change the text symbol and its size and position. Additional options are available in the Element pane, which you can open by right-clicking the table frame in the Contents pane and choosing Properties . To modify individual fields, see Add and modify table frame fields.

Table frame gallery

Once you've modified the table frame, you can save it to a style to use in future projects without reformatting it. A saved table style item can be applied to a selected table by choosing one from the Table Frame Gallery drop-down menu on the Table Frame tab.

Options

In the Element pane, the following can be set under Options :

Note:

For stand-alone tables, the only query option is All rows because a stand-alone table is not visible in the map extent.

Table frame arrangement

You can also modify the arrangement of the fields in the table frame.

Fitting strategy

By default, fields take up the entire frame. The fields expand or compress as you resize the table frame, and the table frame expands or compresses when fields are added or removed. The following fitting options change the behavior of the table and its items:

You can also check the Balance columns option for any fitting strategy to make all the table columns approximately the same length. This may result in all the columns being smaller than the table frame length. Uncheck this option to have one column fill completely before a new column is added. This may result in the last column being smaller than the others.

Note:

Overflow

If a column does not fit when you complete the fitting strategy, the entire field is dropped from the table frame. For example, if a table frame item contains 15 records but only 10 records fit, the entire field is dropped. When this occurs, you cannot add items to the table frame even if another field in the list fits. Keep this in mind when ordering items in the table frame. If any items are dropped from the table frame, the overflow icon appears.

When fitting a field into the frame, column settings for individual fields are respected unless Adjust columns is selected as the fitting strategy. With Adjust columns selected, column settings for fields are overridden and a new column is created whenever the entire height of the table frame is filled.

If Adjust font size is selected, table contents are compressed to fit more items into the table until a minimum font size is reached. Once this font size is reached by any field, fields that do not fit are dropped.

The fitting strategies that adjust font size include an option to specify the Minimum font size threshold, so as the table frame is adjusted, the font size is never smaller than the specified size.

Sorting

Add

Sorting is an efficient means of organizing data in alphabetical or sequential order, which can help you better understand it. You can discover the largest and smallest values or the most and least significant features in the table. When sorting a column's values in ascending order, the values are ordered from A to Z or from 1 to 10. In descending order, a column's values are arranged from Z to A or from 10 to 1. To add fields to sort, click the Add button . With multiple fields, you can interactively sort using a table sorting dialog box, which allows you to sort more than one column. Use the custom sort box to sort based on multiple fields, clear the current sort order of the table, or make a case-sensitive sort.

Spacing

Gaps allow you to specify the vertical and horizontal spacing between table frame elements. The following options can be adjusted by changing their point value:

Display

Note:

Individual cells in a table frame cannot be formatted. To highlight specific cell values, consider using dynamic text outside of the table.

Placement

To change the table frame's size and position, adjust the width, height, x and y positions, and rotation. To preserve the aspect ratio when selected elements are resized, click the link button.

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