Page talk:Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol 2.djvu/178

Analysis of the first table on Page:Mexico,_Aztec,_Spanish_and_Republican,_Vol_2.djvu/178.

COMMENTS FROM A BEGINNER ARE BOLD

REPLIES TO THE COMMENTS ARE IN RED

Global table style parameters are:
 * font-size: 90%
 * line-height: 120% WHY?
 * The line height for the standard page font is 140%. Since table text is smaller than 100% (in this case 90%), adjusting the line height gives a proportional effect.
 * cell-align:left
 * border-collapse:collapse

The table below is made up of 8 rows and 7 columns. The word column and cell are interchangeable. OK
 * Row 1:
 * column width declarations row. This is not visible in final display.OK
 * Row 2:
 * columns 1 and 2 are empty
 * columns 3 to 6 inclusive are merged into one cell.
 * Row 3:
 * shows all 7 columns
 * columns 1, 2, 6, and 7 are vertically merged with the subsequent 4 rows and thus they are defined in this row.YES!!!
 * single or merged cell contents are naturally vertically centered.OK
 * brace2 row height is reduced to 3 because of the reduced line height declaration in the table's global definition.WHY IS THIS REQUIRED?
 * The brace is scaled to 140% (full) line height and the reduced line height of the text lines don't effect the brace which still forces the cells to full line height.
 * the single bottom border of column 7 is defined and displayed.MAKES SENSE...YES
 * Rows 4, 5, 6, and 7:
 * contain only columns 3, 4, and 5.
 * Row 8:
 * all cell tops and bottoms are padded .5em.WHY IS THIS REQUIRED
 * This is a visual enhancement. Without padding, the numbers in column 7 would be "riding" on the top and bottom underlines.
 * column 1 is empty.
 * columns 2 to 6 are merged.
 * column 7 bottom double border is defined and displayed.OK, MAKES PERFECT SENSE AND SAVES A ROW


 * COMMENTS: I REALIZE I COULD HAVE SOLVE THE PROBLEM BY PAYING MORE ATTENTION OR KNOWING WHERE TO PAY ATTENTION.
 * THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR A BEGINNER COULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING; BEFORE STARTING TO MAKE A TABLE, CAREFULLY DECIDE WHAT IS THE MINIMUM REQUIRED NUMBER OF COLUMNS; SECOND, DETERMINE WHAT IS THE CONTENT THAT WILL GO INTO EACH ROW AND THEN INTO EACH CELL OR COLUMN... AVOID CONSTRUCTION PROBLEMS BY ADDING TOO MANY COLUMNS, TYPICAL PROBLEM WITH BEGINNERS THAT ARE YET TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE TABLES ARE CONSTRUCTED AND HOW THEY OPERATE.

SECOND TABLE
To make the two tables match in the Page namespace, I adjusted the following.


 * Removed the unnecessary
 * Reduced brace height from 7 rows - by experimentation.
 * Padded the title rows and the bottom row to enhance the distance below the bracketed rows.

— Ineuw talk 20:56, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

Had the feeling it was very easy, if and only if, you know where to look for mistakes...