Layout tables/cells issues

[Cheese_whiz]

I'm trying to create a simple effect like the one used at frontpageworld.com.
It's my first real foray into the layout tables/cells.

I already had a main (regular) table for my page, and I just wanted to add a
small table above that where I'll put in the "tabs" (see
www.frontpageworld.com). Here's what I do:

I put my cursor where I want the table to go, click on the "table" menu,
then "layout tables" and the layout table pane opens to the right of my
screen. I click on "insert layout table" text link in that pane, modify the
dimensions, and all seems well up to now.

To get my layout cells in place, I first tried right clicking inside the
table in the design view, clicking on table properties, and changing the
number of columns to eight so that I'd have seven cells to use for "tabs",
and one cell at the far right for the rest of the space in the row. Note:
It's just a one row table I'm trying to build.

When I did all that, it seems to work, but when I go to the cell properties
area of the layout table pane to adjust the color of the cells and add the
curved corners, all the options are greyed out. So....

I tried adding in layout cells one by one. I add one with specified width
of 100 and height of 40 (I wanted smaller heights, but I assume there's some
minimum to use the curved corners features). Anway, I add one and it seems
ok, but when I try to add another one, it wants to stretch the table's height
and jam the second layout cell under the first instead of put it to the right
like I need it.

I'm really sorry for the long post. But I've wasted at least two hours
trying to get this to work like it should, and have read both the (no)help
files from microsoft and a seperate resource I bought and the best I can find
is information that just isn't correct. Any help would be appreciated,
including a link to a good tutorial out on the web that explains, in detail,
layout tables/cells and how to create them.

Thanks.

PS: I find it amazing that options, like the "vertical, horizontal, or
inline" options in the create new layout cell window are not explained. I
think I know how each of those things work now, but I also thought I knew how
to work with tables before yesterday...

 

[Don Dean]

Cheese,
I'm not an expert (yet) but I know there are some differences between
"layout" tables and regular tables. When you create a layout table and then
want to make modifications by selecting the table, right clicking and then
selecting table properties, make sure that "Layout Tools" is enabled at the
top of the pop up pane.

When you select a cell and then find that the "Layout cell properties" are
grayed out, that means that FP is not recognizing the cell as a layout cell.
Also, when you right click on the cell, the pop up menu will list two cell
options: Cell Formating and Cell Properties, you need to select Cell
Formating if you are working with a layout cell. I've found that if you make
changes in both the Properties and Formating panes, you can get a bit
confused and some of the fields in the Formating pane will take precedence
over the fields in the Properties pane.

Here's the link to the FP tutorials:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011102171033.aspx
Scroll down to "Page Design", that third and fourth tutorials cover Layout
tables and cells.

 

[Cheese_whiz]

Thanks a lot for the response, DD. A post that long sometimes gets ignored.

The book I bought for FP 2003 indicated that you could treat layout tables
and cells, once created, like normal tables and cells and therefore right
click and modify them that way. That's some of the information I believe to
be wrong now. It works, in that you can subdivide a one cell layout table
into several columns like I want, but the cells don't seem to be layout cells
so it's only marginally worthwhile at best.

I'll check out the link. In my frustration I honestly forgot to try going
to the ms site and just used the search tool in FP, which didn't provide much
in the way of useful info.

Thanks again.