Autocad 2D Table Styles

First create a table from the Table tab icon, or type table into the Command line. Hit OK to create a table with the default number of 2 columns and 10 rows. Table styles will adjust how this table will look.

These can be opened via the Home tab and the Annotation drop-down. On the bottom left is the Table Style icon which will open the dialog box.

Alternatively the dialog box can be opened through the Annotate tab > Tables > the styles in the drawing (if any) will show in the drop-down, or in the bottom right arrow icon. The Standard style is the default. You can create a new one or Modify an existing style. On the bottom left we have a list of styles in the drawing.

You Can Also Type Tablestyle Into The Command Line.

For example, create a new one > based on the Standard style. Note on the left the General table direction: up or down. On the right we have Cell Styles: data, header, title. You can see these on the Preview box on the left. Then note the three tabs for General, Text & Borders. You can also set styles for a selection of cells. For Header, General we can set the fill colour, and the Preview will update automatically. We can change the colour of the text, and adjust the Line weights and Line types of the borders, as well as the Margins within the cells.

For example, open the table style dialog box and choose the Standard style and select Modify. Then in Title, General, Fill colour: Cyan. Hit OK to see the table you created update on the screen. Modify, Header, Green. You can also do this cell by cell, or row by row in the Properties panel, but styles keeps it consistent and repeatable.

Click the Launch Table Style Manager icon > New > Based on the Standard, and name it 10mm. Cell styles > Title > Text. We need to change the Text Height since the default of 0.25 is very small. Click on the Text Style icon button on the right. Select New and call it Table Title. Make the height 200mm and try the font Verdana Bold. Repeat this for the Header > New > call it Table Header and based on the Table Title. Make this one Regular and 150mm high. And repeat this for the Data text: call it Table Data and make the text style 100mm high. Double-check that the Table Style is set to Table Data for all three. Hit OK, Close and OK. When we place this into our Model Space we see it's really big. Move the grips to widen the table.

Enter some data into the fields. Enter numbers into one of the columns, then select those cells and drag down the bottom right grip to create a pattern of it to apply to all of the cells. You can also select a column of cells and apply a new cell type to it, like numeric or dollar values.

To change the Table Style, select the table and go to Properties. Then change the style in the Table section under Table Style.

You can also create Text styles. These will be saved within the drawing, and can be imported into future drawings via the Autocad Design Centre from the View tab, or by typing DC, Enter. Then simply navigate to the drawing where your styles are stored and drag into your current drawing.


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Tom Gillan has been training AutoCAD 2D to corporate clients in Sydney for seven years. Visit http://www.designworkshopsydney.com.au/autocad-2d-courses/ for more information.