Typesetting tables

Abstract

Recommendations are provided for the typesetting of tabular material in the journal in order to standardize its appearance.

Full Text

1. General recommendations for table typesetting Tables are used to organize and visually present data in a structured format. They should contain clearly defined and comparable data, logically distributed across columns and rows. - Rows contain different objects or records. - Columns represent parameters or characteristics (e.g., numeric values, text). It’s important that the data is consistent within columns and well-structured for easy comprehension. The table’s appearance should be legible: clearly delineated columns and rows, column headings, and, if necessary, dividing lines. Tables shouldn’t be cluttered: too many columns or rows make the table difficult to read. 1.1. Recommendations - Avoid using excessively long text in cells-it reduces readability. - Align data logically: text should generally be left-aligned, and numbers should be right-aligned or centered. - Column headings should be informative but short. - Avoid unnecessary borders and lines. 2. Typesetting of tables in LATEX LaTeX table layout tools are well-documented in the literature [1]. We’ll give a brief overview of the LaTeX packages used for table typesetting (see Table 1). You can refer to the CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) category: https://ctan.org/topic/ table. © 2025 Kulyabov, D. S., Korolkova, A. V., Sevastianov, L. A., Rybakov, Y. P. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons “Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International” license. 236 Editorial DCM&ACS. 2025, 33 (3), 235-241 Using LATEX packages for typesetting tables Table 1 Package Features When to Use tabular Basic syntax, minimal settings Simple tables array Extended columns (p, m, b) Tables with text tabularx Automatic width adaptation Long tables booktabs Professional lines Scientific publications tabularray Full control through key parameters Complex layouts, templates 2.1. List of packages 2.1.1. Array package - CTAN: https://ctan.org/pkg/array. - Allows you to define new column styles. - Can be used with other packages to extend their functionality. 2.1.2. Tabularx package - CTAN: https://ctan.org/pkg/tabularx. - Extension to the tabular package. - Allows the creation of columns with automatically balanced widths. - Introduces an additional column type, X. - Creates a paragraph-like column whose width automatically expands to fill the declared environment width. 2.1.3. Tabulary package - CTAN: https://ctan.org/pkg/tabulary. - Similar to tabularx. - Uses the full width of the table as an argument. - Uses the L, C, R, and J column types for variable-width columns. - Unlike X columns in tabularx, the width of each column is weighted according to the natural width of the widest cell in the column. 2.1.4. Longtable package - CTAN: https://ctan.org/pkg/longtable. - Allows you to create tables that continue onto the next page. - Columns on consecutive pages have the same width. - Unlike supertabular, it modifies the output procedure and therefore will not work in a multicolumn environment. 2.1.5. Booktabs package - CTAN: https://ctan.org/pkg/booktabs. - Open tables with extra spaces between rows. - Longtable compatible. 2.1.6. Tabularray package - CTAN: https://ctan.org/pkg/tabularray. - Repository: https://github.com/lvjr/tabularray. - Written in LaTeX3. - Directly uses LaTeX3 functions to parse tables. - Separates table content and style. - Table style can be completely specified using keys. - This package is recommended for typesetting tables. 3. Using the tabularray package 3.1. Features of the tabularray package Keyword syntax is used. Tables are configured using keyword parameters in the tblr environment, making the code more readable: \begin{tblr}{ colspec = {rX}, colsep = 8mm, hlines = {2pt, white}, row{odd} = {azure8}, row{even} = {gray8}, } Flexible column and row settings: - Dynamic alignment: automatic column width detection with manual adjustment. - Color and formatting: built-in commands for cell shading and font changes: \SetCell{bg=green9} Yes & \SetCell{bg=red8} No - Support for complex structures. - Macro expansion: Allows the use of complex structures within tables, including dynamic data. - Integration with booktabs: Compatible with professional table styling via the booktabs package. 3.2. Basic principles of table construction Use colspec to define column types: \begin{tblr}{colspec={X[l] X[c] X[r]}} - X[l]: Left-aligned column with automatic width. - c, r: Centered and right-aligned, respectively. Appearance settings: 238 Editorial DCM&ACS. 2025, 33 (3), 235-241 - Horizontal lines: hlines, hline{1}={blue, dashed}. - Vertical lines: vlines, vline{1,4}={3pt}. - Cell background color: \SetCell{bg=green9}. 3.3. Integration with the booktab package It makes sense to use the expressiveness of tabularray in booktabs (see Table 2). 3.3.1. Loading the booktabs library Add the following command to the document’s preamble: \UseTblrLibrary{booktabs} - This enables compatibility with booktabs, allowing its commands to be used within the tblr environment. - For multi-page tables, use the longtblr environment with the same style settings. - Avoid vertical lines-they are contrary to professional design principles. - Adjust the line thickness using the rule thickness parameter to closely match the booktabs style. 3.3.2. Basic elements of booktabs style Commands for horizontal lines: - \toprule - top line; - \midrule - middle line; Let’s give an example of a complete table set: Table 2 Comparing tabularray with booktabs Function tabularray booktabs Syntax Key parameters in the tblr environment Traditional syntax tabular Lines \toprule, \midrule, \bottomrule Same commands Vertical lines Not recommended Disabled by default Multipage tables longtblr environment longtable package 3.4. Integration with the siunitx package Loading: \UseTblrLibrary{siunitx} Add: - key si for column type Q; - column type S (like sugar for Q columns, centered by default). Let’s align it with the decimal point: