Re: [Groff] gtbl, T{ ... T} doesn't work?

[Ted Harding]

On 12-Jun-04 Jorgen Grahn wrote:
> On Sat Jun 12 16:30:54 2004, address@hidden wrote:
> ...
>> Also, your
>> "1 @ 2 @ 3" etc. would put the spaces into the table. It's better
>> to leave the layout to "tbl"!
> 
> As a side note, it would be better if tbl tolerated but ignored
> some amount of source layout -- even the simple tbl definitions I
> write tend to be difficult to read!  This is a problem with tbl, IMHO.

I'm inclined to agree with your experience. One does get more or less
used to it, but never entirely! However, it does have a converse
benefit: everything you actually type is effective, so you know
exactly what you're getting.

What I sometimes do, when I feel the need for properly aligned visual
layout, is to space out with a character not occuring elsewhere, and
finally remove it. At a pinch TAB (^I) will do, though often this
puts in too much space. I rarely need "~" in tables, so tend to fill
with "~" (my usualy tab separator is "#"). Then, at the end, block
the table (I use 'vim') and do a global delete. E.g.

.TS
tab(#);
l l l l.
Ed~~~~#James~#top~~~#bottom
Albert#Fred~~#left~~#right
Jim~~~#Wilf~~#back~~#front
.TE

becomes, after blocking the 3 lines and then ":s/\~//g"

.TS
tab(#);
l l l l.
Ed#James#top#bottom
Albert#Fred#left#right
Jim#Wilf#back#front
.TE

Ted.


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Date: 12-Jun-04                                       Time: 22:04:06
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