Nisus Writer Pro - Manual (Page 215)

Creating Documents 195
Tables
What is a table?
A table is a means of presenting a group of related data in a coherent, structured form. Tables are
used to
• summarize large amounts of data
• compare data for two or more cases
• group complex data so that relationships are clear
• convey statistics about the underlying data
• list a full matrix of related data.
Tables have a wide variety of uses and, because of the divergent uses, they may take on many
different styles as well. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to organize and format a table.
Types of tables
The simplest possible table is one that has at least two entries (and usually has corresponding
headers that define the data within the table).
Table 8
A very simple table
Tables can grow as big as you’d like, although there is a practical limit to their size—usually what
will fit onto a single page. Huge tables that sprawl over several pages are extremely difficult to
understand at a glance, and the relationships between the data become less distinct when you
build, multi-page tables. Nevertheless, you will find that big tables are useful when your ultimate
goal is to compile an organized reference to a large, underlying database.
!
One important distinction to make in creating a table is whether or not the table is a summary of
information in an unseen database, or an exhaustive listing of the entire data in the database. The
former tends to result in small, concise tables that tell a story or highlight a particular point or
statistic. The latter are often long, multi-page tables that are only consulted as references. Nisus
Writer Pro’s table capability can handle both.
Table 9
When to use tables
Tycho
win
15 loss
1
When To Use Tables
Tables should
be used when:
Tables should
not be used if:
information is not
suitable for
graphing The
data clearly lends
itself to a visual
representation
(graphs, for
example). The
actual data values
are more
important than a
graphical
summary. The
data cannot be
organized into
meaningful
groups. The
information can
clearly be broken
into related parts
and groups. The
data contains
extensive text that
must be read
rather than
scanned. The
It is important to
see the
relationship
between to or
more pieces of
data.