Table Editor v8.0

Selecting Columns, Rows and Cells

Rows and columns can be selected by clicking on their header cells (leftmost column for selecting rows, topmost row for columns). Multiple rows and columns can be selected and deselected using Ctrl/Cmd + click and Shift + click, in the usual manner. Note that selection of both rows and columns at the same time is permitted for deletions (see below).

To select a block of cells (as opposed to a set of rows or columns), click on a cell and hold for a couple of seconds until the cell is highlighted. If you now move the cursor while still holding down the mouse button, adjacent cells will also be highlighted.

Moving Rows and Columns

When one of more columns are selected (but no rows), the Column Move buttons will become enabled. These let you move the columns left and right, as follows:

•  Move selected columns one position to the left
•  Move selected columns one position to the right
•  Move selected columns as far left as possible
•  Move selected columns as far right as possible

Similarly, when one of more rows are selected (but no columns), the Row Move buttons will become enabled:

•  Move selected rows one position upwards
•  Move selected rows one position downwards
•  Move selected rows as far up as possible
•  Move selected rows as far down as possible

Whenever a move operation is impossible (e.g. moving columns left when the leftmost column is selected), its button will be automatically disabled.

Removing Rows and Columns

Once at least one row or column is selected, the Remove button becomes enabled. Clicking on this will remove all the selected rows and columns. This is the one operation where it is useful to be able to select rows and columns at the same time.

Adding New Rows and Columns

The Add button becomes enabled only when a single row or column has been selected, or when the table is completely empty. It is separated into two components, with the Add performing the current default action and the selector presenting the two different options for adding rows and columns. Initially the default Add behaviour is to add references, but through the selector adding empty rows and columns is also available.

Making a selection in the Add selector performs that action and modifies the current default Add action to be that same action action for the duration of the current editing session, or until a different action is chosen from the selector.

Add references...

Choosing to add references brings up one of two dialogs, depending on whether the selected item is a row or column.

If you have selected a row, clicking on Add lets you add new rows, either above or below your selected row. You are presented with a dialog that lets you select objects, either from a browser or from the clipboard. On clicking the Next button, you are moved to a second dialog that lets you reorder the objects you have just chosen.

After clicking Next again you move to a third dialog that lets you choose attributes of the objects you have chosen. Clicking Next from here takes you to a final dialog where you can reorder the attributes. Finally, clicking Ok adds the new rows. One row will be created for each object you selected, and the cells of the new rows will be populated with the appropriate values of the attributes you chose.

If instead you had selected a column, the same four dialogs are presented to you, but this time you have to select attributes first and objects second.

Add empty rows/columns...

Choosing to add empty rows or columns brings up a dialog requesting the number of rows or columns to add, and whether to insert them before or or after the current selection point.

There is a special case when editing a new or empty table when the dialog will be request both the number of rows and the number of columns to add.

After clicking OK the empty rows/columns will be added to the table. Each empty cell can be edited in the usual way by clicking it.

Duplicating Rows and Columns

This is done using a copy and paste mechanism; menu items are provided to let the user copy, cut and paste rows and columns.

Duplicating Rows

To begin with, the user must select the rows to be duplicated. No columns may be selected at the same time. The rows do not need to be contiguous. Copied rows will end up in the AMI clipboard. Cutting rows will copy the rows to the clipboard, but also delete them from the table. For pasting, the user has to select target rows to paste into. Clicking on the Paste button then pastes the rows according to the following rules:

• If there are the same number of rows selected as there are on the clipboard, the rows on the clipboard replace the selected rows
• If there are more rows selected than there are on the clipboard, the rows on the clipboard replace the same number of selected rows, with the remaining selected rows being unaffected
• If there are fewer rows selected than there are on the clipboard, the selected rows are replaced by the same number of rows from the clipboard, with the remaining clipboard rows being inserted as new rows immediately after the last selected row.

Duplicating Columns

This is exactly the same as for rows, but with columns selected.

Creating and Destroying Straddles

A straddle is formed from a rectangular block of contiguous cells. The Straddle button is enabled whenever such a block has been selected. Clicking it causes the cells to merge into a single, larger cell, whose content is the content of the top left merged cell. It is possible to make a straddle even larger by merging it with other neighbouring cells and straddles.

If the user selects a single straddle, then the Straddle button changes to Unstraddle. Unstraddling a straddle reinstates the cells that were previously merged to form it. They will all be empty of content apart from the top left one, which gets back its former content.

Editing Table Cells

Individual table cells can be edited by clicking on them, which brings up the attribute editor. The click should be quick, because otherwise it will be interpreted as selecting the cell.

Copying and Pasting Table Cells

It is possible to copy a group of cells to the clipboard and then copy them to another location in the table, or even into another table. The cells to be copied must form a contiguous rectangle of table cells, similar to when we create a straddle. To paste cells into a table, the user should select a single target cell. On selecting Paste, the cells on the front of the clipboard will be pasted into the table, with the target cell corresponding to the top left one of the incoming cells. If there is not room to fit all the new cells, an error dialog will appear, suggesting that the user first create some new rows and/or columns to make room for the clipboard cells.

Editing an Empty Table Attribute

When the editor opens up for an empty table attribute, it indicates that the table is empty by showing the image of a red box. The 'Add' button is enabled, and clicking on it takes the user into the Add Rows dialog. From then on, the process is identical to adding rows to an existing table.

Undoing Changes

The Table Editor keeps a list of all the changes you have made in it (including copying items to the clipboard) since the last time the table was saved. To completely reverse your last change, click on the Undo button.

You can undo your uncommitted changes one at a time by pressing the Undo button repeatedly, and changes can then be reapplied by clicking the Redo button. In this way it is possible to completely reverse all your changes, and then reapply them all again. Please note though that, as soon as you make a new change, the Redo button becomes disabled, and all your "undone" changes are lost. Also, if you save your changes by clicking the OK or Save buttons, Undo is no longer an option.