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You don't know the meaning of the word tedious unless you've tried to create a column-and-row data table in older versions of AutoCAD with the Line and DTEXT commands. AutoCAD's table object and the TABLESTYLE (TS) and TABLE (TB) commands for creating it make the job almost fun.
You control the appearance of tables — both the text and the gridlines — with table styles (just as you control the appearance of standalone text with text styles). Use the TABLESTYLE command to create and modify table styles. Follow these steps to create a table:
1. Choose Format --> Table Style.
The Table Style dialog box appears.
2. In the Styles list, select the existing table style whose settings you want to use as the starting point for the settings of your new style.
For example, select the default table style named Standard.
3. Click the New button to create a new table style that's a copy of the existing style.
The Create New Table Style dialog box appears.
4. Enter a New Style Name and click Continue.
The New Table Style dialog box appears.
5. On the Data tab, specify settings for the data text and gridlines (that is, for all cells except the column heads and the table title).
The settings you are likely to want to change are Text Style, Text Height, and perhaps either Text Color or Grid Color. (If you leave colors set to ByBlock, then the text and grid lines will inherit the color that's current when you create the table. That color will be the current layer's color.)
6. Repeat Step 5 for the Column Heads tab and the Title tab.
7. Click OK to close the New Table Style dialog box.
The Table Style dialog box reappears.
8. (Optional) Select your new table style from the Styles list, and then click Set Current.
Your new table style becomes the current table style that AutoCAD uses for future tables in this drawing.
9. Click Close.
The Table Style dialog box closes. Now you're ready to create a table.
 | In AutoCAD 2007, you can access the Table Cell Format dialog box directly from the Title, Column Head, or Data tabs of the New Table Style dialog box. The Table Cell Format dialog provides a number of additional options for formatting cells by data type. |
AutoCAD stores table styles in the DWG file, so a style that you create in one drawing isn't immediately available in others. You can copy a table style from one drawing to another with the DesignCenter palette.
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