I'm trying to create a triangular table, and set my header cells at a 45 degree angle to the rest of the table. Like below (only less sloppy, of course). Is there an easy way to do this, or do I have to take the long route?
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Yikes! That is really cool-looking but I don't know that any table software automatically does what you want it to do. InDesign tables have improved over the years, but they're still lagging behind Microsoft (IMO). The problem is there are fewer rows in each subsequent column. You might be able to fake it by merging cells, but I don't know how you'd get the angle you're looking for.– VoxwomanJan 30, 2015 at 13:20
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2If I had to create this as a table, I would draw the shapes and then create text frames that have the correct rotation. To save a little bit of time, I would set the text frames to flow into each other, so I could populate the table from one text file.– VoxwomanJan 30, 2015 at 13:22
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I agree with you about the comparison with Microsoft. I find InDesign's tables to be awfully clunky compared even with Excel.– cjcincJan 30, 2015 at 15:32
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1 Answer
It is possible ... but rather unmaintainable. Also, it's not as pretty as one could hope for:
This is a table with each cell's width and height set to the same value, and with Diagonal Lines to mimic the slanted cells. The slanted text is 'fake': it's just an anchored object inside the cell, rotated 45°.
The diagonal lines are drawn separately from the straight lines (and each other), so the joints are not joined.
To add another column and row (for Limerick perhaps?), you can add a row and column on the bottom and left and at the top and right (because the 'slanted' cells are actually 2x2 cells). Then you have to make sure all straight lines appear where they should and manually add new diagonals.
Drawing this with a proper vector application such as Illustrator may be a bit more work, but ultimately leads to a much better result.
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As I feared! :) Yes, I agree, it seems that doing this in Illustrator would be the better option. Thanks for your suggestions.– cjcincJan 30, 2015 at 15:29