Cell spanning

Multicolumns

The \multicolumn is an important option used in the tables. The general command is \multicolumn{num_of_colunm}{align}{content}, where the num_of_colunm is the number of columns over which the multicolumn will be placed, align is a input of tabular enviroment, e.g. p,c,l,r, |; and content is the content of the cell.

CODE

\begin{tabular}{|l|r|}\hline

\multicolumn{2}{|c|}{Examples}\\\hline

1 & example\\\hline

2 & example1\\\hline

3 & example22\\\hline

4 & example444\\\hline

5 & example5\\\hline

\multicolumn{1}{|r}{6} & 6\\\hline

\end{tabular}



\begin{tabular}{|l|r|c|}\hline

\multicolumn{3}{|p{2cm}}{Examples}\\\hline

1 & example & table\\\hline

2 & example1 & table\\\hline

3 & example22 & table\\\hline

\multicolumn{2}{|p{2cm}|}{multicolumn is used here} & table\\\hline

5 & example5 & table\\\hline

\multicolumn{3}{c}{ending}\\

\end{tabular}

In the first table, the \multicolumn is used, over the first 2 columns, with the center alignment. Also, the two | symbols were added, in order to get the vertical lines in that cell. In the last row, the \multicolumn is used over one row, in order to cancel one vertical line in that cell.
The second table shows some examples of using \multicolumn command.

Multirows

The \multirow perform the same operation as \multicolumn but with the rows. The new command requries \usepackage{multirow}. General command is \multirow{num_of_rows}{widht}{content}, where the num_of_rows is the number of rows, over which will overlay the \multirow. The widht is the width of the row. Note: use * to mantain the same width as the other cells in the column.

CODE

\usepackage{multirow}

\begin{document}

\begin{table}

\begin{tabular}{|l|c|c|r|}\hline

example & big example & 1234 &  \multirow{2}{*}{multirow01}\\ \hline

example & big example & 123 & \\\hline

example & big example & 123455 & my table\\\hline

\multirow{3}{3cm}{multirow02 not very long text} & example & big example & 1234 \\\hline

test & example & big example & 1234\\\hline

111 & example & big example & 1234\\\hline

\end{tabular}

\end{table}



\begin{table}

\begin{tabular}{|l|c|c|r|}\hline

example & big example & 1234 &  \multirow{2}{*}{multirow01} \\ \cline{1-3}

example & big example & 123 & \\\hline

example & big example & 123455 & my table\\\hline

\multirow{3}{3cm}{multirow02 not very long tex} & example & big example & 1234 \\\cline{2-4}

  & example & big example & 1234\\\cline{2-4}

 & example & big example & 1234\\\hline

\end{tabular}

\end{table}

The fisrt example shows a non appropriate use of \multirow. In the first two rows there is an \hline, which draws the line over all the width of the table. In order to avoid the effect in the first lines of the first table, the \cline is used, as shown in the second table.
In the last lines of the first table, the content is overflowed. So, the content of the following rows in selected column must be empty. In the example above, the multirow is performed over 3 rows, so the two next lower rows of the same column must be empty, as shown in the second table.

Empty column

The easiest way to create an empty column is to insert nothing inside the two & &. In this section, the new type of column is introduced: @{content}. This symbol is used to insert a constant content in one column, putting a content inside the brackets. In order to get an emoty column using @{content}, leave the brackets empty.
If you are using LaTeX version before 4.15, in order to fix the error shown in the section Enviroment: spacing, it is necessary to create an empty column: @{}m{width}@{}. The m attribute will align the content of all cells vertically in the middle, add one empty column m{width} to the tabular enviroment.

CODE

\begin{table}

\setlength{\tabcolsep}{20pt}

\renewcommand{\arraystretch}{4}

\centering{

\begin{tabular}{| l | r | c|}\hline

table & example &  example \\ \hline

example& not long example & table \\ \hline

123456789 & table &  empty \\ \hline

\end{tabular}}

\end{table}



\begin{table}[h]

\setlength{\tabcolsep}{20pt}

\renewcommand{\arraystretch}{4}

\centering{

\begin{tabular}{| l | r | c|@{}m{0cm}@{}}\hline

table & example &  example &\\ \hline

example& not long example & table &\\ \hline

123456789 & table &  empty &\\ \hline

\end{tabular}}

\end{table}

Both tables are equal, the unique difference is the empty column in the second one, which is used to put the content almost in the middle. The tabular enviroment in the second table is \begin{tabular}{| l | r | c|@{}m{0cm}@{}}. Also, it is necessary to add & after the last column containing content. The last empty cell must not contain anything.
After the latest update(4.15), the \usepackage[table]{xcolor} is needed. The better version of this table is shown in the page Positioning: Position of the content in the cell.

Combining

In this section, an example of combining of \multirow and \multicolumn will be shown.

CODE

\usepackage{multirow}

          \begin{document}

          \begin{table}

          \begin{tabular}{|l|c|c|r|}\hline

example & big example & \multicolumn{2}{c} {\multirow{2}{*}{multirow01} }\\ \cline{1-2}

example & big example   & & \\\hline

example & big example & 123455 & my table\\\hline

\multirow{3}{*}{multirow02 very large} & example & big example & 1234 \\\hline

  & example & big example & 1234\\\hline

 & example & big example & 1234\\\hline

\end{tabular}

\end{table}



\begin{table}

\begin{tabular}{|l|c|c|r|}\hline

example & big example & \multicolumn{2}{c|} {\multirow{2}{*}{multirow01} }\\ \cline{1-2}

example & big example   & \multicolumn{1}{c}{}& \\\hline

example & big example & 123455 & my table\\\hline

\multirow{3}{*}{multirow02 very large} & example & big example & 1234 \\\hline

  & example & big example & 1234\\\hline

 & example & big example & 1234\\\hline

\end{tabular}

\end{table}