[Originally appeared 2000.]
The Word of Law column in Word of Law No. 20 began the discussion of strategies for tables, and set out a list of 10 questions to be addressed. We continue this week with the next two related questions.
What’s the difference between a table used for presentation and a table used for the organization and storage of data?
By a “table used for presentation,” I mean the use of Word’s table feature solely to format text on a page. This clearly includes use of tables just to solve formatting issues, such as the address and signature blocks and legal pleadings captions mentioned in the last column. In those cases, tables allow control of alignment and spacing of text vertically, while permitting a variety of alignment within each column. Critically, only tables support word wrap within each column. That gives them a significant advantage over formatting based on tabs, even when taking advantage of the control permitted by right, centered and decimal tabs.
Microsoft Word tables can be used for the storage, organization and manipulation of data. The rows and columns of a table create a framework into which structured information can fit. To take an example as simple as an address list, the columns may indicate elements of data for each addressee, such as name, street address, city, state, zip code, email address and telephone, fax, mobile and pager numbers. Each addressee gets her own row. How did the word “simple” get in the second to last sentence?
The issue is what the user expects to do with the information. If the only purpose is to display information, formatted legibly and attractively, then I consider the table “used for presentation.” If the purpose of the table is to collect information, to be able to keep it sorted, select from it for other purposes (such as inserting an address in a letter), manipulate the information (such as changing the office address for all addressees who work for the same company), then the table is in the latter category.
So what? Actually, that is the purpose of the next question.
When should a spreadsheet or database program such as Excel, Access, Outlook or a larger scale database be used instead of a table?
We have already begun to answer this by describing the ways a user might want to reorganize, select, link, modify, export and import information into a table. While Word includes rudimentary capabilities to perform some of these functions, they do not compare to the capabilities of spreadsheet tables or of real database programs. As a matter of vocabulary here, we will use Excel and Access represent spreadsheets and databases, although Word can work with others, of course.
At the very least, a general or master user should ask oneself, how much do I need to work and rework the information in this table? Does that table contain arithmetic, even as simple as rows that are the sums of the entries above them and columns that are sums or products of entries to their left. If the answer to the first question is more than twice (maybe even more than once) and the answer to the second question is yes, then the table should be in Excel and not in Word. The user will need to know how to copy and format text derived from Excel in Word, but we will cover that in a later column.
From an organizational perspective, an equally important question is to what degree should the information stored in a table be shared among users. That address list we have been describing most likely can serve the needs of several users working on the same project or for the same client. These are issues for the developers and system architects. They must evaluate whether the information in the tale the power of a database. They must determine whether a commercial product fits the need, or whether custom development is required. They need to set up the linkages so that information from the database can be made available to Word, so that general users can benefit from it with a reasonable level of training. They must structure training and help desk support to promote these techniques.
The system architect should search for the use of tables among the population of general users. They are likely to find many databases in disguise, with much repetition of effort among users. Tables really are a window from Word to much of the rest of the world of computing.
In the next column, we will continue with the questions about table formatting.
This 2000 article originally appeared in Office Watch.Subscribe to Office Watch free at http://www.office-watch.com/.