Before the latest release of InDesign CC 2014, users who wanted to insert a table into their layouts had to create a text frame and have an active cursor inside that frame—otherwise, the Insert Table menu option was disabled. Now, you can create a table without having an existing text frame. Selecting Table>Create Table, which is now always enabled, opens up the Create Table dialog, where you can input the number of rows and columns you need, as well as define the table style you want applied (optional). If you have an insertion point in the text, InDesign automatically inserts the defined table at that point and uses the paragraph’s settings. If there isn’t an insertion point, the Create Table cursor appears and lets you draw a text frame for your table anywhere in the layout and at any size.

Although this is a simple feature, having options when creating tables is a good thing!

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Posted by: Monica Murphy

Monica Murphy
Monica Murphy has worked in the publishing industry for over 30 years supporting publishing operations of various sizes. In her role as Technical Product Manager for Technology for Publishing, she shares her publishing application expertise supporting a broad range of publishing clients in InDesign best practices, cross-platform content workflows, and InDesign Template strategies. Her weekly tip and blog posts have a committed following in the InDesign community, and as a long-time participant in the InDesign pre-release community, she regularly analyzes and provides feedback for upcoming features. Monica manages the authoring and publication of Technology for Publishing’s handbooks on InDesign, InCopy, and other associated titles.
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