Rows, columns, and cells

A <Table> carries three kinds of children — <Row>, <Column>, and <Cell> — that fill in the grid its counts declared.

In short: The <Row> and <Column> children size a table's tracks: a <Column> carries a width, a <Row> carries height constraints, and each is named by its zero-based index. The <Cell> children hold the content and most of the formatting — each cell names its grid position with Name="col:row", can span rows or columns to merge, and holds its own paragraphs of text padded in by its insets. This page is the attribute reference for those three children.

A <Table> carries three kinds of children that fill in the grid its counts declared: one <Row> per row, one <Column> per column, and one <Cell> per occupied grid position. The rows and columns size the tracks; the cells hold the content and most of the formatting.

The example below is a three-row, two-column table — a one-row header over two body rows — with each cell holding a one-word paragraph. It is the structure the rest of this page references.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<idPkg:Story xmlns:idPkg="http://ns.adobe.com/AdobeInDesign/idml/1.0/packaging" DOMVersion="20.0">
  <Story Self="ustory">
    <ParagraphStyleRange AppliedParagraphStyle="ParagraphStyle/$ID/[No paragraph style]">
      <CharacterStyleRange AppliedCharacterStyle="CharacterStyle/$ID/[No character style]">
        <Table Self="utable" HeaderRowCount="1" FooterRowCount="0" BodyRowCount="2" ColumnCount="2"
               AppliedTableStyle="TableStyle/$ID/[Basic Table]"
               TopBorderStrokeColor="Color/Black" TopBorderStrokeWeight="1"
               BottomBorderStrokeColor="Color/Black" BottomBorderStrokeWeight="1"
               LeftBorderStrokeColor="Color/Black" LeftBorderStrokeWeight="1"
               RightBorderStrokeColor="Color/Black" RightBorderStrokeWeight="1">
          <Row Self="urow0" Name="0" SingleRowHeight="24"/>
          <Row Self="urow1" Name="1" SingleRowHeight="24"/>
          <Row Self="urow2" Name="2" SingleRowHeight="24"/>
          <Column Self="ucol0" Name="0" SingleColumnWidth="120"/>
          <Column Self="ucol1" Name="1" SingleColumnWidth="120"/>
          <Cell Self="ucell00" Name="0:0" RowSpan="1" ColumnSpan="1"
                TextTopInset="2" TextLeftInset="3" TextBottomInset="2" TextRightInset="3"
                AppliedCellStyle="CellStyle/$ID/[None]" FillColor="Color/Black"
                BottomEdgeStrokeColor="Color/Black" BottomEdgeStrokeWeight="1"
                RightEdgeStrokeColor="Color/Black" RightEdgeStrokeWeight="1">
            <ParagraphStyleRange AppliedParagraphStyle="ParagraphStyle/$ID/[No paragraph style]">
              <CharacterStyleRange AppliedCharacterStyle="CharacterStyle/$ID/[No character style]">
                <Content>Item</Content>
              </CharacterStyleRange>
            </ParagraphStyleRange>
          </Cell>
          <Cell Self="ucell10" Name="1:0" RowSpan="1" ColumnSpan="1"
                TextTopInset="2" TextLeftInset="3" TextBottomInset="2" TextRightInset="3"
                AppliedCellStyle="CellStyle/$ID/[None]" FillColor="Color/Black"
                BottomEdgeStrokeColor="Color/Black" BottomEdgeStrokeWeight="1">
            <ParagraphStyleRange AppliedParagraphStyle="ParagraphStyle/$ID/[No paragraph style]">
              <CharacterStyleRange AppliedCharacterStyle="CharacterStyle/$ID/[No character style]">
                <Content>Qty</Content>
              </CharacterStyleRange>
            </ParagraphStyleRange>
          </Cell>
          <Cell Self="ucell01" Name="0:1" RowSpan="1" ColumnSpan="1"
                TextTopInset="2" TextLeftInset="3" TextBottomInset="2" TextRightInset="3"
                AppliedCellStyle="CellStyle/$ID/[None]"
                BottomEdgeStrokeColor="Color/Black" BottomEdgeStrokeWeight="1"
                RightEdgeStrokeColor="Color/Black" RightEdgeStrokeWeight="1">
            <ParagraphStyleRange AppliedParagraphStyle="ParagraphStyle/$ID/[No paragraph style]">
              <CharacterStyleRange AppliedCharacterStyle="CharacterStyle/$ID/[No character style]">
                <Content>Paper</Content>
              </CharacterStyleRange>
            </ParagraphStyleRange>
          </Cell>
          <Cell Self="ucell11" Name="1:1" RowSpan="1" ColumnSpan="1"
                TextTopInset="2" TextLeftInset="3" TextBottomInset="2" TextRightInset="3"
                AppliedCellStyle="CellStyle/$ID/[None]"
                BottomEdgeStrokeColor="Color/Black" BottomEdgeStrokeWeight="1">
            <ParagraphStyleRange AppliedParagraphStyle="ParagraphStyle/$ID/[No paragraph style]">
              <CharacterStyleRange AppliedCharacterStyle="CharacterStyle/$ID/[No character style]">
                <Content>12</Content>
              </CharacterStyleRange>
            </ParagraphStyleRange>
          </Cell>
          <Cell Self="ucell02" Name="0:2" RowSpan="1" ColumnSpan="1"
                TextTopInset="2" TextLeftInset="3" TextBottomInset="2" TextRightInset="3"
                AppliedCellStyle="CellStyle/$ID/[None]"
                RightEdgeStrokeColor="Color/Black" RightEdgeStrokeWeight="1">
            <ParagraphStyleRange AppliedParagraphStyle="ParagraphStyle/$ID/[No paragraph style]">
              <CharacterStyleRange AppliedCharacterStyle="CharacterStyle/$ID/[No character style]">
                <Content>Toner</Content>
              </CharacterStyleRange>
            </ParagraphStyleRange>
          </Cell>
          <Cell Self="ucell12" Name="1:2" RowSpan="1" ColumnSpan="1"
                TextTopInset="2" TextLeftInset="3" TextBottomInset="2" TextRightInset="3"
                AppliedCellStyle="CellStyle/$ID/[None]">
            <ParagraphStyleRange AppliedParagraphStyle="ParagraphStyle/$ID/[No paragraph style]">
              <CharacterStyleRange AppliedCharacterStyle="CharacterStyle/$ID/[No character style]">
                <Content>4</Content>
              </CharacterStyleRange>
            </ParagraphStyleRange>
          </Cell>
        </Table>
      </CharacterStyleRange>
    </ParagraphStyleRange>
  </Story>
</idPkg:Story>

A note on the validator counts: the renderer reports this package as one paragraph and zero runs. That single paragraph is the host paragraph the <Table> rides on — its run is consumed by the table, so it contributes no text run of its own. The six cell paragraphs are laid out inside the table's own grid pipeline and are not added to the story's paragraph and run totals.

Columns size the horizontal tracks

A <Column> is an empty element: it has no content, only a width. Columns appear in left-to-right order, and each one's Name is its zero-based index.

Rows size the vertical tracks

A <Row> is likewise empty — it carries the row's height constraints. Rows appear top-to-bottom, header rows first, then body, then footer, matching the <Table> counts. Each row's Name is its zero-based index across the whole table.

AutoGrow, KeepWithNextRow, and StartRow are stored by IDML on a <Row> but are not read here; content-driven row growth is on by default, and the keep-together / forced-start behaviours are not yet honoured.

Cells hold the content

A <Cell> is where the grid meets the text. Each cell names its position with Name="col:row" (both zero-based), so a cell at column 1 of row 0 is Name="1:0". Cells are serialised in column-major order — every cell in column 0 top-to-bottom, then column 1, and so on — but their Name is what places them, so the serialisation order does not matter to the result.

Position and span

Merged cells

A merged cell is just a cell with a span greater than 1. A cell with ColumnSpan="2" occupies its own column and the one to its right; a cell with RowSpan="3" occupies its row and the two below. The covered grid positions have no <Cell> element of their own — they are absorbed by the spanning cell. This is why the number of <Cell> elements is usually fewer than rows × columns: every merge removes the cells it swallows.

When a row-spanning cell needs more height than its rows provide, the renderer adds the shortfall to the last row of the span; the earlier rows keep their declared heights.

Insets and the cell's text

A cell's content is ordinary text: one or more <ParagraphStyleRange> children, exactly as in the body of a story. The cell's four insets pad that text in from the cell edges.

AppliedCellStyle resolution is partial: the renderer reads the resolved cell style's fill colour and per-edge strokes as fallbacks, but a cell style's own insets, starting paragraph style, and diagonals are not yet read — so cell padding comes from the TextInset attributes on the cell, not from its style. The detail of which style attributes are read is on table and cell styles.

Fill and per-edge strokes

A cell can paint its own background and its own four edge strokes. InDesign serialises an explicit stroke on every cell edge when a table-style divider applies, even when the cell's AppliedCellStyle is [None] — so honouring these per-cell edges is what makes ordinary gridlines appear. An inline value on the cell wins over whatever its cell style would contribute.

Diagonal lines

A cell can draw one or both diagonal lines across itself. The parser reads InDesign's diagonal attributes; the renderer emits a stroke for each diagonal that is drawn.

VerticalJustification (TopAlign, CenterAlign, BottomAlign, JustifyAlign) and RotationAngle are stored on a <Cell> but are not read here — cell content sits at the top of the cell and is not rotated.

Frequently asked questions

How does a <Cell> know which grid position it occupies? Each cell names its position with Name="col:row", both zero-based — so a cell at column 1 of row 0 is Name="1:0". Cells are serialised in column-major order, but the Name is what places them, so the document order does not affect the result.

How are merged cells represented? A merged cell is a cell with a RowSpan or ColumnSpan greater than 1. The grid positions it covers have no <Cell> element of their own — they are absorbed by the spanning cell — which is why a table usually has fewer <Cell> elements than rows × columns.

Where does a cell's text padding come from? From the four TextInset attributes (TextTopInset, TextLeftInset, TextBottomInset, TextRightInset) read directly off the <Cell>, defaulting to 0. A cell style's own insets are not yet read, so padding comes from the cell, not its AppliedCellStyle.

Why does the validator report the table example as one paragraph and zero runs? The single paragraph is the host paragraph the <Table> rides on; its run is consumed by the table, so it contributes no text run. The cell paragraphs are laid out inside the table's own grid pipeline and are not added to the story's paragraph and run totals.