Insert Table is grayed out

Question

In my DW CS3 insert tables is grayed out also in the Common
tab area it's grayed out?
[email protected]

Answer 1

Now - whatever you do, DO NOT GO BACK to layout mode. It's
the source of a
high percentage of all the posts here (in one way or
another).
In my opinion, there are three serious problems with Layout
Mode -
1. Perhaps most importantly, it sits between you and *real*
HTML tables,
and fools you into believing that concepts like "layout cell"
and
"autostretch" really mean something. They do not. As long as
you use
Layout Mode, you'll never learn one of the most important
things for new web
developers - how to build solid and reliable tables.
2. Actually, #1 wouldn't be *so* bad, except that the code
that is written
by Layout Mode is really poor code. For example, a layout
table contains
MANY empty rows of cells. This can contribute to a table's
instability.
In addition, if your initial positioning of the table's cells
is a bit
complex,
Layout Mode will throw in col- and rowspans aplenty as it
merges and splits
cells willy-nillly to achieve the pixel-perfect layout you
have specified.
Again,
this is an extremely poor method for building stable tables,
because it
allows
changes in one tiny cell's shape (i.e, dimensions) to ripple
through the
rest
of the table, usually with unexpected and sometimes
disastrous consequences.
This is one of the primary reasons for the final result's
fragility - read
this -
http://apptools.com/rants/spans.php
3. The UI for Layout Mode is beyond confusing - many options
that you might
want to use are inaccessible, e.g., inserting another table,
or layer onto
the page.
I can understand the new user's desire to use this tool to
make their life
easier,
but the cost is just too heavy in my opinion.
To make good tables, keep it simple. Put a table on the page,
and begin to
load your content. If you would want a different table
layout, instead of
merging or splitting cells, consider stacking tables or
nesting simple
tables instead, respectively.
And above all, do not try to build the whole page with a
single table!
Luckily, Adobe understands the problems created for the
unsuspecting user
who falls into this trap, and has elected to remove this
feature altogether
from the next version of DW. The time is right for you to
begin working
with tables properly!
To read more about this approach, visit the DW FAQ link in my
sig, and run
through the table tutorials.
Murray --- ICQ 71997575
Adobe Community Expert
(If you *MUST* email me, don't LAUGH when you do so!)
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"James Bechdel" <[email protected]> wrote in
message
news:[email protected]...
> Thank you, that fixed it.