Tables: Fit Content to Frame

Question

(InDesign CS2)
Since "fit frame to content" is available when you select a frame that contains a table, but "fit content to frame" is not...I'm assuming it's not possible to do that.
I understand that a table can lie well within or outside of its frame, and that can be a nice thing. However, what if I want to make sure the boundaries of the actual table, left to right, take up an EXACT width? Seems like making the frame the exact width I need and then having "fit content to frame" available is what I need.
Am I missing something? Does anyone have a good workaround?

Answer 1

Lisa,
This script will do the job (although the interface is a bit primitive. Just type a number in the units you're using for the horizontal ruler. It displays the "before width" and you can then type the number you want instead. It distributes the extra or the deficit across the existing columns of the table.
//DESCRIPTION: Set Width of Table
// by Dave Saunders
if ((app.documents.length == 0) || (app.selection.length == 0)) { beep() }
aDoc = app.activeDocument;
aSel = app.selection[0];
aTable = findTable(aSel);
tWidth = prompt("Table width", String(aTable.width));
if ((tWidth == null) || (tWidth == "")) { exit() }
n = aTable.columnCount;
w = aTable.width;
for (j = n-1; j >= 0; j--) {
  aTable.columns[j].width = aTable.columns[j].width * (tWidth)/w;
function findTable(obj) {
  if (obj.constructor.name == "Table") { return obj }
  while (obj.constructor.name != "Table") {
    obj = obj.parent;
    if (obj.constructor.name == "Application") {
      errorExit("Can't locate table");
  return obj;
function errorExit(message) {
  if (arguments.length > 0) {
    if (app.version != 3) { beep() } // CS2 includes beep() function.
    alert(message);
  exit(); // CS exits with a beep; CS2 exits silently.
To use the script, copy and paste to ExtendScript Toolkit and save with an appropriate name in the form YourName.jsx in the Scripts folder of the Presets folder of your InDesign CS2 folder (you could put it in a subfolder if you wish). Then to run the script, set-up the appropriate initial conditions (click with the text tool in the table) and double-click the script's name in the Scripts palette.
Dave