From spreadsheets to LaTeX tables

Definition of the target

You've a table with some columns and rows (in the example: four columns and six rows) in a spreadsheet.
You need to transpose the table in a LaTeX document.
Yes, I know! You could use the features of an IDE to add speedly everything you need.
But considering that we are inside a worksheet, why not use the column management functions of the worksheet itself? To reach the target directly from the spreadsheet, you can proceed in three steps.

  1. The first step is entirely inside the spreadsheet.
  2. The second one consist of the transfer of the prepared data to the LaTeX document.
  3. The third is the completion of the code in LaTeX.

    First Step: data preparation

Here is the starting point:

Starting Point

Using the column insertion functions of each spreadsheet, you have to insert a column of ampersands (&) between each column of data:

image

image

A column of double backslashes (\\) has to be added to the right of the last data column:

image

This is the coded version of the data prepared in the worksheet:


YEAR    &   DATA1   &   DATA2   &   DATA3   \\
2012    &   12345   &   54321   &   54321   \\
2013    &   23456   &   65432   &   65432   \\
2014    &   34567   &   76543   &   76543   \\
2015    &   45678   &   87654   &   87654   \\
2016    &   56789   &   98765   &   98765   \\
2017    &   67890   &   87654   &   87654   \\

End of first step. Now you need to bring the entire worksheet inside LaTeX.

Second Step: data transport

When the data preparation is finished, you can simply copy and paste it from the spreadsheet to the LaTeX document.

You can load data without paying attention to columns: the important thing is that data includes the reference characters, i.e. ampersand and backslash:


  YEAR    & DATA1   &   DATA2   &   DATA3   \\
  2012  &   12345       &   54321   &   54321   \\
2013    &   23456   &   65432   &     65432 \\
  2014  &   34567   &   76543     & 76543     \\
  2015  &   45678   &   87654   &   87654   \\
2016    &   56789   &       98765   &   98765     \\
  2017  &     67890 &   87654   &   87654   \\

All spacing recalculation and alignment work is carried out by the automatic layout algorithms of LaTeX.

Third Step: completing the code

All you have to do is complete the code with the elements required for the source processing.

Then you can move the column headers under the toprule; adding e midrule; adding a caption and a label and giving the formatting instructions (in the example the centering and the cccc sequence of characters. 


\begin{table}[hbt]
    \caption{Test Table}
    \centering
    \begin{tabular}{cccc}
    \toprule
    YEAR  & DATA1 & DATA2   & DATA3 \
    \midrule
  YEAR    & DATA1   &   DATA2   &   DATA3   \
  2012  &   12345       &   54321   &   54321   \
2013    &   23456   &   65432   &     65432 \
  2014  &   34567   &   76543     & 76543     \
  2015  &   45678   &   87654   &   87654   \
2016    &   56789   &       98765   &   98765     \
  2017  &     67890 &   87654   &   87654   \
\bottomrule\\
\end{tabular}
\label{tab:table}
\end{table}

The amazing result!

Now launch the compilation and marvel at the result!

A brief comment: focus on content

Almost everything in LaTeX is planned to be as efficient as possible.
The management of the tables is no exception.
I mean: in LaTeX you don't have to measure the spaces in the table data because the system itself takes care of it for you.
You don't have to worry about aligning the data: the program guarantees the best possible alignment.
This way you can focus on the content without wasting time adjusting the table.
You just have to put some specific characters between the data, in a simple frame, and the program will do the job for you.
The specific characters for the tables are the ampersand and the backslash.

Thank you for your attention.

Originally published at my Tumblr blog

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vim: searching for text containing a slash or a question mark

Vim: searching for text containing a slash or a question mark Vim: the search command To activate a text search in Vim, press one of the following trigger keys in your keyboard: the slash "/" key (do not confuse with the back-slash "\" key) the question mark key. By pressing the slash "/" key will activate a forward search. By pressing the question mark "/" key will activate a backward search. To move the cursor to the results in your document, press the "n" key (mnemonic for “ next ”). To invert the direction of the cursor, press the "N" key, (“upper n”) . What about if you need to search for a slash or a question mark , i.e. the same trigger characters , in your document? You can prepend the Escape character to the trigger key. The Escape character The Escape character is the back-slash key: "\" . Just an example: if you need to forward search (then with / trigger k...
Read more

Vim: Cut, Copy and Paste to and from the system clipboard

Image
Vim: Cut, Copy and Paste to and from the system clipboard Table of Contents 1. Cut, Copy and Paste using the computer keyboard 2. Vim and the clipboard 3. From Vim to the Clipboard 4. From the Clipboard to Vim 5. Some key shortcuts in gVim Figure 1: Vim 1 Cut, Copy and Paste using the computer keyboard Everybody knows how to use the keyboard combinations Ctrl-c , Ctrl-x , and Ctrl-v in Windows and Linux (or Cmd-c , Cmd-x and Cmd-v in macOS) to copy, cut and paste text across applications. Many think that those combinations are universal and work with any application. But Vim and gVim are different, they use another system to exchange information with the rest of the IT world. For example, in Vim under Linux, the key combination Ctrl-v corresponds to the visual block function and does not affect the pasting text. I wrote this article to remind me, as a non-programmer, the key combinations to be used in the Vim world to sha...
Read more