# Table

The `Table` element is a `Block` element that provides a grid-based organization. It accepts [TableRow](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/model/tablerow) objects as children. The `TableRow` object contains [TableCell](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/model/tablecell).

* [Inserting a Table](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/model/table#inserting-a-table)
* [Modifying a Table](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/model/table#modifying-a-table)
* [Operating with a Table](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/model/table#operating-with-a-table)

## Inserting a Table

When creating an instance of the `Table` class, pass the document that the table belongs to as a parameter to the constructor. You can add tables as a child of a [BlockContainer](https://docs.telerik.com/devtools/document-processing/api/Telerik.Windows.Documents.Flow.Model.BlockContainerBase.html) element—[Section](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/model/section), [TableCell](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/model/tablecell), [Headers and Footers](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/model/headers-footers)—through the `Blocks` collection.

The code snippet from **Example 1** creates and inserts a `Table` to a `Section`.

**Example 1: Create an empty table and a 10 by 5 table and add them to a section**

```C#
Table emptyTable = new Table(document); // Table object with 0 rows and 0 columns.
section.Blocks.Add(emptyTable);

Table table = new Table(document, 10, 5); // Table object with 10 rows and 5 columns.
section.Blocks.Add(emptyTable);
```

> tip The parent `BlockContainer` element (in this case, the `Section`) must belong to the same document that is passed to the constructor of the `Table`.

You can add a table at a specific index in the `Blocks` collection of a `BlockContainer` by using the `Insert()` method. **Example 2** shows how to add a table at the beginning of a section.

**Example 2: Insert a 10 by 5 table at the beginning of a section block collection**

```C#
Table table1 = new Table(document, 10, 5);
			section.Blocks.Insert(0, table1);
```

You can also use the `AddTable()` method of the `Blocks` collection of a `BlockContainer`. The method creates a new `Table` instance, adds it to the container, and returns it.

**Example 3: Create and add a table with the AddTable method**

```C#
Table table2 = section.Blocks.AddTable();
```

You can also insert a new `Table` in the document with the [RadFlowDocumentEditor](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/editing/radflowdocumenteditor) class.

**Example 4: Insert a 5 by 3 table with RadFlowDocumentEditor**

```C#
RadFlowDocumentEditor editor = new RadFlowDocumentEditor(new RadFlowDocument());
			Table table3 = editor.InsertTable(5, 3);
```

## Modifying a Table

The `Table` element exposes several properties that allow you to customize the layout of the elements placed underneath it. Some of these properties are style properties, and some of the values represent a themable object.

> tip Style properties are properties that can be inherited from a style. For more information about styles, see [Style Properties](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/concepts/style-properties). Themable objects are objects that can be inherited from a theme. For more information about themes, see [Document Themes](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/concepts/document-themes).

* `Properties`: Gets all table properties as a `TableProperties` object. For more information on how to use table properties, see the [Style Properties](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/concepts/style-properties) article.

* `Rows`: Represents the `TableRowCollection` of the `Table`.

* `StyleId`: Represents the ID of the style applied to the `Table` element.

* `Alignment`: Specifies the alignment of the `Table`. *This is a style property.*

* `Borders`: Specifies the borders of the `Table`. *This is a style property.*

* `Shading`: Represents the shading applied to the table. It is a composite object and is read-only. You can obtain the following properties from it:

  * `BackgroundColor`: Specifies the background color for the shading. *This is a style property. The value is a themable object.*
  * `PatternColor`: Specifies the pattern color for the shading. *This is a style property. The value is a themable object.*
  * `Pattern`: Specifies the pattern that is used to lay the pattern color over the background color for the shading. *This is a style property.*

* `GridColumnsCount`: Returns the number of columns in the table grid.

* `GridRowsCount`: Returns the number of rows in the table grid.

* `TableCellSpacing`: Specifies the spacing between adjacent cells and the edges of the table. The value is in device independent pixels (1/96 inch). *This is a style property.*

* `HasCellSpacing`: Indicates whether `TableCellSpacing` is applied in the table.

* `TableCellPadding`: Specifies the default padding of the cells inside the table. *This is a style property.*

* `Indent`: Represents the size of the indent added before the leading edge of the table. The value is in device independent pixels (1/96 inch). *This is a style property.*

* `FlowDirection`: Represents the flow direction of cells inside the table. The default value is `LeftToRight`. This property cannot be derived from a style.

* `PreferredWidth`: Specifies the preferred width of the table. This property cannot be derived from a style.

* `Looks`: Specifies which components of the conditional style to apply, if one exists. This property cannot be derived from a style.

* `LayoutType`: Specifies the algorithm that is used to lay out the contents of this table. The possible values are `FixedWidth` or `AutoFit`. The default is `AutoFit`. This property cannot be derived from a style.

* `Overlap`: Indicates whether this floating table allows other floating tables to overlap its extents. This property cannot be derived from a style.

## Operating with a Table

### Creating a Table with Content

**Example 5** demonstrates how to add a `Table` with 5 rows and 10 columns to a `RadFlowDocument`.

**Example 5: Build a 5-row by 10-column table with styled cells and text content**

```C#
RadFlowDocument document = new RadFlowDocument();

Table table = document.Sections.AddSection().Blocks.AddTable();
document.StyleRepository.AddBuiltInStyle(BuiltInStyleNames.TableGridStyleId);
table.StyleId = BuiltInStyleNames.TableGridStyleId;

ThemableColor cellBackground = new ThemableColor(Colors.Gray);

for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)
{
	TableRow row = table.Rows.AddTableRow();

	for (int j = 0; j < 10; j++)
	{
		TableCell cell = row.Cells.AddTableCell();
		cell.Blocks.AddParagraph().Inlines.AddRun(string.Format("Cell {0}, {1}", i, j));
		cell.Shading.BackgroundColor = cellBackground;
		cell.PreferredWidth = new TableWidthUnit(50);
	}
}
```

## See Also

* [Table API Reference](https://docs.telerik.com/devtools/document-processing/api/Telerik.Windows.Documents.Flow.Model.Table.html)
* [Section](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/model/section)
* [TableRow](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/model/tablerow)
* [TableCell](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/model/tablecell)
* [Style Properties](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/concepts/style-properties)
* [Finding a Table Containing a Specific Bookmark in Word Documents](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/knowledge-base/radwordsprocessing-find-table-by-bookmark)
* [Generating Dynamic DOCX Documents with Tables and CheckBoxes Using RadWordsProcessing](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/knowledge-base/dynamic-docx-document-generation-radwordsprocessing)
* [Creating Headers with Left, Center, and Right Text/Image in Exported PDF Documents Using RadWordsProcessing](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/knowledge-base/customize-headers-pdf-radwordsprocessing)
* [How to Handle Missing Content in Nested Tables While Converting DOCX to PDF Format](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/knowledge-base/handle-missing-content-in-nested-tables-while-converting-docx-to-pdf)