Verifying and fixing header cells in tables (Simplified Editor)

In addition to making sure your tables are formatted correctly (refer to the other “table” articles, as needed), you’ll need to make sure that your column header and row header cells are going to be marked correctly. 

This, of course, all takes place within the Simplified Editor so the steps below all assume you’ve logged in and started a remediation project. 

Note: When you are in the "Clarify Page Elements" step, if a table has been detected but, for some reason headers were not assigned, CommonLook PDF will indicate, in the warnings on the left side of the interface, that there are tables without headers and it will ask you to check the tables. 

Verifying table header cells 

Select the Table container and then, in the toolbar, hit the “Table” button.  This will open the “child toolbar” and will also show the row and column lines in your table as well as the header cells, indicated by “TH,” if they have been established. 

Screenshot showing table headers marked: 

Assigning table headers

If, when you open the Table’s “child toolbar,” you don’t see headers (TH) marked, then you’ll need to assign column and/or row headers to your table.

The screenshot below shows a table where the headers have not been marked. 

Pro Tip:  If you need to assign row and column headers, do the row headers first, and then the column headers! 

To assign row headers: 

1. Select the Table container and, in the toolbar, click the “Table” button.
   
2. In the first cell, at the top left corner of the table, in the page view, click and hold the mouse button and then drag to select all of the cells in that column.
3. Because this is a column in the table, containing what should be header cells, in the “child toolbar,” choose “Header Column.”
4.  When your headers are marked, you’ll find the “TH” at the bottom of the column, in the page view of the table.
   

Note:  If you have more than one column of row headers in your table, you can select multiple columns at the same time, to mark them as TH. 

Important Note/ Pro Tip:  When marking headers, you need to select the entire column (or row).  So, if you have row headers in the first column of your table, but the cell at the top should be a column header, mark that column as row headers first and then follow the steps in the next section to mark your column headers.  When you do things in this order (row headers then column headers), the cell at the top of the first column will become a column header for the cells below it.  However, if you do this in reverse order (assigning the column headers and then the row headers), the cell at the top left corner will be marked as a row header for the cells to the right of it! 

To assign column headers: 

1. Select the Table container and, in the toolbar, click the “Table” button.
   
2. In the first cell, at the top left corner of the table, in the page view, click and hold the mouse button and then drag to select all of the cells in the top row.
   
3. Because this is a row in the table, containing what should be header cells, in the “child toolbar,” choose “Header Row.”
   
4. When your header row is marked, you’ll find the “TH” on the right-hand side of the table.
   

Note:  If you have more than one row of column headers in your table, you can select multiple rows at the same time, to mark them as TH.  

Clear table headers 

If, for some reason, the header columns and rows are not marked correctly, in the Table “child toolbar,” use the “Clear Headers” button to remove the TH assignments that are there and then follow the steps in the preceding sections, as needed, to assign headers. 

Didn't find what you're looking for? Navigate to our "Tables" section for more related articles that may help!