Graphics, Figures & Tables ⇒ Vertically centering text in a tabularx (again!)

[Cham]

I'm having troubles (again!?) with vertically centering items in a table, as shown in this MWE below:

Code: Select all

\documentclass[11pt,letterpaper,twoside]{article}
\usepackage{microtype}
\usepackage[total={6in,10in},left=1.5in,top=0.5in,includehead,includefoot]{geometry}
\usepackage{hhline}
\usepackage{tabularx}

\begin{document}

\begin{center}
	\small
	\renewcommand{\arraystretch}{1.75}
	\renewcommand{\tabularxcolumn}[1]{>{\raggedright\arraybackslash}m{#1}}
	\begin{tabularx}{\textwidth}{|>{\centering}p{1.5cm}|>{\raggedright\arraybackslash}X|>{\centering\arraybackslash}p{4.5cm}|}
	\hline
	\multicolumn{1}{|c|}{\normalsize\textsf{Chapter}}
	& \multicolumn{1}{c|}{\normalsize\textsf{Content}}
	& \multicolumn{1}{c|}{\normalsize\textsf{Time}}
	\\ \hhline{===}
	1
	& \textbf{Mathematical notions}
	& 3 weeks or so
	\\ \hline
	2
	& \textbf{Something to waste your time}
	& 8 weeks
	\\ \hline
	\end{tabularx}
\end{center}

\end{document}

While this code is using "p" for the first and third columns, and "m" for the second column, the text isn't vertically well centered in the second column. Why? What is happening here? What's wrong with my code?

Here's a preview of what this super awesome code ( ) is doing:

vertical.jpg (17.65 KiB) Viewed 19426 times

[Johannes_B]

This is what you are asking for. A m columns aligns the middle of its contents with the baseline of the other columns.

Code: Select all

\documentclass[11pt,letterpaper,twoside]{article}
\usepackage{microtype}
\usepackage[total={6in,10in},left=1.5in,top=0.5in,includehead,includefoot]{geometry}
\usepackage{hhline}
\usepackage{tabularx}

\begin{document}

\begin{center}
\small
\renewcommand{\arraystretch}{1.75}
	\renewcommand{\tabularxcolumn}[1]{m{#1}}
	\begin{tabularx}{.4\textwidth}{|>{\raggedleft}p{1.5cm}@{}|@{}X}
\hline
1 & \textbf{Mathematical notions}\\ \hline
2 &{Something to waste your time and some more text just to get to the next line}\\
\end{tabularx}
\end{center}

\end{document}

[Cham]

Johannes,

your code above doesn't work. Even in overleaf, the table is all messed.

[Johannes_B]

No, it isn't messed at all. It is supposed to look like that. It demonstrates more clearly, that LaTeX does the correct centering of the content.

[Cham]

No, it's all messed up! Here's what it does, and it's horrible :

garbled.jpg (11.91 KiB) Viewed 19403 times

I get the same in Overleaf.

Please, could you stick with the original code, and just show the appropriate modifications?

[Johannes_B]

The image shows, the text is vertically centered.

[Johannes_B]

This is what you are asking for. A m columns aligns the middle of its contents with the baseline of the other columns.

That actually was wrong as i just now noticed. It is your arraystretch that messes stuff up

Code: Select all

\documentclass[11pt,letterpaper,twoside]{article}
\usepackage{microtype}
\usepackage[total={6in,10in},left=1.5in,top=0.5in,includehead,includefoot]{geometry}
\usepackage{hhline}
\usepackage{tabularx}

\begin{document}

\begin{center}
\small
\renewcommand{\arraystretch}{3.75}
	\renewcommand{\tabularxcolumn}[1]{m{#1}}
	\begin{tabularx}{.4\textwidth}{|>{\raggedleft}p{1.5cm}@{}|@{}X}
\hline
1 & \textbf{athematical notions}\\ \hline
2 &{Something to waste your time and some more text just to get to the next line}\\
\end{tabularx}
\end{center}

\end{document}

Google gives me https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions ... raystretch

[Cham]

It is worst. This table is horrible. Please, use the original code. What to do to center (vertically) everything in their cell, without changing the stretch ?

[Johannes_B]

Of course it is horrible, it is to show off the reason.
Have you tried the solutions in the link i gave you?

I don't have a lot of time today and don't want to waste it on your tables. As far as I am concerned, they will just as ugly if that spacing is fixed. I really don't like how they look.

[Stefan Kottwitz]

Text should be aligned at base lines. If one just aligns vertically, the base lines are not at the same height, that looks strange.

Today the typographic taste is usually, that no vertical lines are used (reading flow from left to right without blocking lines) and no double lines; just few horizontal lines (top, bottom). Putting everything in cells with borders is rarely the case in good books but in printed excel tables when the full grid is printed, in cheap productions. How are tables in professional books in your field of work? Perhaps compare?

Stefan