Decision Guidance ⇒ auto align tidy codes

[casperyc]

suppose i input

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Year&Premium&Expenses&Acc.of $P_t-e_t$&Death Cost& \multicolumn{1}{c}{Survival Cost} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{In force expected net $CF$}\\[1.2ex]
$t$&$P_t$&$e_t$&$(P_t-e_t)(10.8)$&$10,000q_{62+t-1}$& \multicolumn{1}{c}{$p_{62+t-1}S_t$} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{$(CF)_t$}\\[1.2ex]
1&3,091,79&92.75&3238.96&101.12&0.00&3137.84\\
2&3,091,79&92.75&3238.96&113.44&0.00&3125.52\\
3&3,091,79&92.75&3238.96&127.16&9872.84&-6761.04

is there any editor would auto matically "tidy" it a bit to

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  {Year} & {Premium} & {Acc.~of $P_t-e_t$} & {Death Cost}        & {Survival Cost}   & {In force expected net $CF$} \\
  {$t$}  & {$P_t$}   & {$(P_t-e_t)(10.8)$} & {$10000q_{62+t-1}$} & {$p_{62+t-1}S_t$} & {$(CF)_t$}                   \\
  \midrule
  1      & 309179    & 3238.96             & 101.12              & 0.00              &  3137.84 \\
  2      & 309179    & 3238.96             & 113.44              & 0.00              &  3125.52 \\
  3      & 309179    & 3238.96             & 127.16              & 9872.84           & -6761.04 \\

i.e. aligne the ‘&' symbol
every time if i have to do manually
it's a pain

Thanks

[phi]

With Emacs and AucTeX, you can type

Code: Select all

M-x align RET

to get

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Year & Premium  & Expenses & Acc.of $P_t-e_t$  & Death Cost         & \multicolumn{1}{c}{Survival Cost}   & \multicolumn{1}{c}{In force expected net $CF$} \\[1.2ex]
$t$  & $P_t$    & $e_t$    & $(P_t-e_t)(10.8)$ & $10,000q_{62+t-1}$ & \multicolumn{1}{c}{$p_{62+t-1}S_t$} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{$(CF)_t$}                   \\[1.2ex]
1    & 3,091,79 & 92.75    & 3238.96           & 101.12             & 0.00                                & 3137.84                                        \\
2    & 3,091,79 & 92.75    & 3238.96           & 113.44             & 0.00                                & 3125.52                                        \\
3    & 3,091,79 & 92.75    & 3238.96           & 127.16             & 9872.84                             & -6761.04

[casperyc]

Hi there,

I am a windows user. I have just installed those two applications.
and I have no idea how to 'run'

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M-x align RET

could you explain a bit about that if you are a windows user as well?

Thanks.

[php1ic]

I use emacs on linux so am assuming it is the same/similar to windows.

To do what phi suggested, highlight the contents of the table then press ALT+x (M-x means press x while holding the meta key, which is often ALT).

You will notice that the cursor has moved to the small bar at the bottom of the emacs window (the minibuffer) where M-x has also been written. If you now type "align" then press enter, the table will become aligned as required.

emacs has quite a steep learning curve to get the basics, but once you know them it is a very powerful tool. It even has a way of inserting tables into latex (almost) graphically. Google has all you will need, but this link shows you the basics of how to create a basic table.

http://xahlee.org/emacs/emacs_table.html