nqdy@vax5.cit.cornell.edu (01/25/91)
Hi netters,
I am using LaTeX for making tables. I would like to allign
the numbers in a column so that the decimal points are alligned
rather than the number being left/right/center alligned. This is
especially a problem when the numbers in a column have different number
of digits before and after the decimal point.
sanjeev
nqdy@vax5.cit.cornell.edu
sanjeev@cheme.tn.cornell.edugolding@Neon.Stanford.EDU (Andy Golding) (01/27/91)
nqdy@vax5.cit.cornell.edu writes: > I am using LaTeX for making tables. I would like to allign >the numbers in a column so that the decimal points are alligned >rather than the number being left/right/center alligned. This is not the most elegant solution in the world, but one thing to do is use a `tabular' environment, and include 2 fields for each number. The first field is for the integer portion of the number and is right-aligned, the second field is for the fractional portion of the number and is left-aligned. To avoid having space between the integer and fraction, in your column specification at the top of the environment, say `r@{}l'. Then you specify a number like 17.25 as `17&.25'. Andy
moss@cs.umass.edu (Eliot Moss) (01/28/91)
You can also use two table columns. You have to get rid of any extra
inter-column spaces. Going from my LaTeX documentation, the following works (I
tested it):
\begin{tabular}{r@{}lr@{}l}
1. & 0 & 0. & 0003 \\
0. & 333 & -0. & 0001 \\
\end{tabular}
While this is not quite as convenient as you might like, it's not all that
difficult either .... Eliot
--
J. Eliot B. Moss, Assistant Professor
Department of Computer and Information Science
Lederle Graduate Research Center
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003
(413) 545-4206, 545-1249 (fax); Moss@cs.umass.eduRay.Nickson@comp.vuw.ac.nz (Ray Nickson) (01/31/91)
In article <1991Jan26.221417.24115@Neon.Stanford.EDU> golding@Neon.Stanford.EDU (Andy Golding) writes: nqdy@vax5.cit.cornell.edu writes: > I am using LaTeX for making tables. I would like to allign >the numbers in a column so that the decimal points are alligned >rather than the number being left/right/center alligned. This is not the most elegant solution in the world, but one thing to do is use a `tabular' environment ... (I've run this through LaTeX, but don't have a printer or previewer handy; apologies and free flames if it's wrong). I think this is slightly nicer: \def\dotalign{\catcode`\.=4\begin{tabular}{r@{.}l}} \def\enddotalign{\end{tabular}\catcode`\.=12} This allows me to write: \begin{dotalign} 5.8 \\ 111.222 \\ .5 \\ \end{dotalign} and I think should do align the dots properly. In case you can't tell, it works by temporarily telling TeX that . is an alignment character like &. I often change catcodes temporarily to make my input look nicer; I've been known to make newline active and define it to do what \\ does, so I don't have \\s cluttering up my input.
marcel@cs.caltech.edu (Marcel van der Goot) (01/31/91)
There have been quite some postings concerning alignment of decimal points, with more and more complicated macro sets. (Nothing wrong with that.) However, in the TeXbook Knuth gives a simple solution (well, it's more a "fix") to the problem. Quoting: > This isn't especially pleasing to the eye, but that's what > people do, so you might have to conform to the practice. > [...] > But the author usually prefers to use another, less sophisticated > method, which takes advantage of the fact that the digits 0, 1, ..., 9 > have the same width in most fonts: You can choose a character that's > not used elsewhere in the table, say `?', and change it to an active > character that produces a blank space exactly equal to the width of > a digit. Then it's usually no chore to put such nulls into the table > entries so that each column can be regarded as either centered or > right-justified or left-justified. For example. `??0.2010' and > `297.1???' have the same width, so their decimal points will line up > easily. Here is one way to set up `?' for this purpose: > > \newdimen\digitwidth > \setbox0=\hbox{\rm0} > \dgitwidth=\wd0 > \catcode`?=\active > \def?{\kern\digitwidth} > > The last two definitions should be local to some group, e.g., inside a > \vbox, so that `?' will resume its normal behavior when the table is > finished. This is indeed not very elegant, but simple and reliable. Marcel van der Goot .---------------------------------------------------------------- | Blauw de viooltjes, marcel@vlsi.cs.caltech.edu | Rood zijn de rozen; | Een rijm kan gezet | Met plaksel en dozen. |