acad-tables

name	acad-tables
description	Tables — cell content, formatting, row/column ops, merging, styles, data linking

AutoCAD Tables

Use this skill when creating or modifying Table objects - creating tables, setting cell content (text, blocks, fields), formatting cells, inserting/deleting rows and columns, merging cells, and managing table styles.

Table Creation

Table inherits from BlockReference. Insert it into model/paper space like any other entity.

using Autodesk.AutoCAD.DatabaseServices;
using Autodesk.AutoCAD.Geometry;

Database db = HostApplicationServices.WorkingDatabase;
using (Transaction tr = db.TransactionManager.StartTransaction())
{
    BlockTableRecord btr = (BlockTableRecord)tr.GetObject(
        db.CurrentSpaceId, OpenMode.ForWrite);

    Table table = new Table();
    table.TableStyle = db.Tablestyle;  // current table style
    table.Position = new Point3d(0, 0, 0);

    // Set size first, then dimensions
    table.SetSize(5, 3);  // 5 rows, 3 columns (includes title + header rows)
    table.SetRowHeight(8.0);           // uniform row height
    table.SetColumnWidth(40.0);        // uniform column width

    // Set individual column widths
    table.Columns[0].Width = 20.0;
    table.Columns[1].Width = 50.0;
    table.Columns[2].Width = 30.0;

    // Populate cells (row 0 = title, row 1 = header, rows 2+ = data)
    table.Cells[0, 0].TextString = "My Table Title";
    table.Cells[1, 0].TextString = "Name";
    table.Cells[1, 1].TextString = "Description";
    table.Cells[1, 2].TextString = "Value";
    table.Cells[2, 0].TextString = "Item A";
    table.Cells[2, 1].TextString = "First item";
    table.Cells[2, 2].TextString = "100";

    table.GenerateLayout();

    btr.AppendEntity(table);
    tr.AddNewlyCreatedDBObject(table, true);
    tr.Commit();
}

Cell Content

Access cells via table.Cells[row, column] which returns a Cell object.

Setting text:

table.Cells[2, 0].TextString = "Hello";

// Read text back
string text = table.Cells[2, 0].TextString;

// Get text with specific format option
string formatted = table.Cells[2, 0].GetTextString(FormatOption.ForExpression);

Setting a block reference in a cell:

BlockTable bt = (BlockTable)tr.GetObject(db.BlockTableId, OpenMode.ForRead);
ObjectId blockId = bt["MyBlockName"];

table.Cells[2, 1].BlockTableRecordId = blockId;

// Access via Contents collection for multi-content cells
table.Cells[2, 1].Contents[0].BlockTableRecordId = blockId;
table.Cells[2, 1].Contents[0].IsAutoScale = true;   // auto-fit block to cell
table.Cells[2, 1].Contents[0].Scale = 1.0;           // or set explicit scale
table.Cells[2, 1].Contents[0].Rotation = 0.0;        // rotation in radians

Setting a field in a cell:

Field field = new Field("%<\\AcVar Date \\f \"M/d/yyyy\">%");
ObjectId fieldId = db.AddField(field);
tr.AddNewlyCreatedDBObject(field, true);

table.Cells[2, 2].FieldId = fieldId;
// Or via Contents: table.Cells[2, 2].Contents[0].FieldId = fieldId;

Setting typed values:

table.Cells[2, 0].Value = 42.5;
table.Cells[2, 0].SetValue(42.5, ParseOption.SetDefaultFormat);

// Read value back
object val = table.Cells[2, 0].Value;
object valFmt = table.Cells[2, 0].GetValue(FormatOption.ForExpression);
table.Cells[2, 0].ResetValue();  // clear value

Formulas (via Contents):

table.Cells[4, 2].Contents[0].Formula = "=Sum(C3:C5)";
bool hasFormula = table.Cells[4, 2].Contents[0].HasFormula;

Multiple content items per cell:

CellContentsCollection contents = table.Cells[2, 0].Contents;
int count = contents.Count;

contents.Add();                  // append new content slot
contents.InsertAt(0);            // insert at index
contents.RemoveAt(1);            // remove at index
contents.Move(0, 1);             // reorder
contents.Clear();                // remove all content

// Access individual content
CellContent c = contents[0];
c.TextString = "Text";
c.TextHeight = 2.5;
c.ContentColor = Color.FromColorIndex(ColorMethod.ByAci, 1);  // red

Block attribute values in cells:

string attrVal = table.Cells[2, 1].GetBlockAttributeValue(attDefId);
table.Cells[2, 1].SetBlockAttributeValue(attDefId, "NewValue");
// Or via Contents: table.Cells[2, 1].Contents[0].GetBlockAttributeValue(attDefId);

Cell Formatting

Formatting is accessed through the CellRange base class (which Cell inherits from), so these properties work on both individual cells and ranges.

Alignment:

table.Cells[2, 0].Alignment = CellAlignment.MiddleCenter;

Text height and style:

table.Cells[2, 0].TextHeight = 2.5;
table.Cells[2, 0].TextStyleId = styleId;

// Per-content text height
table.Cells[2, 0].Contents[0].TextHeight = 3.0;
table.Cells[2, 0].Contents[0].TextStyleId = styleId;

Colors:

using Autodesk.AutoCAD.Colors;

// Content (text) color
table.Cells[2, 0].ContentColor = Color.FromColorIndex(ColorMethod.ByAci, 1); // red

// Background color
table.Cells[2, 0].BackgroundColor = Color.FromColorIndex(ColorMethod.ByAci, 5); // blue
table.Cells[2, 0].IsBackgroundColorNone = false; // must be false to show background

Cell margins (via Borders):

CellBorders borders = table.Cells[2, 0].Borders;
borders.Top.Margin = 1.5;
borders.Bottom.Margin = 1.5;
borders.Left.Margin = 2.0;
borders.Right.Margin = 2.0;

Grid lines (borders):

CellBorder topEdge = table.Cells[2, 0].Borders.Top;
topEdge.LineWeight = LineWeight.LineWeight050;
topEdge.Color = Color.FromColorIndex(ColorMethod.ByAci, 7);  // white
topEdge.IsVisible = true;
topEdge.Linetype = linetypeId;
topEdge.LineStyle = GridLineStyle.Single;     // Single or Double
topEdge.DoubleLineSpacing = 2.0;             // for Double line style

// Available borders: Top, Bottom, Left, Right, Horizontal, Vertical

Content rotation:

table.Cells[2, 0].Contents[0].Rotation = Math.PI / 2;  // 90 degrees

Data type and format:

table.Cells[2, 0].DataType = new DataTypeParameter(
    Autodesk.AutoCAD.DatabaseServices.DataType.Double,
    Autodesk.AutoCAD.DatabaseServices.UnitType.Distance);
table.Cells[2, 0].DataFormat = "%lu2%pr2";  // 2 decimal places
table.Cells[2, 0].Contents[0].DataFormat = "%lu2%pr2";

Cell style and state:

table.Cells[2, 0].Style = "_DATA";    // cell style name: "_TITLE", "_HEADER", "_DATA", or custom
table.Cells[2, 0].State = CellStates.None;
table.Cells[2, 0].ContentLayout = CellContentLayout.Flow;
table.Cells[2, 0].IsMergeAllEnabled = true;

Apply formatting to a range:

CellRange range = CellRange.Create(table, 2, 0, 4, 2);  // rows 2-4, cols 0-2
range.Alignment = CellAlignment.MiddleLeft;
range.TextHeight = 2.0;
range.ContentColor = Color.FromColorIndex(ColorMethod.ByAci, 3);
range.BackgroundColor = Color.FromColorIndex(ColorMethod.ByAci, 254);
range.IsBackgroundColorNone = false;

Row and Column Operations

Access counts:

int rowCount = table.Rows.Count;
int colCount = table.Columns.Count;

Insert rows/columns:

table.InsertRows(2, 8.0, 3);      // insert 3 rows at index 2, height 8.0
table.InsertColumns(1, 40.0, 2);   // insert 2 columns at index 1, width 40.0

// Insert and inherit formatting from an existing row/column
table.InsertRowsAndInherit(3, 2, 1);      // insert 1 row at index 3, inherit from row 2
table.InsertColumnsAndInherit(2, 1, 1);   // insert 1 col at index 2, inherit from col 1

Delete rows/columns:

table.DeleteRows(2, 1);       // delete 1 row starting at index 2
table.DeleteColumns(1, 2);    // delete 2 columns starting at index 1

Resize rows/columns:

// Individual row height
table.Rows[2].Height = 12.0;
double minH = table.Rows[2].MinimumHeight;

// Individual column width
table.Columns[1].Width = 60.0;
double minW = table.Columns[1].MinimumWidth;

// Column name
table.Columns[0].Name = "ID";
string name = table.Columns[0].Name;

// Uniform sizing
table.SetRowHeight(8.0);      // all rows same height
table.SetColumnWidth(40.0);   // all columns same width

// Resize entire table
table.SetSize(10, 5);         // resize to 10 rows, 5 columns
table.Height = 200.0;         // overall table height
table.Width = 300.0;          // overall table width

Cell Merging

// Merge a range of cells (topRow, leftCol, bottomRow, rightCol)
CellRange range = CellRange.Create(table, 2, 0, 2, 2);
table.MergeCells(range);

// Unmerge
table.UnmergeCells(range);

// Check if a cell is merged and get its merge range
Cell cell = table.Cells[2, 0];
CellRange mergeRange = cell.GetMergeRange();
bool? isMerged = mergeRange.IsMerged;

Table Styles

Table styles are stored in the TableStyleDictionary. The TableStyle object defines default formatting for title, header, and data rows.

Create a new table style:

using Autodesk.AutoCAD.DatabaseServices;
using Autodesk.AutoCAD.Colors;

Database db = HostApplicationServices.WorkingDatabase;
using (Transaction tr = db.TransactionManager.StartTransaction())
{
    TableStyle style = new TableStyle();
    style.Description = "Custom pipe schedule style";

    // Flow direction
    style.FlowDirection = FlowDirection.TopToBottom;

    // Suppress title/header rows
    style.IsTitleSuppressed = false;
    style.IsHeaderSuppressed = false;

    // Cell margins
    style.HorizontalCellMargin = 1.5;
    style.VerticalCellMargin = 1.5;

    // Text height per row type (RowType: TitleRow=1, HeaderRow=2, DataRow=4)
    style.SetTextHeight(3.5, (int)RowType.TitleRow);
    style.SetTextHeight(2.5, (int)RowType.HeaderRow);
    style.SetTextHeight(2.0, (int)RowType.DataRow);

    // Text style per row type
    style.SetTextStyle(textStyleId, (int)RowType.DataRow);

    // Alignment per row type
    style.SetAlignment(CellAlignment.MiddleCenter, (int)RowType.TitleRow);
    style.SetAlignment(CellAlignment.MiddleCenter, (int)RowType.HeaderRow);
    style.SetAlignment(CellAlignment.MiddleLeft, (int)RowType.DataRow);

    // Colors per row type
    style.SetColor(Color.FromColorIndex(ColorMethod.ByAci, 7), (int)RowType.TitleRow);
    style.SetBackgroundColorNone(true, (int)RowType.DataRow);

    // Grid line weights (GridLineType: OuterGridLines=1, InnerGridLines=2, HorizontalGridLines=4,
    //   VerticalGridLines=8, BottomGridLines=16, All combinations via bitflags)
    style.SetGridLineWeight(LineWeight.LineWeight050,
        (int)GridLineType.OuterGridLines, ()RowType.DataRow);
    style.SetGridColor(Color.FromColorIndex(ColorMethod.ByAci, ),
        ()GridLineType.InnerGridLines, ()RowType.DataRow);
    style.SetGridVisibility(,
        ()GridLineType.OuterGridLines, ()RowType.DataRow);

    
    style.SetMargin(CellMargins.Left, , );
    style.SetMargin(CellMargins.Right, , );
    style.SetMargin(CellMargins.Top, , );
    style.SetMargin(CellMargins.Bottom, , );

    
    ObjectId styleId = style.PostTableStyleToDatabase(db, );
    tr.AddNewlyCreatedDBObject(style, );
    tr.Commit();
}

Apply a table style:

DBDictionary styleDict = (DBDictionary)tr.GetObject(
    db.TableStyleDictionaryId, OpenMode.ForRead);
if (styleDict.Contains("MyTableStyle"))
{
    table.TableStyle = styleDict.GetAt("MyTableStyle");
}

// Read current style name (read-only)
string styleName = table.TableStyleName;

Enums

CellAlignment: TopLeft=1, TopCenter=2, TopRight=3, MiddleLeft=4, MiddleCenter=5, MiddleRight=6, BottomLeft=7, BottomCenter=8, BottomRight=9

FlowDirection: NotSet=0, LeftToRight=1, RightToLeft=2, TopToBottom=3, BottomToTop=4, ByStyle=5

TableBreakOptions (flags): None=0, EnableBreaking=1, RepeatTopLabels=2, RepeatBottomLabels=4, AllowManualPositions=8, AllowManualHeights=16

TableBreakFlowDirection: Right=1, DownOrUp=2, Left=4

GridLineStyle: Single, Double

Gotchas

• Call GenerateLayout() after populating the table and before committing. Without it the table may not render correctly.
• Row 0 is the title row, row 1 is the header row (when not suppressed). Data rows start at index 2 by default. If the title is suppressed, the header is row 0 and data starts at row 1.
• SetSize(rows, cols) replaces the old NumRows/NumColumns setters which are obsolete. Use Rows.Count and Columns.Count to read the current size.
• Use the modern Cells[row, col] API rather than the old method-based API (e.g., SetTextString(row, col, text) is obsolete). The old methods still work but are marked [Obsolete].
• Table inherits from BlockReference, so Position sets the insertion point. The table grows downward from this point when FlowDirection is TopToBottom.
• CellRange properties are nullable (e.g., Alignment is CellAlignment?). When reading a range that spans cells with different values, the property returns null.
• Table must be open ForWrite before modifying cells, rows, columns, or table properties. Open it via tr.GetObject(tableId, OpenMode.ForWrite).
• RecomputeTableBlock(true) forces a visual update if the table appearance is stale after programmatic changes. Usually GenerateLayout() is sufficient.
• SuppressRegenerateTable(true) can improve performance when making many changes in a batch. Call SuppressRegenerateTable(false) when done, then GenerateLayout().
• Block content in cells: set IsAutoScale = true to fit the block to the cell, or set Scale manually. The BlockTableRecordId must reference a valid block definition.
• Table styles use int rowTypes as a bitmask cast from RowType (TitleRow=1, HeaderRow=2, DataRow=4). Combine with bitwise OR for multiple row types.

Related Skills

• acad-fields — field content in table cells
• acad-mtext — MText formatting in cell text
• acad-blocks — block references as cell content
• acad-layers — layer assignment for table entities