Format Content by Column

A column style operator is applied to a column specifier and assigned to the cols attribute.

Column styles and their operators

You can style all of the content in a column by adding a style operator to a column’s specifier.

Style Operator Description

AsciiDoc

a

Supports block elements (lists, delimited blocks, and block macros). This style effectively creates a nested, standalone AsciiDoc document. The parent document’s implicit attributes, such as doctitle, are shadowed and custom attributes are inherited.

Default

d

All of the markup that is permitted in a paragraph (i.e., inline formatting, inline macros) is supported.

Emphasis

e

Text is italicized.

Header

h

Applies the header semantics and styles to the text and cell borders.

Literal

l

Content is treated as if it were inside a literal block.

Monospace

m

Text is rendered using a monospace font.

Strong

s

Text is bold.

When a style operator isn’t explicitly applied to a column specifier, the d style is assigned automatically and the column is processed as paragraph text.

Apply a style operator to a column

A style operator is always placed in the last position on a column’s specifier or multiplier.

  • [cols=">e,.^3s"] A style operator is placed directly after any other operators and the column width in the column’s specifier.

  • [cols="h,e"] When a column width isn’t specified, the style operator can represent both the column and the column’s content style.

  • [cols="3*.>m"] When a multiplier is present, the style operator is placed after any horizontal and vertical alignment operators.

Let’s apply a different style to each column in Example 1.

Example 1. Add a style operator to each column
[cols="h,m,s,e"]
|===
|Column 1 |Column 2 |Column 3 |Column 4

|This column's content and borders are rendered using the table header (`h`) styles.
|This column's content is rendered using a monospace font (m).
|This column's content is bold (`s`).
|This column's content is italicized (`e`).

|This column's content and borders are rendered using the table header (`h`) styles.
|This column's content is rendered using a monospace font (m).
|This column's content is bold (`s`).
|This column's content is italicized (`e`).
|===

The table from Example 1 is displayed below. Note that the style applied to each column doesn’t affect the header row or override any inline formatting.

Result of Example 1
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4

This column’s content and borders are rendered using the table header (h) styles.

This column’s content is rendered using a monospace font (m).

This column’s content is bold (s).

This column’s content is italicized (e).

This column’s content and borders are rendered using the table header (h) styles.

This column’s content is rendered using a monospace font (m).

This column’s content is bold (s).

This column’s content is italicized (e).

Additionally, if a cell specifier contains a style operator, that style will override a column’s style operator.

Use AsciiDoc block elements in a column

To use AsciiDoc block elements, such as delimited source blocks and lists, in a column, place the lowercase letter a on the column specifier.

Example 2. Apply the AsciiDoc block style operator to the first column
[cols="2a,2"]
|===
|Column with the `a` style operator applied to its specifier |Column using the default style

|
* List item 1
* List item 2
* List item 3
|
* List item 1
* List item 2
* List item 3

|
[source,python]
----
import os
print "%s" %(os.uname())
----
|
[source,python]
----
import os
print ("%s" %(os.uname()))
----
|===

The AsciiDoc block style effectively creates a nested, standalone AsciiDoc document in each cell in the column. The parent document’s implicit attributes, such as doctitle, are shadowed and custom attributes are inherited.

Result of Example 2
Column with the a style operator applied to its specifier Column using the default style

  • List item 1

  • List item 2

  • List item 3

* List item 1 * List item 2 * List item 3

 
import os
print "%s" %(os.uname())

[source,python] ---- import os print ("%s" %(os.uname())) ----

You can also apply the AsciiDoc block style operator to individual cells.