--- description: "Writing Markdown tables in Jotaid: rendered in place in the editor, back to source when the cursor enters, and openable full width." --- # Insert Tables ## Syntax Pipes separate the columns; the second line is the separator row: ```markdown | Option | Cost | Risk | |--------|------|--------| | A | Low | Medium | | B | High | Low | ``` Colons in the separator row set alignment: `:---` left, `:---:` centre, `---:` right. The columns need not line up in the source — widths are computed when it renders. ## Two Appearances A table is one of the few blocks that renders **in place** in the editor, and it has two states. Switching between them is automatic: | State | When | What you see | |-------|------|--------------| | **Rendered** | The cursor is elsewhere | A drawn table | | **Source** | The cursor enters the table's range | The raw `\|` rows, directly editable | So it is a table while you read and source while you edit, with no mode to toggle. Move the cursor away and it is a table again. > **Table too wide?** > > Click a rendered table and Jotaid opens it in a panel that scrolls horizontally, so a wide table need not squeeze into the editor's width. That panel is read-only — edits still happen in the body. In the **preview** (⌃⇧P) tables render fully in the theme's styling, scrolling horizontally when they overflow. ## When Not to Use a Table Tables are for **the same attributes across the same kind of thing** — options against cost, models against price. If you find yourself putting a paragraph of argument in a cell, subheadings and body text will serve better; if you are using a table to order items, a [list](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/insert-lists) is lighter. ## Next Steps - [Insert Math](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/insert-math) — Another block that renders in the editor - [Insert Code](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/insert-code) — Fenced blocks and Mermaid diagrams