26

EDIT Like some comments below are remarking the table environment doesn't allow tables over more than one page. However the solution works fine

I need to make a table over more than one page. The standard approach seems to be to use the ltablex environment. However, it doesn't work; also I assume that the table environment may also be required for the thesis template I work on (e.g. suppose for the capture). 

\documentclass[11pt]{article}
\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{tabularx}
\usepackage{ltablex} 
\begin{document}

\begin{table}
\caption{Example of an table}
\label{tab:daypack}     
\begin{tabularx}{\linewidth}{@{}cX@{}}  
\toprule
\textbf{Column 1} & \textbf{Column 2} \\[6pt]
\midrule
\endhead
$R$ & 1This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 2As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 3Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 4This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 5As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 6Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 7This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 8As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 9Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 10This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 11As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 12Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 13This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 14As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 15Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 16This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 17As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 18Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 19This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 20As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 21Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 22This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 23As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 24Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 25This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 26As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 27Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 28This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 29As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 30Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 31This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 32As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 33Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 34This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 35As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 36Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 37This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
\bottomrule
\end{tabularx}   
\end{table}    

\end{document}
Gunelle
  • 65
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alex
  • 985
  • 3
    A table environment can never be split across pages. The purpose of ltablex is exactly not using table. – egreg Mar 15 '14 at 23:10
  • @egreg Thank you. However, may it be possible to change the code in order to work over more then one page and to add before a empty table? Otherwise could you at least offer a working code without the table environment because it doesn't work for me? – alex Mar 15 '14 at 23:16

3 Answers3

28

With the correct code, it works fine. No table environment – a long table cannot possibly be a float, and the caption just after begin{tabularx}.

    \documentclass[11pt]{article}
    \usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
    \usepackage{booktabs}
    \usepackage{ltablex}

    \begin{document}

    \label{tab:daypack}
    \begin{tabularx}{\linewidth}{@{}cX@{}}
    \caption{Example of an table}\\
    \toprule
    \textbf{Column 1} & \textbf{Column 2} \\[6pt]
    \midrule
    \endhead

    $R$ & 1This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 2As well as the line before \\[6pt]
    $A$ & 3Also this is an example \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 4This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 5As well as the line before \\[6pt]
    $A$ & 6Also this is an example \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 7This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 8As well as the line before \\[6pt]
    $A$ & 9Also this is an example \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 10This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 11As well as the line before \\[6pt]
    $A$ & 12Also this is an example \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 13This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 14As well as the line before \\[6pt]
    $A$ & 15Also this is an example \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 16This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 17As well as the line before \\[6pt]
    $A$ & 18Also this is an example \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 19This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 20As well as the line before \\[6pt]
    $A$ & 21Also this is an example \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 22This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 23As well as the line before \\[6pt]
    $A$ & 24Also this is an example \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 25This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 26As well as the line before \\[6pt]
    $A$ & 27Also this is an example \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 28This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 29As well as the line before \\[6pt]
    $A$ & 30Also this is an example \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 31This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 32As well as the line before \\[6pt]
    $A$ & 33Also this is an example \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 34This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 35As well as the line before \\[6pt]
    $A$ & 36Also this is an example \\[6pt]
    $R$ & 37This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
    \bottomrule
    \end{tabularx}

    \end{document}

enter image description here

Bernard
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    Thank you! :) the result looks perfect. However, I try and try but in the original document i get ! LaTeX Error: There's no line here to end. Have you any idea why? – alex Mar 16 '14 at 01:13
  • Impossible to say without seeing the code and the .log. Probably you inserted a \\ or a blankline just after the end of an environment. Usually, the .log tells you where this happens. – Bernard Mar 16 '14 at 01:43
  • Thank you very much. Somehow in ltablex seems to create trouble inside my template. Therefore I've chosen the proposal from David Carlisle. However, this solution works in an normal environment and is very elegant! – alex Mar 16 '14 at 02:35
  • How could one force the table to break at an specific line, @Bernard? Thank you. – pceccon Mar 31 '17 at 17:24
  • @Bernard That solution worked automagically – user877329 Aug 06 '17 at 16:23
  • I've defined a new environment using tabularx as follows: \newenvironment{tab}{\tabularx{\textwidth}{cXr}}{\endtabularx \vspace{\baselineskip}}. Without the ltablex the file compiles fine, but with ltablex I get the error message \begin{tab} on input line 42 ended by \end{tabularx}. Any ideas? – Annie Carter Mar 27 '19 at 02:37
  • FWIW, found the solution to my problem: https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/417921/error-with-own-environment-using-ltablex?rq=1 – Annie Carter Jun 14 '19 at 04:13
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    @Bernard How do you get the table to extend to 100% in width? – kexxcream Aug 26 '19 at 14:06
  • 100% of what? It is coded to use the whole line width. – Bernard Aug 26 '19 at 14:12
  • This left aligns the tables in the entire document. Is there a way to center align the tables explicitly? – yamini goel Mar 01 '20 at 10:05
  • What do you mean exactly? The table has total width equal to text width, so it is ipso facto centred. Unless you've modified something in the code? – Bernard Mar 01 '20 at 10:15
  • @kexxcream I needed \keepXColumns before the table to get the extension. – filipos Jul 23 '20 at 22:24
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    @filipos: This is set automatically with the more recent xltabular package (which loads ltablex). – Bernard Jul 23 '20 at 22:58
  • This is a very nice and elegant solution. One issue I got is that the caption is not repeated on every page; it is displayed only on the top. I am using custom rows derived from X, do you think this could be the reason? – mcy Oct 21 '21 at 07:51
  • @mcy: If your table breaks over pages, you have to use xltabular, with the syntax of longtable, i.e. \caption has to be used in the \endfirsthead section, and repeated in the endhead section. Also, I suppose you meant you're using custom columns derived from X? – Bernard Oct 21 '21 at 07:58
  • @Bernard oh, right columns derived from X. That was an incorrect choice of word :). Thank you, I will try xltabular with longtable as you suggested. The example you showed in the answer uses tabularx and repeats caption as well as the header row without xltabular or longtable, though, just for curiosity how/why does it do that? – mcy Oct 21 '21 at 08:54
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    Not with longtable – just xltabular, which incorporates the functionalities of longtable to tabularx. For your question, I don't remember the details, but at the time I posted, the xltabular package did not exist yet, and I used ltablex, which did a similar job, but was a bit more complex to use. Actually, xltabular loads ltablex. – Bernard Oct 21 '21 at 09:15
20

If you must combine tabularx and longtable, I prefer ltxtable to ltablex: 

\documentclass[11pt]{article}
\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{ltxtable} 
\begin{document}



\LTXtable{\textwidth}{t1.tex}


\end{document}

where t1.tex is

\begin{longtable}{@{}cX@{}}  
\toprule
\textbf{Column 1} & \textbf{Column 2} \\[6pt]
\midrule
\endhead
$R$ & 1This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 2As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 3Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 4This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 5As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 6Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 7This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 8As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 9Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 10This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 11As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 12Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 13This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 14As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 15Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 16This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 17As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 18Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 19This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 20As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 21Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 22This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 23As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 24Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 25This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 26As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 27Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 28This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 29As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 30Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 31This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 32As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 33Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 34This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 35As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 36Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 37This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
\bottomrule
\end{longtable}
David Carlisle
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    But ltablex is in Tex Live and MiKTeX. I'm not saying your package isn't superior (I've never used either) but it does require manual installation. – cfr Mar 16 '14 at 00:12
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    @cfr I didn't install it manually, just picked it from texlive default install – David Carlisle Mar 16 '14 at 00:15
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    How odd. I was just going by http://ctan.org/pkg/ltxtable in comparison with http://ctan.org/pkg/ltablex. I didn't check against my own installation (which does include it, as you say). – cfr Mar 16 '14 at 00:18
  • could you please expand on the preference of ltxtable over ltablex? The only difference I see is the first requiring a separate file but I fear I'm missing something such as they behaviour with labels or captions. – carandraug Sep 11 '15 at 13:40
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    @carandraug well partly it's that I wrote that one, but ltablex redefines all tabularx whether or not they are intended to break over a page, which can have some side effects sometimes. – David Carlisle Jan 03 '16 at 19:35
5

Use longtable of the package longtable

\documentclass[11pt]{article}
\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{tabularx}
\usepackage{ltablex} 
\usepackage{longtable}
\begin{document}

\begin{longtable}{cc}  
\caption{Example of an table} \\
\textbf{Column 1} & \textbf{Column 2} \\[6pt]
$R$ & 1This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 2As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 3Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 4This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 5As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 6Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 7This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 8As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 9Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 10This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 11As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 12Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 13This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 14As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 15Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 16This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 17As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 18Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 19This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 20As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 21Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 22This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 23As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 24Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 25This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 26As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 27Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 28This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 29As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 30Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 31This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 32As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 33Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 34This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
$R$ & 35As well as the line before \\[6pt]
$A$ & 36Also this is an example \\[6pt]
$R$ & 37This is an example sentence \\[6pt]
\end{longtable}    

\end{document}
Maarten Dhondt
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  • Thank you very much! This solution is very similar (aside of alignment) to David Carlisle. However it works fine and I rated it positively. Have a nice day! – alex Mar 16 '14 at 02:43
  • We could extend possibilities of the longtable package by loading the tabu package, http://www.ctan.org/pkg/tabu. Then we would use the longtabu environment instead of longtable. – Malipivo Mar 16 '14 at 18:47