Remove specific column from multiple tables

Question

Is there a way to add code in the beginning of a document in latex to ignore the second column for multiple tables?

Answer 1

Using the array package one can create a new column type which will void all the data for one column. You will still have to go through all your tabulars and change the column definitions, but you can leave the data intact.

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{array}

\newsavebox{\bitbucket}

\newcolumntype{V}{>{\hspace{-2\tabcolsep}\savebox{\bitbucket}\bgroup}{c}<{\egroup}}

\begin{document}
\noindent\fbox{\begin{tabular}{ccc}
test & column & data\\
first & second & third
\end{tabular}}

\noindent\fbox{\begin{tabular}{cVc}
test & column & data\\
first & second & third
\end{tabular}}
\end{document}