How to merge columns in a table?

Question

I have this table, but wanted to format the first row. I like to match the two columns of first row, and last two columns of the same first row. Any suggestion on how to do that?

\begin{table}[!h] 
\caption{Comparison of percentages.}
\begin{tabular}{lclclclclc}
\hline
\hline 
Mode &  Var  &  Cum\\
\hline
{}       & EF   & CHF    & EF2   & CHF2\\
1   &  17.5 & 19.1   & 17.5  & 19.1\\
2   &  11.8 & 12.7   & 29.3  &  31.9\\
3   &  6.6  &  5.6         & 35.9    &  37.4\\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{table}

Have a look at LaTeX table capabilities, there are examples with code, output and explanation. — Stefan Kottwitz, Jul 12 '11 at 11:33

score 189 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 27 '21 at 07:11

189

This can be done using \multicolumn:

\multicolumn{<no of columns>}{<column alignment>}{<content>}

As an example, with some improvements using booktabs:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{array}
\usepackage{booktabs}
\setlength{\heavyrulewidth}{1.5pt}
\setlength{\abovetopsep}{4pt}
\begin{document}
\begin{table}[!htbp]
\centering
\caption{Comparison of percentages.}
\begin{tabular}{*5c}
\toprule
Mode &  \multicolumn{2}{c}{Var} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{Cum}\\
\midrule
{}   & EF   & CHF    & EF2   & CHF2\\
1   &  17.5 & 19.1   & 17.5  & 19.1\\
2   &  11.8 & 12.7   & 29.3  & 31.9\\
3   &  6.6  &  5.6   & 35.9  & 37.4\\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\end{table}
\end{document}

table with merged cells

edited Jan 27 '21 at 07:11

tschuy

3

answered Jul 12 '11 at 11:45

Stefan Kottwitz

231,401

@ Stefan Kottwitz: Thank you very much! This is amazing! Is it possible to shift the Mode back to first column and Var on top of 2nd/3rd columns? – BrettHarry Jul 12 '11 at 11:58
1

@BrettHarry: no problem, just apply \multicolumn to Var instead, I modified the example. – Stefan Kottwitz Jul 12 '11 at 12:32
1

@BrettHarry Mori's paper and booktabs documentation can help you design good tables. – pmav99 Jul 12 '11 at 16:07
Is it also possible to add a linebreak to a \multicolumn? – white_gecko Feb 14 '18 at 16:13
If you have vertical lines in your table, you need to use \multicolumn{2}{c|}{text} (not that it's c| instead of just c) (Source). – Donald Duck May 09 '23 at 09:00

score 47 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 12 '11 at 11:08

47

\multicolumn{<no of columns>}{<column type>}{<stuff>}

there are a lot of examples if you search for this topic

answered Jul 12 '11 at 11:08

5

I wish this answer was merged into the accepted one as a small prefix – AK_is_curious May 24 '18 at 14:10
merging accomplished – Teepeemm Sep 03 '21 at 01:05

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 03 '21 at 00:57

An alternative solution with tabularray package:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{caption}
\usepackage{tabularray}
\UseTblrLibrary{booktabs}
\setlength{\heavyrulewidth}{1.5pt}
\begin{document}
\begin{table}[!htbp]
\centering
\caption{Comparison of percentages.}
\begin{tblr}{
  colspec = {crrrr},
  cell{1}{2,4} = {c=2}{c}, % multicolumn (column number=2, center alignment)
}
\hline[2pt]
  Mode &   Var &      &  Cum &      \
\hline[1pt]
       &    EF &  CHF &  EF2 & CHF2 \
\cline{2-5}
    1  &  17.5 & 19.1 & 17.5 & 19.1 \
    2  &  11.8 & 12.7 & 29.3 & 31.9 \
    3  &   6.6 &  5.6 & 35.9 & 37.4 \
\hline[2pt]
\end{tblr}
\end{table}
\begin{table}[!htbp]
\centering
\caption{Comparison of percentages.}
\begin{booktabs}{
  colspec = {crrrr},
  cell{1}{2,4} = {c=2}{c}, % multicolumn (column number=2, center alignment)
}
\toprule
  Mode &   Var &      &  Cum &      \
\midrule
       &    EF &  CHF &  EF2 & CHF2 \
\cmidrule[lr]{2-3}\cmidrule[lr]{4-5}
    1  &  17.5 & 19.1 & 17.5 & 19.1 \
    2  &  11.8 & 12.7 & 29.3 & 31.9 \
    3  &   6.6 &  5.6 & 35.9 & 37.4 \
\bottomrule
\end{booktabs}
\end{table}
\end{document}

How to merge columns in a table?

3 Answers3

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