Create a table with two parts with different tabular features

Question

I'm trying to build a table that has two panels with different numbers of columns. For example:

Table 1: An interesting table

           Panel A: Some stuff
First name      Last name       Product
Bubba           Gump            Shrimp
Steve           Jobs            Happiness

            Panel B: Other stuff
School       State
Harvard      MA
Yale         CT
Brown        RI

I would like the 3 columns of Panel A and the 2 columns of Panel B to fill the horizontal space of the table.

I imagined using two different \tabular commands within a \table would work, but it doesn't. I also found the subfigure package, but I think that only lets you stack tables horizontally, not vertically.

Any ideas? Thanks!

The subfigure package lets you stack tables vertically, for example by placing a \ or \par between the \subfigures. — , Aug 23 '11 at 16:15
I wouldn't spread the columns across the entire \textwidth, that looks terrible. Just compare the output of Stefan's solution (not spread) with Werner's's (spread). Using the booktabs package is a good idea though. — doncherry, Aug 23 '11 at 17:35

score 20 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:35

Within a table environment, you can use different tabular environments, of different types and with a different number of columns. Here's an example with sub captions:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{caption}
\usepackage{subcaption}
\usepackage{tabularx}
\begin{document}
\begin{table}
\centering
\caption{An interesting table}
\subcaption*{Panel A: Some stuff}
\begin{tabular}{lcr}
First name & Last name  & Product \\
Bubba & Gump & Shrimp \\
Steve & Jobs & Happiness
\end{tabular}
\bigskip
\subcaption*{Panel B: Other stuff}
\begin{tabular}{ll}
School & State \\
Harvard & MA \\
Yale & CT \\
Brown & RI
\end{tabular}
\end{table}
\end{document}

sub tables example

Here I used the subcaption packages. A good alternative is the subfig package. However, the subfigure package is obsolete.

score 4 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 10 '20 at 12:32

With liberal use of the \multicolumn{.}{.}{...} command, you can get away with spreading the table across the entire \linewidth:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{array,booktabs}
\begin{document}
\begin{table}[ht]
  \centering
  \caption{An interesting table}
  \label{tbl:interesting}
\begin{tabular}{*{6}{p{.16\linewidth}}}
    \multicolumn{6}{c}{Panel A: Some stuff} \
    \toprule
    \multicolumn{2}{p{.33\linewidth}}{First name} & \multicolumn{2}{p{.33\linewidth}}{Last name} & 
      \multicolumn{2}{p{.33\linewidth}}{Product} \
    \midrule
    \multicolumn{2}{l}{Bubba} & \multicolumn{2}{l}{Gump} & \multicolumn{2}{l}{Shrimp} \
    \multicolumn{2}{l}{Steve} & \multicolumn{2}{l}{Jobs} & \multicolumn{2}{l}{Happiness} \
    \bottomrule
    \
    \multicolumn{6}{c}{Panel B: Other stuff} \
    \toprule
    \multicolumn{3}{p{.49\linewidth}}{School} & \multicolumn{3}{p{.49\linewidth}}{State} \
    \midrule
    \multicolumn{3}{l}{Harvard} & \multicolumn{3}{l}{MA} \
    \multicolumn{3}{l}{Yale} & \multicolumn{3}{l}{CT} \ 
    \multicolumn{3}{l}{Brown} & \multicolumn{3}{l}{RI} \
    \bottomrule
  \end{tabular}
\end{table}
\end{document}

Since the two panels are contained in the same tabular, they span the same width. The above uses the booktabs package for presentation of the tabular environments. However, it is not necessarily needed. If you want to drop it, you should also drop/replace the \toprule, \midrule and \bottomrule rules with \hline or another preference.

Tables using multicolumn

Alternatively, you could also use the tabularx package to spread columns across a specific width:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{booktabs,tabularx}
\begin{document}
\begin{table}[ht]
  \centering
  \caption{An interesting table}
  \label{tbl:interesting}
\medskip
\begin{tabularx}{\linewidth}{ X X X }
    \multicolumn{3}{c}{Panel A: Some stuff} \
    \toprule
    First name & Last name & Product \
    \midrule
    Bubba & Gump & Shrimp \
    Steve & Jobs & Happiness \
    \bottomrule
  \end{tabularx}
\bigskip
\begin{tabularx}{\linewidth}{ X X }
    \multicolumn{2}{c}{Panel B: Other stuff} \
    \toprule
    School & State \
    \midrule
    Harvard & MA \
    Yale & CT \ 
    Brown & RI \
    \bottomrule
  \end{tabularx}
\end{table}
\end{document}

Tables using tabularx

how did you get that value: \begin{tabular}{*{6}{p{.16\linewidth}}} ? 1/6 = 0.166, so it cannot be that. — ghx, Sep 17 '19 at 22:40
@ghx: I wanted to set the tabular within the \linewidth, and for 6 columns to fit, I used 1/6 of \linewidth for each, or 0.16\linewidth. — Werner, Sep 17 '19 at 22:55
thanks I understand that, but isn't 1/6 = 0.1667 (rounded)? So I wonder how this ends up precise. — ghx, Sep 17 '19 at 23:05
@ghx: Yes, 1/6 ~ 0.1667, but in *{6}{p{.16\linewidth}} there are 6 columns and 12 \tabcolseps that also need to be considered: One on either side of the tabular's outer columns, and 2 \tabcolseps between each column pair (there are 5 of those). I rounded 1/6 down to 0.16 to allow for these to also fit within the \linewidth. Similarly for .33\linewidth when dealing with 3 columns and .49\linewidth for 2 columns. — Werner, Sep 17 '19 at 23:16

score 2 · Answer 3 · edited Jul 13 '17 at 08:46

2

You can use the multicol column package to have data span multiple columns.

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{multicol}

\begin{document}
\begin{tabular}{lll}
\multicolumn{3}{c}{Panel A: Some stuff}\\
First name      &Last name       &Product\\
Bubba           &Gump            &Shrimp\\
Steve           &Jobs            &Happiness\\
\\
\multicolumn{3}{c}{Panel B: Other stuff}\\
School       &State\\
Harvard      &MA\\
Yale         &CT\\
Brown        &RI\\
\end{tabular}
\end{document}

edited Jul 13 '17 at 08:46

David Carlisle

757,742

answered Aug 23 '11 at 16:11

Peter Grill

223,288

Thanks, but I think I need a different approach. I want the 2 columns in panel B to span just as much space as the 3 columns in panel A. This table has a 3rd (blank) column in panel B, which I am trying not to have. – itzy Aug 23 '11 at 16:16
You can use the \multicolumn macro to adjust that. For example you can use \multicolumn{2}{c}{State} to have that column span the two columns. If I am still not understanding please provide a more detailed example. – Peter Grill Aug 23 '11 at 16:18

score 1 · Answer 4 · edited Jul 13 '17 at 08:47

maybe like this?

\begin{tabular}{lll}
\hline
\multicolumn{ 3}{c}{Panel A: Some stuff} \\
\hline
First name &  Last name &    Product \\
\hline
     Bubba &       Gump &     Shrimp \\
\hline
     Steve &       Jobs &   Happines \\
\hline
\multicolumn{ 3}{c}{Panel B: Other stuff} \\
\hline
    School & \multicolumn{ 2}{l}{State} \\
\hline
   Harvard & \multicolumn{ 2}{l}{CT} \\
\hline
      Yale & \multicolumn{ 2}{l}{CI} \\
\hline
     Brown & \multicolumn{ 2}{l}{RI} \\
\hline
\end{tabular}

Create a table with two parts with different tabular features

4 Answers4

Linked