three column table

Question

Please I'm trying to create a multicolumn table but I'm not getting anywhere. I want two columns, female and male, with informal, formal and total under as the picture shows. This is my code, but the output is not what I want. Thanks.

\documentclass[a4paper,12pt]{book}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{bm}

\pagestyle{plain}
\usepackage{setspace}
\raggedbottom

\usepackage{mathtools}
\usepackage{longtable}

\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{multirow}
\usepackage{array, booktabs, ragged2e}
\usepackage{threeparttablex}


{\renewcommand*{\arraystretch}{1.5}
\begin{spacing}{.85}

\begin{ThreePartTable}
\begin{TableNotes}
\footnotesize
\item [a] Data source: SLLFS 2014
\item [b] Percentage values in the table are percentages of the number of women (xxxx) and men (xxxx) in the sample
\end{TableNotes}


\begin{longtable}{p{1ex}>{\RaggedRight}p{1.95cm}*{3}{p{1.45cm}p{2cm}}}
\caption{Characteristics of study sample by job type and gender\tnote{a}}\label{chap1:tab1}\\\toprule


\endfirsthead
\multicolumn{7}{p{4cm}} {Table 1 (\emph{continued})}\\ \toprule 
&           & \multicolumn{2}{l}{Female} & \multicolumn{2}{l}{Male} & \\
\cmidrule{3-4} \cmidrule(lr){5-6} \cmidrule{7-8}
&            & Informal & Formal & Total & Informal & Formal & Total \\\midrule
\endhead
\hline\multicolumn{7}{r}{\tablename\ \thetable\ -- \textit{Continued on next page}} \\
\endfoot
\hline
\insertTableNotes  % tell LaTeX where to insert the contents of "TableNotes"
\endlastfoot 

&           & \multicolumn{2}{l}{Female} & \multicolumn{2}{l}{Male} &\\
\cmidrule{3-4} \cmidrule(lr){5-6} \cmidrule{7-8}

&            & Informal & Formal & Total & Informal & Formal & Total \\\midrule
\multicolumn{2}{l}{\textit{Age}} & \\

& 15-24 & 663 & 20.994 & 19 & 5.791 & 682 & 20.019\\
& 25-34 & 1071 & 32.091 & 114 & 37.959 & 1185 & 32.383\\
& 35-44 & 866 & 23.826 & 86 & 28.394 & 952 & 24.053\\
& 45-54 & 530 & 15.416 & 58 & 18.217 & 588 & 15.555\\
& 55-64 & 251 & 7.721 & 29 & 9.636 & 280 & 7.816\\
\bottomrule 

\end{longtable}
\end{ThreePartTable}    
\end{spacing}
}

You've just used \multicolumn{2} rather than \multicolumn{3} for the 'Female' and 'Male' headings. Just change those and then similarly for the rules - you're just one off in each case. — cfr, May 24 '18 at 00:27
But that code must give you errors: you're using at least 8 columns, but you've only defined 6! If you want help with the errors, include them in your post. Otherwise, please correct them. — cfr, May 24 '18 at 00:30
when i use \multicolumn{3}, i get the error "extra alignment tab has been changed to \cr....}{l}{female} & multicolumn{3}{l}{male} &". I went back to 2 and didn't get any errors, but the result is not what i want. — user151731, May 24 '18 at 00:55
Aren't the Formal-Informal Male columns swapped? You have decimal numbers in the Informal column, whereas decimal numbers are to be found in the Female Formal column. — Bernard, May 24 '18 at 01:11
Don't bother about the numbers you see there, they are meaningless. I was using another table as a template to create this one. I want to get the structure of the table right before I put in the correct data. — user151731, May 24 '18 at 01:26

Zarko · Answer 1 · 2018-05-24T10:09:33.480

mostly off-topic:

table content is not consistent and clear. does it contain decimal numbers or is . group separator?
which column contains percents?
code for column headers are not consistent
the package mathtools also load amsmath, therefore load it again is not neccessary
it is sufficient load each package only once
use of \renewcommand*{\arraystretch}{1.5} and than \begin{spacing}{.85} is unclear. isn't it sufficient to use just \renewcommand*{\arraystretch}{1.2}?
for last six columns i suggest to use S column type provided by package siunitx. it enable better aligning of numbers (at decimal point)

(red lines indicate text borders)

\documentclass[a4paper,12pt]{book}
\usepackage{mathtools}      % not used in this mwe
\usepackage{bm}             % not used in this mwe
\usepackage{setspace}       % not used in this mwe
\raggedbottom
\usepackage{siunitx}        % new
\usepackage{ragged2e}
\usepackage{array, booktabs, longtable,
            multirow, threeparttablex}

%---------------- show page layout. don't use in a real document!
\usepackage{showframe}
\renewcommand\ShowFrameLinethickness{0.15pt}
\renewcommand*\ShowFrameColor{\color{red}}
%---------------------------------------------------------------%

\begin{document}
\pagestyle{plain}
    \begin{ThreePartTable}
\begin{TableNotes}\footnotesize
\item [a] Data source: SLLFS 2014
\item [b] Percentage values in the table are percentages of the number of women (xxxx) and men (xxxx) in the sample
\end{TableNotes}
    \renewcommand*{\arraystretch}{1.2}
    \setlength{\LTcapwidth}{\linewidth} % that caption width is equal table width
    \setlength\LTleft{0pt}
    \setlength\LTright{0pt}
    \setlength\tabcolsep{5pt}
\begin{longtable}{@{\extracolsep{\fill}}
                    p{1ex}
     >{\RaggedRight}p{3cm}
                    S[table-format=4.0]
                    S[table-format=2.3]
                    S[table-format=3.0]
                    S[table-format=2.3]
                    S[table-format=4.0]
                    S[table-format=2.3]
                  } \caption{Characteristics of study sample by job type and gender\tnote{a}}
\label{chap1:tab1}\\
    \toprule
    &   &   \multicolumn{3}{c}{Female}      &   \multicolumn{3}{c}{Male}        \\
    \cmidrule(r){3-5}
    \cmidrule(l){6-8}
    &   & {Informal} & {Formal} & {Total}   & {Informal} & {Formal} & {Total}   \\
    \midrule
\endfirsthead
\caption{Characteristics of study sample by job type and gender (\textit{continued})}\\
    \toprule
    &   &   \multicolumn{3}{c}{Female}      &   \multicolumn{3}{c}{Male}        \\
    \cmidrule(r){3-5}
    \cmidrule(l){6-8}
    &   & {Informal} & {Formal} & {Total}   & {Informal} & {Formal} & {Total}   \\
    \midrule
\endhead
    \midrule
\multicolumn{8}{r}{\textit{Continued on the next page}} \\
\endfoot
    \bottomrule
\insertTableNotes  % tell LaTeX where to insert the contents of "TableNotes"
\endlastfoot
\multicolumn{2}{l}{\textit{Age}}
                &       &        &      &        &      &           \\
    & 15-24     & 663   & 20.994 &  19  &  5.791 &  682 & 20.019    \\
    & 25-34     & 1071  & 32.091 & 114  & 37.959 & 1185 & 32.383    \\
    & 35-44     & 866   & 23.826 &  86  & 28.394 &  952 & 24.053    \\
    & 45-54     & 530   & 15.416 &  58  & 18.217 &  588 & 15.555    \\
    & 55-64     & 251   &  7.721 &  29  &  9.636 &  280 &  7.816    \\
\multicolumn{2}{l}{\textit{Education}}
                &       &        &      &        &      &           \\
    & Primary or less
                & 2789  & 88.027 &  51  & 17.534 & 2840 & 84.439    \\
\end{longtable}
    \end{ThreePartTable}
\end{document}

Milo · Answer 2 · 2018-05-24T01:53:31.893

I changed \multicolumn{2}{l}{Female} to \multicolumn{3}{l}{Female} (same for {Male}) and removed a trailing &. Also changed cmidrules to the appropriate widths. In this case, \cmidrule(lr){3-5} and \cmidrule(l){6-8} do the trick.

\documentclass[a4paper,12pt]{book}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{bm}
\pagestyle{plain}
\usepackage{setspace}
\raggedbottom
\usepackage{mathtools}
\usepackage{longtable}
\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{multirow}
\usepackage{array, booktabs, ragged2e}
\usepackage{threeparttablex}

\begin{document}

{\renewcommand*{\arraystretch}{1.5}
\begin{spacing}{.85}

\begin{ThreePartTable}
\begin{TableNotes}
\footnotesize
\item [a] Data source: SLLFS 2014
\item [b] Percentage values in the table are percentages of the number of women (xxxx) and men (xxxx) in the sample
\end{TableNotes}

\begin{longtable}{p{1ex}>{\RaggedRight}p{1.95cm}*{3}{p{1.45cm}p{2cm}}}
\caption{Characteristics of study sample by job type and gender\tnote{a}}\label{chap1:tab1}\\\toprule

\endfirsthead
\multicolumn{7}{p{4cm}} {Table 1 (\emph{continued})}\\ 
\toprule 
& & \multicolumn{3}{l}{Female} & \multicolumn{3}{l}{Male}\\
\cmidrule(lr){3-5} \cmidrule(l){6-8}
& & Informal & Formal & Total & Informal & Formal & Total\\
\midrule
\endhead
\hline\multicolumn{7}{r}{\tablename\ \thetable\ -- \textit{Continued on next page}} \\
\endfoot
\hline
\insertTableNotes  % tell LaTeX where to insert the contents of "TableNotes"
\endlastfoot 
& & \multicolumn{3}{l}{Female} & \multicolumn{3}{l}{Male}\\
\cmidrule(lr){3-5} \cmidrule(l){6-8}
& & Informal & Formal & Total & Informal & Formal & Total\\
\midrule
\multicolumn{2}{l}{\textit{Age}} &\\
& 15-24 & 663 & 20.994 & 19 & 5.791 & 682 & 20.019\\
& 25-34 & 1071 & 32.091 & 114 & 37.959 & 1185 & 32.383\\
& 35-44 & 866 & 23.826 & 86 & 28.394 & 952 & 24.053\\
& 45-54 & 530 & 15.416 & 58 & 18.217 & 588 & 15.555\\
& 55-64 & 251 & 7.721 & 29 & 9.636 & 280 & 7.816\\
\bottomrule 

\end{longtable}
\end{ThreePartTable}    
\end{spacing}
}

\end{document}

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered May 24 '18 at 10:34

I propose this, using siunitx to align numbers on the decimal dot. Also I don't see the point of using the spacing environment for a table, as the table-specific command \arraystretch is available:

\documentclass[a4paper,12pt]{book}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage{mathtools}
\usepackage{bm}

\pagestyle{plain}
\raggedbottom

\usepackage{longtable}
\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{multirow}
\usepackage{array, siunitx, ragged2e}%
\usepackage{threeparttablex}

\begin{document}

{\renewcommand*{\arraystretch}{1.25}
\sisetup{table-format=2.3, table-number-alignment=center}
\newcolumntype{N}{S[table-format=4.0]}
\setlength{\LTcapwidth}{\linewidth}
\begin{ThreePartTable}
\begin{TableNotes}
\footnotesize
\item [a] Data source: SLLFS 2014
\item [b] Percentage values in the table are percentages of the number of women (xxxx) and men (xxxx) in the sample
\end{TableNotes}
\begin{longtable}{@{}p{1em}@{}c@{\hskip2pc}NSN@{\hskip3pc}SNS@{}}
\caption{Characteristics of study sample by job type and gender\tnote{a}}\label{chap1:tab1}\\
\toprule
& & \multicolumn{2}{c}{Female} & & \multicolumn{2}{c}{Male} \\
\cmidrule(r){3-4} \cmidrule(lr){6-7}
& & Informal & Formal & Total & Informal & Formal & Total \\
\midrule
\multicolumn{2}{@{}l}{\textit{Age}} & \\
\endfirsthead
\multicolumn{8}{l} {Table 1 (\emph{continued})}\\
\toprule
& & \multicolumn{2}{c}{Female} & & \multicolumn{2}{c}{Male} \\
\cmidrule{3-4} \cmidrule(lr){6-7}
& & Informal & Formal & Total & Informal & Formal & Total \\
\midrule
\multicolumn{2}{@{}l}{\textit{Age}} & \\
\endhead
\hline\multicolumn{8}{r}{\textit{Continued on next page}} \\
\endfoot
\bottomrule
\insertTableNotes % tell LaTeX where to insert the contents of "TableNotes"
\endlastfoot%
 & 15-24 & 663 & 20.994 & 19 & 5.791 & 682 & 20.019\\
& 25-34 & 1071 & 32.091 & 114 & 37.959 & 1185 & 32.383\\
& 35-44 & 866 & 23.826 & 86 & 28.394 & 952 & 24.053\\
& 45-54 & 530 & 15.416 & 58 & 18.217 & 588 & 15.555\\
& 55-64 & 251 & 7.721 & 29 & 9.636 & 280 & 7.816
\end{longtable}
\end{ThreePartTable}

\end{document}

three column table

3 Answers3