There now are two workflows you can use to place a parts list or table:

• Place a table on the active sheet

  You can place a table on the active working sheet dynamically or using a predefined origin point. This is the default workflow.

• Place a table on automatically created table sheets

  You can place a table on table sheets, which are inserted, named, and grouped automatically in the sheet tab tray. You can use this workflow to organize long parts lists or tables into booklets for easier printing. To learn more, see these Help topics:

  • Defining table size and location

  • Create new sheets for tables

When you create table sheets automatically, you can use the following options on the new Location tab in the Properties dialog box to predefine the formatting for the table sheets.

First sheet

You can choose a different sheet size and background for the first table sheet.

Additional sheets

You can choose the same or a different sheet size and background for all table sheets except the first one.

Show sheet backgrounds

You can choose not to display the sheet backgrounds on the table sheets. When you use this check box, only the sheet size is applied.

Maintain sheets with table size

You can use this option to ensure that the table which creates the table sheets also manages the table sheets. When the table grows, new sheets are created; when the table gets smaller or is deleted, the unused sheets are deleted also.

For all tables, you can use the new Groups tab in the Properties dialog box to assign table data to groups using a column property to group by. You also can define subheadings for each table group.

To learn more about this, see Table groups in What’s New.

Predefined table location

You can use the X Origin and Y Origin boxes on the Location tab to define the initial table placement location when a table is placed on the active sheet and when table sheets are created automatically. You also can use this option to change the location of an existing, selected table.

More column headings

Now you can define up to five column header rows for parts lists and tables using the Number of rows option in the following locations, depending upon table type:

• On the Columns tab in the Properties dialog box. (The Columns tab is not available for user-defined tables and family of parts tables.)

• In the Format Column dialog box.

Previously, only two headings were available.

Vertical and horizontal cell merging

Now you can merge adjacent table header cells vertically as well as horizontally using the following options on the Columns tab or in the Format Columns dialog box:

• Merge with next vertical cell—This is a new option.

• Merge with next horizontal cell—Previously, this option was labeled Merge with next header.

End-of-table row padding

Now you can insert empty rows at the end of a table to provide padding between the last row of data and the background sheet border or title block. This ensures that each table page is the same height. You can use this option for tables that add rows at the top or at the bottom.

The new option—Fill the end of the table with blank rows—is available on the General tab in the Properties dialog box.

Wrap text in rows and columns

When text exceeds the width of a cell, you can wrap text to a new row rather than truncate the text or change the cell height.

The new check box—Wrap table data cells to new row—is available on the General tab in the Properties dialog box.

Minimum text size

When the text aspect ratio in table text and text boxes is reduced to fit the width of the cell or text box border, you can specify a minimum text size to prevent the text from becoming too small.

The new option—Minimum aspect ratio—is available on the Paragraph tab when:

• You use the Text Box Properties dialog box to modify the properties of a selected text box created with the Text command .

• You use the Modify Text Style dialog box to modify the Text style with the Styles command .

Better Auto-Balloon behavior

When you use the Auto-Balloon option to place a parts list, overlapping balloons and crossing leader lines are minimized.