Evenly distribute non-adjacent rows or columns

[LaraJ]

Hey,

Is it possible to evenly distribute non-adjacent table rows or columns once you've selected them in Publisher? I love that you can select non-adjacent rows or columns, but doing the math all the time is very time consuming.

Thanks!

[GarryP]

Wlecome to the forums @LaraJ

Would you be able to give us some visual examples of what you mean by “evenly distribute”.
I only ask as different people may have different ideas about what you mean by “evenly” and “distribute”.

[LaraJ]

When you select 2 adjacent rows for example and right click on the selection you get the option to 'Evenly distribute rows'. This distributes the row height evenly, so the rows are the same height, which is the average height of the selected columns' height without modifying the table height.

But when you select 2 or more non-adjacent rows, the  'Evenly distribute rows' option is grayed out. I work a lot with tables and evenly distributing rows and columns without this option is very time consuming and involves quite a lot of math. So I was wondering if I'm missing something and there's actually a way to set the same height/width for non-adjacent rows/columns. 

[GarryP]

Ah, let’s see if I understand you correctly.
In my attached image I have three rows selected, the height of each row denoted by a red double-headed arrow.
Do you want the software to total the heights of the rows (blue arrow) and then divide that total by the number of rows (green arrows) and then apply that height to each of the selected rows? Or something else?
P.S. I think it might be better if that function was called “Evenly Distribute Row Heights” rather than just “Evenly Distribute Rows”. Same for Columns, but for Columns Widths.

[LaraJ]

Yes, this is exactly what I mean   Is there a way to do this?

[loukash]

4 hours ago, LaraJ said:

this option is very time consuming and involves quite a lot of math.

( a + b + c ) / 3 = n
Then:
Table panel > Cell > Height > n

Alright, you may need to note down the individual height of each row first.
On the other hand, the Height field can do all the math for you if you then paste in e.g.: (4+6+5)/3

Alternatively, you can temporarily move the rows to be adjacent, evenly distribute them via context menu, then rearrange again.
The latter workaround is potentially faster…

^ Argh! Strike that. You can't move rows/columns. That would be also too nice, wouldn't it. It was in Numbers.app where you easily can per drag'n'drop…

Edited January 28, 2021 by loukash

[LaraJ]

2 minutes ago, loukash said:

Alternatively, you can temporarily move the rows to be adjacent

How do you do that? I thought of doing this as well but I can't find a way to move the rows to be adjacent. I mean move not only the contents of the rows but all their styling as well.

[loukash]

1 minute ago, LaraJ said:

How do you do that?

Yeah, you can't. Corrected my post above.

[MEB]

Hi @LaraJ,
Welcome to Affinity Forums
Not sure it helps but you can set the width/height of multiple columns/rows in the Cell section of the Table panel (menu View > Studio > Table). Then with the table finished you can adjust the width/height of the whole table to suit the required table's dimensions maybe? I understand this is not what you are requesting, just proposing a way to get there eventually...

[loukash]

Another "thought experiment" I just had was to add a temporary column and sort rows by numbers to have them adjacent.
But it sorts only the content, not the "physical" rows.
So no go.