Omni Systems, Inc.
Mif2Go User's Guide, Version 55
> 25 Generating WAI markup for HTML > 25.4 Applying WAI markup to tables > 25.4.2 Choosing a WAI markup method for tables
25.4.2 Choosing a WAI markup method for tables
For WAI markup that affects the table as whole,
probably it does not matter which markup method you choose (see §25.1 Comparing Mif2Go markup methods for WAI).
However, for markup that affects individual rows, columns, or cells,
the “best” (most practical) method depends on the following
characteristics of the tables in your FrameMaker document:
- Number (are
you converting a single table, 10 tables, or 1,000 tables?)
- Size (are most
tables on the order of two rows by three columns, or 2,000 rows by 15
columns?)
- Diversity (do
most tables have the same structure, or do they vary widely?)
- Complexity (do
some tables have more than two dimensions of data, or multiple row or
column headers, and do some tables have header or body cells that span
more than one row or column?)
For large, complex tables you will have a lot
of work to do no matter which method(s) you choose. Here are some of
the considerations:
- Markers have the advantage that displaying them in FrameMaker
does not cause a table to balloon into something monstrous and unwieldy.
On the other hand, markers can be difficult to work with because of the tiny
dialog FrameMaker provides, and because each marker is limited to 256
characters.
- Applying conditional text to special paragraphs
containing attribute values, or to extra paragraphs in formats to which
attributes are assigned, might seem easier than using markers. However,
applying conditions to text in individual cells in FrameMaker tables
can be problematic. And when you Show All,
many of your tables might become unreadable.
- A different paragraph format for the text in
each group of cells that needs a particular combination of WAI attributes
can work well if your document contains just one large table; but might
become a major annoyance if your document contains a lot of tables. Each
of those paragraph formats must be unique in your document, and all of
them have to be in the catalog.