Python-docx, how to set cell width in tables?

Question

How to set cell width in tables?, so far I got:

from docx import Document
from docx.shared import Cm, Inches

document = Document()
table = document.add_table(rows=2, cols=2)
table.style = 'TableGrid' #single lines in all cells
table.autofit = False

col = table.columns[0] 
col.width=Inches(0.5)
#col.width=Cm(1.0)
#col.width=360000 #=1cm

document.save('test.docx')

No mater what number or units I set in col.width, its width does not change.

scanny · Accepted Answer · 2021-07-01T21:53:46.303

52

Short answer: set cell width individually.

for cell in table.columns[0].cells:
    cell.width = Inches(0.5)

python-docx does what you tell it to do when you set column width. The problem is that Word ignores it. Other clients, like LibreOffice, respect the column width setting.

A .docx file is in XML format (hence the 'x' suffix in the file extension). The XML vocabulary for tables has a place for column width and a place for cell width. Who pays attention to what is a bit vexed when it comes to this detail. The one common denominator is that everyone respects explicit widths set at the individual cell level. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but this is what it takes to make it work. It might make sense to have a function in your program that takes care of the details:

def set_col_widths(table):
    widths = (Inches(1), Inches(2), Inches(1.5))
    for row in table.rows:
        for idx, width in enumerate(widths):
            row.cells[idx].width = width

This gets a bit more complicated if your table has merged cells, which could actually be the reason Word ignores column widths; they're ambiguous in certain merged-cell situations.

edited Jul 01 '21 at 21:53

answered Mar 27 '17 at 18:35

scanny

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Could skip the indexes with `for cell, width in zip(row.cells, (Inches(1), Inches(2), Inches(1.5))): cell.width = width` – altendky May 16 '17 at 13:17
1

For LibreOffice, I also had to change the column widths (`for idx, col in enumerate(table.columns): col.width = widths[idx]`) – Garrett Jul 24 '20 at 15:56
for cell in table_columns[0].cells: cell.width = Inches(0.5) Not working, not set the width! – Satya Dev Yadav Aug 29 '20 at 07:16
The first code snippet has a typo. Should be: `for cell in table.columns[0].cells` – Rob Irwin Jul 01 '21 at 18:48
I fixed the typo. – scanny Jul 01 '21 at 21:54
@scanny, is it possible to use Percent instead of Inches or Cm instead? – peter Aug 07 '21 at 22:16

score 9 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 13 '20 at 21:37

9

For LibreOffice I had to set:

table.autofit = False 
table.allow_autofit = False

Next, set given column and cell width

table.columns[0].width = Inches(1.0)
table.rows[0].cells[0].width = Inches(1.0)

answered Oct 13 '20 at 21:37

Konrad Grzyb

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score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 29 '20 at 09:40

3

docs of python_docx

allow_autofit attribute was default set to be True, which mean the width set will not take effect, so: table.allow_autofit = False

answered Apr 29 '20 at 09:40

P Yang

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score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 23 '21 at 14:00

table = documento.add_table(rows=1, cols=3, style="Table Grid") table.alignment = WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH.CENTER

        table.allow_autofit = True
        table.columns[0].width = Cm(3.5)
        table.columns[1].width = Cm(7.5)
        table.columns[2].width = Cm(5.5)

score 1 · Answer 5 · edited Nov 10 '21 at 12:57

1

Try this one. This code worked for me.

table2.cell(0,0).width = Inches(1.0)                                                
table2.cell(0,1).width = Inches(1.0)

edited Nov 10 '21 at 12:57

Suraj Rao

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answered Nov 10 '21 at 12:52

Israr Hussain Rao

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score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Nov 02 '21 at 15:05

0

You might want to use WD_ROW_HEIGHT_RULE also, it can bypass autofit from the table.

for row in table.rows:  
    row.height_rule = WD_ROW_HEIGHT_RULE.EXACTLY

Here is the doc if needed.

answered Nov 02 '21 at 15:05

Odhian

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Python-docx, how to set cell width in tables?

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