latex tabular, this is the page you want. The tabular environment creates the actual rows and columns inside a LaTeX table.
Quick answer: define the column layout in
\begin{tabular}{...}, separate cells with &, and end each row with \\.Related topics: Creating tables in LaTeX | Advanced tables | Professional tablesBasic tabular Syntax
lmeans left-aligned columncmeans centered columnrmeans right-aligned column&separates columns\\ends the row
A Minimal Example
Column Alignment Options
For
m{} and b{}, load the array package.
Horizontal Lines and Better Rules
The simplest way to draw lines is with\hline:
For cleaner, publication-style tables, prefer booktabs:
table vs tabular
These are different:
tabularcreates the grid of rows and columnstableis a float wrapper used for captions, labels, and placement
Spanning Columns with \multicolumn
Use \multicolumn when one cell should cover multiple columns:
When tabular Is Not Enough
Use a different tool when you need more than a basic grid:
tabularxfor tables that should fill a fixed widthlongtablefor tables that span multiple pagessiunitxwhen you need decimal alignmentbooktabsfor cleaner horizontal rules
Common tabular Problems
- Columns do not line up: check that every row has the same number of
&separators. - Text runs too wide: switch to
p{width}ortabularx. - Caption does not work: wrap
tabularinsidetable. - Numbers look uneven: use
siunitxinstead of plainralignment.