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Tables in Templates - Dynamic Table Guide

Tables are fundamental components of professional documents, providing structured presentation of data for easy comparison, reference, and analysis. PDF4me's document generation engine efficiently creates dynamic tables populated with data from your sources.

Multi-Column Table Structure​

Generate tables with multiple columns by defining merge fields within table cells. Each row repeats based on the data collection.

Basic Table Syntax​

Create a table structure in your Word template with the following pattern:

Column 1: <<foreach [product in products]>><<[product.productName]>>
Column 2: <<[product.manufactured]:"yyyy.MM.dd">>
Column 3: <<[product.price]>><</foreach>>

Template Structure:

  1. Create a table in Word with desired number of columns
  2. Place foreach loop in first cell
  3. Add merge fields in subsequent cells of the same row
  4. Close foreach loop in the last cell

Example: Product Inventory Table​

Data Source (JSON):

{
  "vendorName": "Instamart",
  "products": [
    {
      "productName": "Laptops",
      "price": 160000,
      "manufactured": "25/07/2022"
    },
    {
      "productName": "Keyboard",
      "price": 10000,
      "manufactured": "12/04/2022"
    },
    {
      "productName": "Speakers",
      "price": 25000,
      "manufactured": "08/05/2022"
    }
  ]
}

Generated Output:

Product NameManufacturedPrice
Laptops2022.07.25160000
Keyboard2022.04.1210000
Speakers2022.05.0825000

Table Calculations and Totals​

Calculate aggregate values like sums, averages, and counts within your table structures using enumeration methods.

Sum Calculation​

Add a total row to calculate the sum of numeric columns:

Column 1: <<foreach [product in products]>><<[product.productName]>>
Column 2: <<[product.manufactured]:"yyyy.MM.dd">>
Column 3: <<[product.price]>><</foreach>>
Column 1: Total
Column 2: 
Column 3: $<<[products.Sum(c => c.price)]>>

Generated Output:

Product NameManufacturedPrice
Laptops2022.07.25160000
Keyboard2022.04.1210000
Speakers2022.05.0825000
Total$195000

Other Aggregate Functions​

Average:

Average Price: $<<[products.Average(p => p.price)]:"F2">>

Count:

Total Products: <<[products.Count()]>>

Maximum:

Highest Price: $<<[products.Max(p => p.price)]>>

Minimum:

Lowest Price: $<<[products.Min(p => p.price)]>>

Single-Column Tables​

Generate tables with a single column containing multiple lines of information per row. Use the -greedy switch to ensure each collection item occupies one row.

Single-Column Template Syntax​

<<foreach [product in products]>>Product: <<[product.productName]>>, Manufactured On: <<[product.manufactured]:"yyyy.MM.dd">>, Product Price: $<<[product.price]>><</foreach -greedy>>

Key Point: The -greedy switch treats the entire content block as a single row, preventing unwanted row breaks.

Generated Output:

Product Details
Product: Laptops, Manufactured On: 2022.07.25, Product Price: $160000
Product: Keyboard, Manufactured On: 2022.04.12, Product Price: $10000
Product: Speakers, Manufactured On: 2022.05.08, Product Price: $25000

Advanced Table Examples​

Example 1: Invoice Line Items Table​

Template:

Item | Description | Qty | Unit Price | Total
<<foreach [item in lineItems]>><<[item.code]>> | <<[item.description]>> | <<[item.quantity]>> | $<<[item.unitPrice]:"F2">> | $<<[item.quantity * item.unitPrice]:"F2">><</foreach>>
     |             |     | Subtotal: | $<<[lineItems.Sum(i => i.quantity * i.unitPrice)]:"F2">>

Example 2: Employee Directory Table​

Template:

Name | Department | Email | Phone
<<foreach [emp in employees.OrderBy(e => e.lastName)]>><<[emp.firstName]>> <<[emp.lastName]>> | <<[emp.department]>> | <<[emp.email]>> | <<[emp.phone]>><</foreach>>
Total Employees: <<[employees.Count()]>>

Example 3: Sales Report Table​

Template:

Month | Revenue | Expenses | Profit
<<foreach [month in salesData]>><<[month.name]>> | $<<[month.revenue]:"F2">> | $<<[month.expenses]:"F2">> | $<<[month.revenue - month.expenses]:"F2">><</foreach>>
Annual Total | $<<[salesData.Sum(m => m.revenue)]:"F2">> | $<<[salesData.Sum(m => m.expenses)]:"F2">> | $<<[salesData.Sum(m => m.revenue - m.expenses)]:"F2">>

Conditional Table Rows​

Generate table rows conditionally based on data properties or business logic.

Filtered Rows​

Template:

Product | Stock Status
<<foreach [product in products.Where(p => p.inStock == true)]>>
<<[product.name]>> | Available
<</foreach>>

Conditional Formatting​

Template:

Employee | Status
<<foreach [emp in employees]>>
<<[emp.name]>> | <<if [emp.active]>>Active<<else>>Inactive<</if>>
<</foreach>>

Table Formatting Best Practices​

Design Guidelines​

  1. Header rows - Create clear, descriptive column headers
  2. Consistent alignment - Align numeric data right, text data left
  3. Appropriate widths - Set column widths based on expected content
  4. Formatting - Apply formatting (borders, shading) in the Word template
  5. Totals placement - Place aggregate calculations in appropriate summary rows

Data Preparation​

  1. Clean data - Ensure data is properly formatted before template processing
  2. Handle nulls - Provide default values for null fields
  3. Limit rows - Consider pagination for very large datasets
  4. Sort data - Pre-sort data or use OrderBy in templates

Complex Table Structures​

Multi-Level Grouping​

Template:

Category | Product | Price
<<foreach [cat in categories]>>
<<[cat.name]>> | | 
<<foreach [prod in cat.products]>>
 | <<[prod.name]>> | $<<[prod.price]>>
<</foreach>>
 | Category Total | $<<[cat.products.Sum(p => p.price)]>>
<</foreach>>

Tables with Conditional Sections​

Template:

Item | Quantity | Price | Discount | Total
<<foreach [item in orderItems]>>
<<[item.name]>> | <<[item.qty]>> | $<<[item.price]>> | <<if [item.discount > 0]>><<[item.discount]>>%<<else>>-<</if>> | $<<[item.total]>>
<</foreach>>

Special Table Features​

Greedy Switch Usage​

The -greedy switch controls how content is distributed across table cells:

Without -greedy: Each property may create a new row With -greedy: Entire content block stays in one row

Example:

<<foreach [item in items]>>
<<[item.prop1]>>, <<[item.prop2]>>, <<[item.prop3]>>
<</foreach -greedy>>

Vertical Merging​

For cells that should span multiple rows, set up cell merging in the Word template before adding merge fields.

Troubleshooting Table Generation​

Common Issues and Solutions​

Issue: Table rows not repeating correctly
Solution: Ensure foreach loop spans across all cells in the row

Issue: Unwanted extra rows
Solution: Use -greedy switch for single-row content

Issue: Incorrect calculations
Solution: Verify expression syntax and data types

Issue: Formatting lost after generation
Solution: Apply formatting to template cells, not just merge field syntax

Issue: Empty tables when data exists
Solution: Check property names match data source exactly

Complete Example: Sales Invoice​

Template:

Invoice Date: <<[invoiceDate]:"MMMM dd, yyyy">>
Customer: <<[customerName]:caps>>

Item No. | Description | Qty | Unit Price | Amount
<<foreach [item in lineItems]>>
<<[item.itemNo]>> | <<[item.description]>> | <<[item.quantity]>> | $<<[item.unitPrice]:"F2">> | $<<[item.quantity * item.unitPrice]:"F2">>
<</foreach>>
         |             |     | Subtotal: | $<<[lineItems.Sum(i => i.quantity * i.unitPrice)]:"F2">>
         |             |     | Tax (10%): | $<<[lineItems.Sum(i => i.quantity * i.unitPrice) * 0.10]:"F2">>
         |             |     | **Total:** | **$<<[lineItems.Sum(i => i.quantity * i.unitPrice) * 1.10]:"F2">>**
Table Design

Design your table structure in Word first with appropriate formatting, borders, and styling. Then add merge fields and foreach loops to the designed table for best results.