Re: tabularx from org to latex not recognized

[Nick Dokos <ndokos@gmail.com>]

"vendo.libri@libero.it" <vendo.libri@libero.it> writes:

> Hello Org-mode users' group, 
>
> I'm having trouble with tables, in particular with trying to get Org-mode to understand the attributes in #+ATTR_LATEX. 
> I have a 7x3 (rows x columns) table that has lots of text in the 2 column. This means I can't properly see the table if Emacs' window is reduced rather than in full-screen view. The rows
> and column are all jumbled up. I've read in the Org online manual (section 3.2) that you must type something like <n> where n is an integer so that the column restricts the number of
> visible characters in an otherwise overflowing text. I've tried it by placing <10> in the header of the column but it doesn't work. Can someone help me out? 
>
> Furthermore, when I try to get the pdf via LaTeX export (C-c C-e l o), in spite of adding the necessary package to #+LATEX_HEADER and to the add-to-alist within the .emac configuration
> file, the table gets exported in a "tabular" environment instead of "tabularx" which allows for adaptable columns. In LaTeX it should be:
>
> \begin{table}[htb]
>   \centering
>   \begin{tabularx}{\textwidth}{lXX}
> \toprule
>     NAME & CHARACTERISTICS & EXAMPLES\\
> [...]
>
> I've read extensively sec.12.7.5 of the org-manual but I don't know how to get {\textwidth}{lXX} for tabularx recognized by Org-mode. Can someone show me how, with an example specific to
> my case? 
>
> Here's some of the preamble from my org file. I've since continued to type the document in LaTeX because the org-exported pdf had an overflowing table that I couldn't control. Can someone
> shed some light into all this matter, please?
>
> #+TITLE: My Title
> #+AUTHOR: Me
> #+DATE: April 2016
> #+STARTUP: nolatexpreview align
> #+OPTIONS: toc:nil
> #+LATEX_CLASS: article
> #+LATEX_CLASS_OPTIONS: [a4paper,10pt]
> #+ATTR_LATEX: :booktabs :environment tabularx :width textwidth :align lXX
> [...]
> #+LATEX_HEADER: \usepackage{tabularx,booktabs}
> #+LATEX_HEADER: \setcounter{secnumdepth}{0}
> [...]
>
> This is how the table appears if I use TAB to hop from one field to the other.
>
> | NAME              | CHARACTERISTICS                                                                                                                                                      
>              | EXAMPLES                               |
> |
> -------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------
> |
> | Metals            | <10> metallic bonding: adjacent atoms share electrons in a non-directional way; opaque, shiny, electrically conductive, they reflect photons, light rays from the
> environment      | a metal pan                            |
>
> Any help is highly appreciated. Thank you.

The <width> specification is on a row of its own, in the same column
that it is supposed to control. Try the following:

--8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8---
#+ATTR_LATEX: :environment tabularx :width \textwidth :align lXl
| NAME   | CHARACTERISTICS      | EXAMPLES    |
|--------+----------------------+-------------|
|        | <20>                 |             |
| Metals | metallic bonding: adjacent atoms share electrons in a non-directional way; opaque, shiny, electrically conductive, they reflect photons, light rays from the Qenvironment | a metal pan |

--8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8---

--
Nick