HTML tables. They are probably the most popular way to design a Web page.

But let's be honest: They can also be a major pain in the neck.

As you've worked with HTML tables in the past, have you ever wondered why there might be a little too much space here, or too little space there? Or, how about this: you plop in some content, and all the cells go berserk on you! Why do they do that?

Microsoft Office FrontPage® 2003 and FrontPage 2002 have many features that make working with HTML tables much easier. But without a little in-depth explanation, it's hard to know where to begin. Start with the resources here, and you'll get a good grasp of HTML tables.

At last: A chance to fully understand HTML tables

If you want to use FrontPage to design great looking Web pages, you've got to fully understand how HTML tables work. This series of interactive training courses explains everything from the very basics, to how to use tables for a page design.

Note  Links to the following training courses require FrontPage 2003 or an Office 2003 program installed on your computer.

At-a-glance table resources

• Piecing together the Web page puzzle: Layout best practices
• Create a structured page layout by using layout tables and cells

Cool sites that use tables

Check out these great looking sites from other FrontPage users. They used tables. You can too.

• MFM Advisors, LLC
• Ilo-sett
• WomenWorks in Progress
• Porcelain & More

For the hardcore

If you want the nitty-gritty details on table tags, or you want to figure out how to use tables and DHTML, then check out these articles on MSDN®.

• All about table tags and attributes
• How to build tables dynamically with DHTML
• Make tables interactive: Highlight, sort, drag

Table how-to's

FrontPage 2003

• Add or draw a layout table
• Add a cell to a layout table
• Set properties for a layout table
• Turn layout tools for layout tables on or off

FrontPage 2002

• Create a table paragraph style
• How to insert a blank line before a table
• Use AutoFormat for fast, easy tables

Quick tips for FrontPage 2003

• While resizing a layout table or cell, press ALT to override snapping.
• Extra margin on the left side of the page? Change your page margins to 0.
• To change the 0,0 point of the ruler, select something on the page. Then, right-click the ruler and choose Select Origin From Selection.
• To quickly edit a <table> tag, select the table, and then press CTRL+Q.
• To have more room for designing your page, hide the Folder List by pressing ALT+F1. Also, hide the task pane by pressing CTRL+F1.
• To see where your page will get cut off in other resolutions, try changing the page size.

Keyboard shortcuts

• To insert a table, press SHIFT+CTRL+ALT+T.
• To select the next table cell's content, press TAB.
• To select the preceding cell's content, press SHIFT+TAB.
• To extend a selection to adjacent table cells, hold down SHIFT and press an arrow key repeatedly.
• To select a column, click in the column's top or bottom cell, then hold down SHIFT and press the UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW key repeatedly.
• To display, edit, or set table properties, select the table. Then, press ALT+ENTER.

An alternative to tables

While HTML tables are a great way to display information in cells, they are not the be-all and end-all for Web page design. Cascading style sheet (CSS) positioning is a great alternative.

• How to position a page element in FrontPage