In Ulysses, you can easily create tables in the editor and populate them with data. You can add links, code, markup and more.

Create a Table

On Mac

To insert a table, you have three options:

• Add the markup tag for tables by typing (tbl).
• Go to Markup in the menu bar and select Table.
• Open the markup panel with the shortcut ⌘9 (command-9) and select “(tbl) Table.”

Once you have added the (tbl) tag, Ulysses will automatically insert a default table with three columns, four rows, and filler text.

By clicking on “3 x 4”, you access the table’s options. 

Here you can set the numbers of columns and rows. You can also give the table a caption.

On iPad/iPhone

You have two options to insert a table:

• Add the markup tag for tables by typing (tbl).
• Tap the image icon above the keyboard and select Table.

Once you have added the (tbl) tag, a context menu will open. This menu allows you to set the number of rows and columns. 

Tap Done, and Ulysses will insert a table with filler text.

You can open the table's context menu anytime by tapping the table's very first line.

Things You Should Know

The (tbl) tag is part of Markdown XL. For the tag to work, you should be aware of a few things:

Insert, Move, and Delete Rows

On Mac

Select a row by clicking on a cell and then dragging the mouse pointer beyond the edge of the cell. If you now right-click on the row, a context menu opens, and you can select the corresponding action, e.g., Insert Row.

There are also options to style the row's content. You can, for example, change the text alignment or stretch/adjust the content.

On iPad/iPhone

Double-tap a cell and choose Select from the pop-up menu to add, delete, or move rows up/down. Then use the selection box to select the row. Now, you have different actions to choose from.

Alternatively, you can add or delete rows via the table settings. To open the table settings, simply tap the table's first line.

Insert, Move, and Delete Columns

On Mac

Select the column by clicking on a cell and then dragging the mouse pointer beyond the edge of the cell. If you now right-click on the column, the context menu opens. Here, you can insert or delete a column or move the selected column to the left/right.

Additionally, there are options to style the content of your column, i.e., change the text alignment or stretch/fit the content.

On iPad/iPhone

To add, delete, or move columns left/right, double-tap a cell and choose Select from the pop-up menu. 

Then use the selection box to select the column. Now you can choose the desired action.

Alternatively, you can add or delete columns via the table settings. To open the table settings, simply tap the table's first line.

Add/Remove Captions

You can also give your table a caption.

On Mac

1. Click on the header row to open the table's context menu.
2. Click on the space next to Caption to enter your text.

On iPad/iPhone

1. Tab on the header row to open the table's context menu.
2. Tab the entry field named Caption to enter your text.

Import a Table

You can import tables from HTML, Markdown, and DOCX formats in Ulysses. Additionally, you can easily copy and paste tables from software like Pages, Word, or Excel. However, it's worth noting that RTF format is not currently supported for table import.

HTML

1. Copy your HTML table. Select Paste from... › HTML to paste your table into the editor.

Markdown

1. Copy your Markdown table. 
2. Select Paste from... › Markdown to paste your table into the editor.

DOCX

1. Right-click on a DOCX file you'd like to import. 
2. Select Open with... › Ulysses in the context menu.

Tables contained in the DOCX file are imported automatically.

Export a Table

Tables can be exported in almost all formats. However, RTF is currently not supported. We have adapted our built-in export styles for HTML, ePub, and PDF/DOCX.

On Mac, you can customize the appearance of tables in your export document. More on this below.

Style Your Table

By default, your table will have a simple and clean appearance when exported.

If you want to customize the style of your table according to your preferences, we can show you how to do that. Let's start by adding row separators as an example.

Add Row Separators

1. Open Settings... in Ulysses and go to Styles.
2. Choose a style from the PDF/DOCX section, e.g., Swiss Knife.
3. Right-click on the stylesheet and Duplicate the style.
4. Open the duplicated stylesheet in an editor of your choice, e.g., TextEdit or TextMate.
5. Find the selector table-cell and add the line row-separator-style. Here is an example:

table-cell {
        padding-bottom: 8pt
        padding-top: 8
        line-height: 16pt
        row-separator-style: solid
        }

6. Save the stylesheet and rename it (optional).
7. Select your customized export style in the export preview.    
    

Add Column Separators 

Find table-cell and add the line column-separator-style:

table-cell {
                padding-bottom: 8pt
                padding-top: 8pt
                line-height: 16pt
                column-separator-style: solid
                }

Alternate Row Color

Find table-cell and add the line alternate-row-color:  
 

table-cell {
                padding-bottom: 8pt
                padding-top: 8pt
                line-height: 16pt
                alternate-row-color: #D3D3D2
                }

Alternate Column Color

Find table-cell and add the line alternate-column-color:  
 

table-cell {
                padding-bottom: 8pt
                padding-top: 8pt
                line-height: 16pt
                alternate-column-color: rgb(211,211,210)
                }

Change Cell Color

Find table-cell and add the line cell-color:

table-cell {
                padding-bottom: 8pt
                padding-top: 8pt
                line-height: 16pt
                cell-color: rgb(211,211,210)
                }

More Options