In GcWord, a cell element is represented by the Cell class which allows you to access each cell of a table which can be added through Add method of the CellCollection class.

Each element of a table, such as row, column, and cell, can have different styles and formatting. GcWord allows you to set the table cell formatting using Format property of the Cell class along with the CellFormat class properties. It also lets you merge cells, both vertically and horizontally, in a table. The VerticalMerge property allows a cell to merge vertically with the other cells in a table. Similarly, the HorizontalMerge property allows a cell to merge horizontally with the other cells in a table.

Set Cell Formatting

To set cell formatting in a table:

1. Access the table from the table collection using Tables property of the RangeBase class.

2. Set cell formatting. For example, set flow direction of the text and padding of third cell in the first row.

   //Load the document and access the table
   doc.Load("CreateTable.docx");
   Table t = doc.Body.Sections.First.GetRange().Tables[0];
   
   //Set cell formatting
   t.Rows[0].Cells[2].Format.TextFlowDirection = TextFlowDirection.TopToBottomRightToLeft;
   t.Rows[0].Cells[2].Format.Padding.Top = t.Rows[0].Cells[2].Format.Padding.Bottom = 2;
   
   //Save the document
   doc.Save("SetCellFormatting.docx");

Get Cell Formatting

To get formatting of a cell from a table in an existing document:

2. Access the table from the table collection using Tables property of the RangeBase class.

3. Fetch the existing cell formatting using the Format property of the Cell class. For example, fetch the padding of third cell in the first row.

   //Load the document and access the table
   doc.Load("SetCellFormatting.docx");
   Table t = doc.Body.Sections.First.GetRange().Tables[0];
   
   //Get cell padding of the third cell in the first row
   CellFormat cformat = t.Rows[0].Cells[2].Format;
   float paddingTop =  cformat.Padding.Top;
   
   //Write the fetched padding on the console
   Console.WriteLine("Top Padding: " + paddingTop);

Merge Cells

To merge cells horizontally in a table:

1. Access the table from the table collection using Tables property of the RangeBase class.

2. Set the second cell of the second row to visually span two following cells, to merge the cells horizontally.

3. Remove the two following cells.

   //Load the document and access the table
   doc.Load("CreateTable.docx");
   Table t = doc.Body.Sections.First.GetRange().Tables[0];
   
   // Set up cell (1,1) to visually span two following cells, hence merge the cells
   t.Rows[1].Cells[1].Format.GridSpan = 3;
   
   // Remove the 2 following cells (unless we want to create a jagged table)
   t.Rows[1].Cells[3].Delete();
   t.Rows[1].Cells[2].Delete();
   
   //Save the document
   doc.Save("MergedCells.docx");

Insert Graphic Elements

To insert a graphic element, such as an image, in a table cell:

1. Access a table in the document.

2. Load picture data into a byte array.

3. Access the cell where you want to add a picture and add the picture into the cell using Add method of the PictureCollection class. For example, access the last cell.

4. Set the picture size and set the AllowAutoFit property to true to allow automatic resizing of the cell.

   doc.Load("CreateTable.docx");
   
   //Access the table
   Table t = doc.Body.Sections.First.GetRange().Tables[0];
   
   // Load picture data
   var picBytes = File.ReadAllBytes(Path.Combine("Resources", "Images", "road.jpg"));
   
   // Add picture, specifying its mime type:
   var pic = t.Rows.Last.Cells.Last.GetRange().Runs.First.GetRange().Pictures.Add(
       picBytes, "image/jpeg");
   
   // Picture size
   pic.Size.Width.Value = 200;
   pic.Size.Height.Value = 100;
   
   //Allow automatic resizing of the cell
   t.Format.AllowAutoFit = true;
   
   //Save the document
   doc.Save("InsertGraphicElement.docx");

For more information about implementation of cells using GcWord, see GcWord sample browser.