Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jarthur!dhosek
From: dhosek@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (dhosek)
Newsgroups: comp.text.tex
Subject: Re: multicolumn in tabular*
Message-ID: <4609@jarthur.Claremont.EDU>
Date: 24 Feb 90 00:02:55 GMT
References: <ZVS.90Feb23162953@rattle.bby.oz.au>
Organization: Pitzer College, Claremont, CA 91711
Lines: 37

In article <ZVS.90Feb23162953@rattle.bby.oz.au> zvs@bby.oz.au (Zev Sero) writes:
)Consider the following file:

)\documentstyle{article}
)\textwidth 180mm\textheight  250mm
)\topmargin  -15mm\oddsidemargin  -19mm
)\tabcolsep  1.5mm
)\begin{document}
)\begin{tabular*}{180mm}{@{\extracolsep{\fill}}|l*{3}{|*{2}{r}}|}
)\hline 
)%\multicolumn{7}{|c|}{'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and
)%gimble in the wabe; all mimsy were the borogoves, and the mome} \\
) Values & 82.77 & 95.69 & 11.86 & 10.34 & 37.72 & 43.79 \\
)\hline\end{tabular*}\end{document}

)The spacing between the columns is perfectly even, as you would
)expect.  Now uncomment the multicolumn.  This multicolumn spans the
)entire table, so it should have no effect on intercolumn spacing.  But
)in fact, the longer the text in the multicolumn, the more the space
)between the last two columns stretches, and the space between the
)other column shrinks!  With the text as above, there is over 10 cm
)between 37.72 and 43.79, and practically nothing between the other
)columns!  Why is this so?  It really is annoying.

What you have described is an implementation "feature". Whenever
the text of a multicolumn is wider than the columns it spans,
the difference gets made up on the right side of the multicolumn.
I don't think that it is possible to prevent this from happening
without a fair amount of difficulty--remember, multicolumn needs
to be very generalized, which is not easy.

-dh
-- 
Important note: The Anti-Social Committee will not be meeting this
                week.
                                   UUCP: uunet!jarthur!dhosek
                               Internet: dhosek@hmcvax.claremont.edu