Table frames are containers for tables on your page. They can reference a feature table in any map or scene in your project. The table's fields can be added or removed from the table frame at any time, and the table frame updates automatically on the layout. Format modifications can be made to the entire frame or to individual fields by selecting them in the Contents pane.
Table frames can be static—displaying all records in the table, or they can be dynamic—updating whenever the map frame extent is changed to show only the records visible in the map extent. The behavior of the table is determined by the set query.
Insert a table frame
To insert a table frame, complete the following steps:
- Open a layout with a map frame.
Table frames can only point to data that exists in a map frame on the layout. If there is no map frame, the table frame is blank.
- In the Contents pane, select the layer you want to use to create the table.
- On the Insert tab, in the Map Surrounds group, click Table Frame.
Click the upper half of the button to insert the current default table style item. Click the lower half of the button to choose from a gallery of table frame style items.
- On the layout, draw a rectangle to define the limits of the table frame.
Display fields
By default, the first 10 fields of a table are displayed. After a table frame is added to the layout, the fields can be added, removed, reordered, or turned on and off. If there is not enough space on the table for all the fields to appear, fields are dropped from the table and the following icon appears 
. If you resize the table or change the fitting strategy so all fields appear, the symbol disappears.
The visibility setting for each field is honored. If a field is missing that you expect to see, check the field's visibility in the Contents pane. If necessary, switch its visibility by checking its check box.
Add fields
To add fields to the table frame, complete the following steps:
- In the Contents pane, right-click the table frame and click Add field.
- Select a field from the menu.
- Optionally, to change the order of the fields in the table frame, in the Contents pane, expand the table frame and drag the fields to the desired locations.
Edit fields
Table frame fields use the formatting (aliases, significant digits, and so on) set up in the Fields view. To edit the fields in this view, complete the following steps:
- Right-click the table frame and click Open.
- On the Table tab, in the Field group, click Fields.
- Make the appropriate changes.
For more information, see Add and modify table frame fields.
Modify a table frame
You can modify a table frame by selecting the table frame in the Contents pane and clicking the Table Frame tab on the ribbon. Here you can modify the text symbol and its size and position. Additional options are available in the Element pane, which you can open by right-clicking the table frame in the Contents pane and choosing Properties. To modify individual fields, see Add and modify table frame fields.
Once you've modified your table frame, you can save it to a style to use in future projects without needing to redo the formatting. A saved table style item can be applied to a selected table by choosing one from the Table Frame Gallery 
drop-down on the Table Frame tab.
Options
In the Element pane, the following can be set under Options:
- Name—Change the name of the table as it appears in the Contents pane.
- Visible—Turn the table's visibility on or off on the layout.
- Locked—Lock the table so it can no longer be selected on the layout.
- Map frame—Choose the map frame containing the layer or stand-alone table the table frame references. If you change this value, the Table combo box is automatically updated to the first stand-alone table in the map, or the first layer if no stand-alone tables exist.
- Table—Choose the layer or stand-alone table the table frame references.
- Query—Choose which data rows get displayed. You can show all rows, only rows for features visible in the map frame's extent, or if the layout contains a spatial map series, show single rows for each index feature.
- Filter—Apply an SQL query to filter the table data further. The filter is applied on top of the set query.
- Fields—Modify field appearance and display properties for all fields. For more information, see Add and modify table frame fields.
Note:
For stand-alone tables, the only query option is All rows because a stand-alone table is not visible in the map extent.
Table frame arrangement
The arrangement of the fields in the table frame can also be modified.
Fitting strategy
By default, fields take up the entire frame. The fields expand or compress as you resize the table frame, and the table frame expands or compresses when fields are added or removed. The following fitting options change the behavior of the table and its items:
- Adjust font size—Adjusts the table to fit the frame by automatically reducing the font size or increasing the number of frame columns. You can set the minimum font size along with the maximum number of frame columns, and the application reduces the font size up to the minimum size or increases the number of frame columns up to the maximum value as needed.
- Adjust columns—Adjusts the table to fit the frame by automatically flowing rows to multiple frame columns.
- Adjust columns and font size—Adjusts the table to fit the frame by automatically flowing rows to multiple frame columns and reducing the font size. You can set the minimum font size, and the application reduces the font size up to the minimum size as needed.
Furthermore, check the Balance columns option for any fitting strategy to make all the table columns approximately the same length. This may result in all the columns being smaller than the table frame length. Uncheck this option to have one column fill completely before a new column is added. This may result in the last column being smaller than the others.
Note:
If
a column does not fit when you finish your fitting strategy, the entire field is dropped from the table frame. For example, if a table frame item
contains 15 records but only 10 records fit, the entire field is dropped. When this occurs, you cannot add items to the table frame even if another field in the list fits. Keep this
in mind when ordering items in the table frame. If any items are
dropped from the table frame, the overflow symbol appears.
When fitting a field into the frame, column settings for individual fields are respected unless Adjust columns is selected as the fitting strategy. With Adjust columns selected, column settings for fields are overridden and a new column is created whenever the entire height of the table frame is filled.
If Adjust font size is selected, table contents are compressed in an attempt to fit more items into the table until a minimum font size is reached. Once this font size is reached by any field, the table begins dropping fields that do not fit.
The fitting strategies that adjust font size include an option to specify the Minimum font size threshold, so as the table frame is adjusted, the font size is never smaller than the specified size.
Sorting
Sorting is an efficient means of organizing your data in
alphabetical or sequential order, which can help you better understand
your data. You can discover the largest and
smallest values or perhaps the most and least significant features
in the table. When sorting a column's values in ascending order, the
values are ordered from A to Z or from 1 to 10. In descending
order, a column's values are arranged from Z to A or from 10 to
1. To add fields to sort, click the Add button 
. With multiple fields, you
can interactively sort using a table
sorting dialog box, which makes it easier to sort more than one
column. Use the custom sort box to sort based on multiple fields,
clear the current sort order of the table, or make a case-sensitive
sort.
Spacing
Gaps allow you to specify the vertical and horizontal spacing between table frame elements. The following options can be adjusted by changing their point value:
- Columns—The gap between each column
- Headings and rows—The vertical gap between the heading and rows
- Text and border (horizontal)—The horizontal margin of the text
- Text and border (vertical)—The vertical margin of the text
Display
The table, its frame, heading, rows, and fields can also be symbolized individually. Each border, background, and shadow can be formatted to your specifications using the following options:
- Table Frame—The symbol of the frame's border, background, and shadow symbols can be modified and, if desired, their corners rounded. X and Y gaps allow you to specify the vertical and horizontal spacing between elements.
- Table—The text symbol for all text in the table, all borders around each cell, and the border around the column frame can be specified.
- Heading—Add a border, add or modify the underline symbol, and add or modify a background for all headings.
- Rows—Set a border around each row. Backgrounds 1 and 2 allow you to alternate background colors for a more effective reading of the table.
- Fields—Modify field appearance and display properties for multiple fields. For more information, see Add and modify table frame fields.
Note:
Individual cells in a table frame cannot be formatted. To highlight specific cell values, consider using dynamic text outside of the table.
Placement
The table frame's size and position can be modified by adjusting the width, height, X and Y position, and rotation. To preserve the aspect ratio when selected elements are resized, click the link button.