[Tex/LaTex] Add vertical space between lines without breaking a vertical line

tablesvertical alignment

I am writing a resume in TeX. I'm formatting my technical skills in a tabular environment. Currently it looks like:

$Before \vspace$

\begin{tabular}{ l | c c c }
\textbf{Programming Languages} & Java & C & Python \\   
\textbf{Web Development} & Javascript & jQuery & Ajax \\
\textbf{Mobile} & Android & iOS \\
\end{tabular}

I want to add a little bit of vertical space between each line for readability. The only way I know how to do this is with \vspace.

When I add \vspace {1 mm} I get:

$After \vspace$

\begin{tabular}{ l | c c c }
\vspace {1 mm}
\textbf{Programming Languages} & Java & C & Python \\   
\vspace {1 mm}
\textbf{Web Development} & Javascript & jQuery & Ajax \\
\textbf{Mobile} & Android & iOS \\
\end{tabular}

However, I want the vertical line to be consistent from the top to the bottom of the table, like this:

What I want

I would also like to be able to insert the vertical space between arbitrary lines (rather than every other line) like below. Notice that there is no extra space between the first and second line of the first section.

Arbitrary extra space

I assume that I need to use tabular-specific formatting but I'm not sure where to start.

Best Answer

Option-1: You can add the space after each \\ like \\[2mm] at every row end.

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{array}   %% habitual addition
\begin{document}
  \begin{tabular}{ l | c c c }
    \textbf{Programming Languages} & Java & C & Python \\[2mm]  %%<-- note [2mm] here
    \textbf{Web Development} & Javascript & jQuery & Ajax \\[2mm]  %%<-- note [2mm] here
    \textbf{Mobile} & Android & iOS \\
\end{tabular}  
\end{document}

enter image description here

Option-2: Change \arraystretch for the entire table at once.

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{array}   %% habitual addition
\renewcommand\arraystretch{1.5}   %% < like this. change 1.5 to whatever you need.
\begin{document}
  \begin{tabular}{ l | c c c }
    \textbf{Programming Languages} & Java & C & Python \\
    \textbf{Web Development} & Javascript & jQuery & Ajax \\
    \textbf{Mobile} & Android & iOS \\
\end{tabular}  
\end{document}

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] vspace before itemize in a Table cell, tabular vs longtable

Oh! Sorry I think this is an unreported bug in longtable.

Longtable inserts a strut to keep a minimal separation between the text and any \hline or the previous row.

It does this with the following code

\def\LT@startpbox#1{%
  \bgroup
    \let\@footnotetext\LT@p@ftntext
    \setlength\hsize{#1}%
    \@arrayparboxrestore
    \vrule \@height \ht\@arstrutbox \@width \z@}

If you look at the equivalent code in the array package, you find

\def\@startpbox#1{\bgroup
%    \end{macrocode}
%    The argument is the width of the box. This information has to be
%    assigned to =\hsize=.
%    Then we assain default values to several parameters used in a
%    \textsf{parbox}.
% \changes{v2.3k}{1998/05/12}{Use \cs{setlength} to set \cs{hsize},
%      so that the calc package can be applied here (pr/2793)}
%    \begin{macrocode}
  \setlength\hsize{#1}\@arrayparboxrestore
%    \end{macrocode}
%    Our main problem is to obtain the same distance between succeeding
%    lines of the \textsf{parbox}.
%    We have to remember that the distance between two \textsf{parboxes}
%    should be defined by =\@arstrut=. That means that it can be
%    greater than the distance in a \textsf{parbox}.
%    Therefore it is not enough to set a =\@arstrut= at the
%    beginning and at the end of the \textsf{parbox}. This would
%    dimension the distance
%    between first and second line and the distance between the two
%    last lines of the \textsf{parbox} wrongly.
%    To prevent this we set an invisible rule of height
%    =\@arstrutbox=
%    at the beginning of the \textsf{parbox}. This has no effect on the
%    depth of the first line. At the end of the \textsf{parbox} we set
%    analogously another invisible rule which only affects the depth
%    of the last line. It is necessary to wait inserting this strut
%    until the paragraph actually starts to allow for things like
%    =\parindent= changes via =>{...}=.
% \changes{v2.1c}{1992/12/14}{Use `everypar to insert strut}
%    \begin{macrocode}
   \everypar{%
      \vrule \@height \ht\@arstrutbox \@width \z@
      \everypar{}}%
   }
%    \end{macrocode}
% \end{macro}

The important bit being the last few lines which delay adding the strut by using \everypar.

It seems to me the same fix should have been applied to longtable so only 20 years too late I suggest

\def\LT@startpbox#1{%
  \bgroup
  \color@begingroup% Omit line if package date older than 2014/10/28
    \let\@footnotetext\LT@p@ftntext
    \setlength\hsize{#1}%
    \@arrayparboxrestore
   \everypar{%
      \vrule \@height \ht\@arstrutbox \@width \z@
      \everypar{}}%
%    \vrule \@height \ht\@arstrutbox \@width \z@
}

which then makes both your tables have the same vertical spacing.

If you do this could you change

\ProvidesPackage{longtable}
          [2004/02/01 v4.11 Multi-page Table package (DPC)]

\ProvidesPackage{longtable}
          [2004/02/01 v4.11 Multi-page Table package (DPC) + strut fix]

I suspect after all this time I can't change longtables default spacing, however I should add an option to fix it.

[Tex/LaTex] Add vertical space before a line

\documentclass[12pt, a4paper] {article}

\begin{document}
  \vspace*{1cm}
  \begin{center}
    \textbf{Text of Certification}\\
  \end{center}
  I hereby confirm that the Bachelor Thesis presented by me has been prepared independently, using no other sources, resources and other aids than those mentioned. All parts - literally or by their meaning - taken from published or non-published sources are credited as such. The Bachelor Thesis in its current or similar form has never been submitted as a graded assignment.

  \vspace{2cm}

  \noindent\makebox[3cm]{\hrulefill} \hfill\makebox[3cm]{\hrulefill}

  \noindent\makebox[3cm][l]{Date} \hfill\makebox[3cm][l]{Signature}

  \thispagestyle{empty}
  \clearpage
\end{document}

space before lines

Best Answer

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] vspace before itemize in a Table cell, tabular vs longtable

[Tex/LaTex] Add vertical space before a line

Related Question