[Tex/LaTex] Bold \hlines for longtable

longtablerulestables

I've searched the topic and found the following two answers.

Answer 1. LaTeX tables: How do I make bold horizontal lines (typically \hline)?

The best answer suggests to use booktabs. However booktabs documentation says:

A somewhat technical note: within a longtable, \hline and \hline\hline
both produce a double rule (to allow for page breaks occurring at that point).
But the booktabs rules do not. Longtable’s automatic doubling of \hline is
questionable, even according to the documentation within that package. But
doubled booktabs rules make almost no sense at all. In the unfortunate event
that a booktabs rule should occur at a page break, then you will have to make the
necessary adjustments by hand. (In general, this will mean deleting the oﬀending
rule.)

That's not the way it works. I don't want to make any more adjustments by hand since there are already a lot of things to be checked over.

Answer 2. Longtable does not break correctly when used with \specialrule instead of \hline

Here the author have faced the problem described above. He'd tried to use \specialrule from the booktabs package but the output at page break was buggy. The solution was to use normal \hline with previously adjusted \arrayrulewidth. Unfortunately, this can be applied only to the whole longtable, but not to the individual \hline.

Best Answer

You seem to be lacking a question, as you just quote two answers, but an answer to a possibly related question is

 \\
 \noalign{\global\arrayrulewidth0.5cm}
 \hline
 \noalign{\global\arrayrulewidth0.4pt}

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] How to make continuous (but breakable) vertical rule along left side of paragraph

Try the file below. You asked for Plain TeX - so this must be run with pdftex (not pdflatex). This file (vert.tex) and some test files are hosted on GitHub at https://github.com/m4dc4p/vert.

%% Justin Bailey 2011
%% jgbailey@codeslower.com
%%
%% To use: surround paragraphs to place a rule
%% with \startrule and \endrule.
%%
%% E.g.:
%%
%% \startrule 
%% This paragraph will have a rule around it.
%% \endrule
%%
%% Multiple paragraphs can be spanned as well. Rules will break across
%% pages. Unfortunately, glue between paragraphs will not stretch
%% in that case, but usually it's not noticeable.
%%
%% You can change the offset of the rule by setting \ruleoffset. Rules
%% are always offset from the left margin.
%%
%% A simple \codeblock environment is included too.
%%
%% To use it, surround the code with \codeblock{
%%
%% }
%%
%% Code must appear in the group. The group must immediately follow \codeblock.
%% Code is set ragged right, obeying newlines, using typewriter font.

\newdimen\ruleoffset \ruleoffset=-10pt %% Horizontal offset for the
                                  %% rule. This is the parameter that
                                  %% should be set by the user.

\newdimen\roffset %% For calculating offset from left margin for rule.
\newbox\savedbox \newif\ifoutputran \newbox\rulebox
\newdimen\splitheight \newdimen\interparskip
\newtoks\codetoks

%% The basic idea is to use TeX's output routines
%% to determine if our ruled box is too high. If so
%% we split the box, set a rule, and put the rest on 
%% the next page. \endrule does most of the work.
\def\startrule{%%
%% Clear our saved box.
  \setbox0=\hbox{\box\savedbox}\par%%
%% Save \ruleoffset for later use.
  \xdef\setroffset{\roffset=\the\leftskip \advance\roffset by \the\ruleoffset}%%
%% Save \prevdepth so we can use it to calculate interparagraph
%% glue.
  \xdef\theprevdepth{\the\prevdepth}%%
%% Save material proceeding \startrule unless we're at
%% the top of the page.
  \output={\accum}\ifnum\pagegoal<\maxdimen\relax%%
  \vfil\break\outputranfalse%%
%% Capture everything up to \endrule in a \vbox.
  \fi\setbox\rulebox=\vbox\bgroup}
\def\endrule{\egroup%%
%% Test if \rulebox + \savedbox will overflow
%% the page.
  \output{\test}%%
  \setinterparskip\setroffset%%
  \setbox4=\makerule\copy\rulebox/%%
%% \vfuzz and \vbadness set to avoid overfull/underfull warnings
%% while testing.
  \edef\thevfuzz{\the\vfuzz}\edef\thevbadness{\the\vbadness}%%
  \vfuzz=10in\box4\penalty0%%
%% Restore default output routine.
  \output={\savedout}\vfuzz=\thevfuzz%%
  \ifoutputran\outputranfalse%%
%% The material overflowed the page, so we split off what 
%% can fit (\splitheight) and put that on the page.
    \vfuzz=10in\vbadness=10000%%
    \setbox0=\vsplit\rulebox to \splitheight\vbadness=\thevbadness%%
    \makerule\box0/\break\vfuzz=\thevfuzz%%
%% Put remaining material in a ruled box unless
%% nothing was left (\ifvoid)
    \ifvoid\rulebox%%
      \else\startrule\unvbox\rulebox\endrule%%
    \fi%%
  \fi}

%% Ensures spaces at the beginning of the line are always
%% preserved. TABs will not be. Thanks to TeX for the Impatient
%% (eplain) for \alwayspace.
{\gdef\alwaysspace{\hglue\fontdimen2\the\font \relax}%%
  \obeyspaces\gdef {\alwaysspace}}

%% Define new lines so that in \codeblock they don't start a new
%% paragraph - they just insert a line break.
{\catcode`\^^M=\active \gdef^^M{\null\hfil\break} \global\let\ret=^^M}

\newtoks\codetoks
%% \codeblock must be followed by a group or it has no effect.
%% When followed by a group, the text found will be set on
%% individual lines as they appear in the group (i.e. new lines 
%% are obeyed). The entire group will be have a rule next to it.
%% The group is also set in typewriter font, with ragged-right
%% margins.
%%
%% Note that text in the group is NOT set verbatim.
\def\codeblock{\codetoks={}%%
%% Removes final lineskip if one was there.
  \gdef\endo{\unpenalty\endrule\prevdepth=0pt\relax}%%
%% Removes initial newline, if one was there. Otherwise, reinsert the
%% token captured.
  \gdef\ignorenewline{\ifx\next\ret%%
    \else\next%%                      
    \fi}%%                          
  \gdef\do{\ifx\next\bgroup%% 
    \codetoks={\startrule\noindent\bgroup%%
      \ttraggedright%%
      \parindent=0pt%%
      \tt%%
      \aftergroup\endo%%
      \ignorespaces%%
      \catcode`\^^M=\active\obeyspaces%%
      \afterassignment\ignorenewline\let\next= }%%
    \fi\the\codetoks}%%
  \ignorespaces\afterassignment\do\let\next= }

\edef\savedout{\the\output}
%% Accumulate vertical material into a box.
\def\accum{\global\setbox\savedbox=\vbox{\unvbox\savedbox\unvbox255\unskip}}
%% An output routine that tells us it ran and
%% throws away the page built.
\def\test{\global\outputrantrue%%
  \global\splitheight=\vsize%%
  \global\advance\splitheight by -\ht\savedbox%%
  \global\advance\splitheight by -\dp\savedbox%%
  \setbox0=\vbox{\box255}}

\def\makerule#1/{\vbox{\unvcopy\savedbox%%
    \vskip\interparskip\par\penalty0%%
    \hbox{\hskip \roffset \vrule \hss \hskip -\roffset \strut#1\strut}}}%%
\def\setinterparskip{\setbox2=\vtop{X\par}%%
  \setbox4=\vtop{\unvcopy\rulebox}%% 
%% Set \prevdepth so inter-paragraph glue is calculated based
%% on the paragraph that really preceded \startrule, not our
%% fake paragraph.
  \setbox0=\vbox{\copy2\par\prevdepth=\theprevdepth\copy4}%%
  \interparskip=\ht0 \advance\interparskip by -\ht4 \advance\interparskip by -\ht2}%%

[Tex/LaTex] Longtable does not break correctly when used with \specialrule instead of \hline

\hline in longtable really needs to know a lot about how longtables are put together, in particular how the left and right margin works, and what to do at a page break. It's basically more like \cline, or rather two \clines one on top of the other to allow duplication at a break.

So basically rules from other packages are not likely to work unless they explicitly cater for longtable.

If you just need varying \arrayrulewidth you should be able to use \setlength{\arrayrulewidth}{3pt} and then a normal \hline.

booktabs does have some support for it but I note its documentation says explicitly.

A somewhat technical note: within a longtable, \hline and \hline\hline both produce a double rule (to allow for page breaks occurring at that point). But the booktabs rules do not. longtable's automatic doubling of \hline is questionable, even according to the documentation within that package. But doubled booktabs rules make almost no sense at all.

So it seems to imply that the behaviour at the page break is by design.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] How to make continuous (but breakable) vertical rule along left side of paragraph

[Tex/LaTex] Longtable does not break correctly when used with \specialrule instead of \hline

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