Tables of inputs and results

A table shows inputs and results as a neat grid. Its computed cells are Beermat expressions, and its columns can be used below it.

Making a table

Click where the table should go, then Insert → Table (or the ▦ button in the Insert palette). A small table appears, named T1, with the cursor in its first cell: type over it, and add rows with Enter past the last one. To rename it, right-click it and choose Name….

In the file, a table is a Markdown table inside a table fence, so it can also be written in a text editor or by an AI assistant:

```calc
L := 6 m
```

```table {name=Loads}
| Case    | q [kN/m] | M [kN*m]  |
|---------|---------:|----------:|
| Dead    | 4.5      | = q*L^2/8 |
| Imposed | 7.5      | = q*L^2/8 |
| Total   | = sum(q) | = sum(M)  |
```

```calc
M_Loads = ?
M_d := 1.35*M_Loads[0] + 1.5*M_Loads[1] = ?
```

On the page, the computed cells show their values, and below the table the column is a vector:

```calc
L := 6 m
```

```table {name=Loads}
| Case | q [kN/m] | M [kN*m] |
|---------|---------:|----------:|
| Dead | 4.5 | = q*L^2/8 |
| Imposed | 7.5 | = q*L^2/8 |
| Total | = sum(q) | = sum(M) |
```

```calc
M_Loads = ?
M_d := 1.35*M_Loads[0] + 1.5*M_Loads[1] = ?
``` — As text
```calc L := 6 m ``` ```table {name=Loads} | Case | q [kN/m] | M [kN*m] | |---------|---------:|----------:| | Dead | 4.5 | = q*L^2/8 | | Imposed | 7.5 | = q*L^2/8 | | Total | = sum(q) | = sum(M) | ``` ```calc M_Loads = ? M_d := 1.35*M_Loads[0] + 1.5*M_Loads[1] = ? ```
Open this example · Download .bbm

The line of dashes says how each column is aligned: ---: to the right, :---: centred.

The header row

Each column has a name and, in brackets, a unit: q [kN/m]. Numbers in the column are in that unit. A column of words (Case) needs no unit.

Cells

A cell holds a number, a word, or an expression starting with =:

In a row, a column’s name is that row’s value: = q*L^2/8 uses the row’s q, and L from the sheet above.
In its own column, a column’s name is the whole column, so a totals row can add it up: = sum(q).
A cell can also be named as in a spreadsheet, column letter and row number: = B2*B3, = sum(B2:B4). Row 1 is the header, so the first row of values is row 2.

Using the table below it

With a name ({name=Loads} after table), each named column is a vector for the statements below the table, with the table’s name as subscript: q_Loads, M_Loads. Every row is in it, a totals row too. The whole grid is Loads, and cells(Loads, "C2:C3") takes a range of it. A table without a name is for show: its cells can still use the sheet’s variables (= M_max).

Editing in the app

Click a cell to put the cell cursor on it, and type to replace what it holds; F2 or a double-click edits it instead. The arrows, Tab and Enter move between cells, and Enter or Tab past the last row adds a row. Right-click to insert or delete rows and columns, to name the table, or to edit it as Markdown. Ctrl+V pastes cells copied from a spreadsheet.