# Posting a nicely formatted table
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-a-nicely-formatted-table/766009
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [September 15, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-a-nicely-formatted-table/766009 "2016-09-15T15:37:39Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-a-nicely-formatted-table/766009/1 "2016-09-15T15:37:39Z")
How do I code to post a nice table on the boards? I want to respond to a comment with a four column, seven row table containing labels and numbers but I can’t figure it out. Thanks.
---
### Author:  [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2016, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-a-nicely-formatted-table/766009/2 "2016-09-15T16:17:59Z")
I don’t think there’s a table tag in the basic Vbulletin software. People usually do an inelegant workaround with the [code] tag which holds the spacing for whats in it e.g. :
```auto
Heading 1 Heading 2 Heading 3
-------------------------------------------------------
Entry1 Entry2 Entry3
Entry4 Entry5 Entry6
```
---
### Author:  [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-a-nicely-formatted-table/766009/3 "2016-09-15T16:24:26Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#):
>
> How do I code to post a nice table on the boards? I want to respond to a comment with a four column, seven row table containing labels and numbers but I can’t figure it out. Thanks.
It doesn’t look this this version of vBulletin supports the [table] tag type, you maybe you’ll have to fake it: switch to [noparse]
```auto
[/noparse] and paste in a "table" built with spaces, dashes, and vertical bar characters:
```
±----------------------------------------------------------+
| like | this | completely old sk00l | table |
±----------------------------------------------------------+
| which | I | just manually | formatted |
±----------------------------------------------------------+
```auto
Of course, this cannot be called "a nice table" by any stretch of imagination. :mad: It was a working technique in the last decade of the previous millennium, back in the dial-up BBS era, but even then it couldn't be called "nice."
ETA: Like **CarnalK** said. "Inelegant" is elegantly put.
```
---
### Author:  [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-a-nicely-formatted-table/766009/4 "2016-09-15T16:48:41Z")
Thanks CarnalK and gnoital. The solution may not be pretty but at least it’s within my range of abilities.
---
### Author:  [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2016, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-a-nicely-formatted-table/766009/5 "2016-09-15T17:48:29Z")
I use periods colored white. Not perfect but it works.