### 25.4.2 Choosing a WAI markup method for tables

For WAI markup that affects the table as whole, probably it does not matter which markup method you choose (see §25.1 Comparing Mif2Go markup methods for WAI). However, for markup that affects individual rows, columns, or cells, the “best” (most practical) method depends on the following characteristics of the tables in your FrameMaker document:

• Number (are you converting a single table, 10 tables, or 1,000 tables?)

• Size (are most tables on the order of two rows by three columns, or 2,000 rows by 15 columns?)

• Diversity (do most tables have the same structure, or do they vary widely?)

• Complexity (do some tables have more than two dimensions of data, or multiple row or column headers, and do some tables have header or body cells that span more than one row or column?)

For large, complex tables you will have a lot of work to do no matter which method(s) you choose. Here are some of the considerations:

• Markers have the advantage that displaying them in FrameMaker does not cause a table to balloon into something monstrous and unwieldy. On the other hand, markers can be difficult to work with because of the tiny dialog FrameMaker provides, and because each marker is limited to 256 characters.

• Applying conditional text to special paragraphs containing attribute values, or to extra paragraphs in formats to which attributes are assigned, might seem easier than using markers. However, applying conditions to text in individual cells in FrameMaker tables can be problematic. And when you Show All, many of your tables might become unreadable.

• A different paragraph format for the text in each group of cells that needs a particular combination of WAI attributes can work well if your document contains just one large table; but might become a major annoyance if your document contains a lot of tables. Each of those paragraph formats must be unique in your document, and all of them have to be in the catalog.

| 25.4.1 Following WAI guidelines for tables |  | 25.4.3 Providing table summary and title information |