[texhax] Tabular, cline and column spacing

[Philip G. Ratcliffe]

> Suppose I want to typeset a table with three columns, 
> vertical lines but a
> horizontal line covering only the second column.  This is easy:
> 
>   \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|}
>     \cline{2-2}
>     a & b & c
>   \end{tabular}
> 
> But now suppose I want to have more space around the vertical 
> line between
> columns 2 and 3.  Obviously, that's what @{...} are for:
> 
>   \begin{tabular}{|c|c@{\qquad}|@{\qquad}c|}
>     \cline{2-2}
>     a & b & c
>   \end{tabular}
> 
> but something's wrong with the horizontal line here.  It is 
> as though whatever
> you put in an @{...} suppresses intercolumn space and goes at 
> the end of the
> preceding column.

Yes.

> In this very example, if you replace the second @{\qquad} by 
> a >{\qquad}, it
> seems to work, but as soon as the column type is p{}, m{} or 
> b{} (or X in
> a tabularx) it doesn't.

Quick and nasty (note the doubled && - a fake column):

  \begin{tabular}{|c|c@{\qquad}|c@{\qquad}c|}
    \cline{2-2}
    a & b && c
  \end{tabular}

I don't understand what you mean by it doesn't work for >{\qquad} with
column type p{}, ...

Cheers,  Phil