Setting different columns width as a style

Rather than create a style, how about creating a “template“ table with the column widths you want but with just one row or, if you want specific headers, just a header row and one “normal” row? The cells can be left blank. Perhaps this table could then be saved as a snippet or a library item. Then, whenever you want the table, insert the snippet or library item and begin to fill your cells. When you are in the last cell of the row, just hitting Tab will create a new row below.
Alternately, if you always use the table with a set number of rows, give it that many rows when you create the snippet. There may be other features that are always used when you use this table, such as the contents of particular cells. These too could be incorporated into your “template”.

It is a public holiday where I am (Anzac Day) so my brain is not running at peak efficiency. But here goes. Without seeing the data you are using, I am guessing a little. But here is what I would do. This is my work-around for the problem:

In an empty page, create a text frame of the width you want your table to be. Then, within that text frame, create a table with only one row and with the number of columns you want. If you plan to have a header row as well, you can set this up at the same time using the Table/Insert Table… menu command. Then adjust the widths of the columns to those you want. Give the table whatever other features you know (or expect) you will need whenever you use it in the future. This is then your “template” table.

I figured that the most efficient way to use this “template” table is to save it as an ordinary InDesign document (.indd), perhaps giving it a title that allows you to identify it quickly, such as “Six-column data table.indd”. Then, whenever you need that particular table format, open the “template” document, select the table, copy it and then, in the document where you want it to be, paste it in. The data can then be copied and pasted, or simply typed, into the cells as needed.

This work-around does NOT give you a table style to be applied to another table. However, if you are importing another table from elsewhere (or rather, using the data from another table) and therefore know the number of rows, you can do this:

1. Copy and paste your “template” table as above.
2. Increase the size of your newly-pasted table to the desired number of rows using the Table/Table Options/Table Setup… dialog box.
3. Select the contents of your other table and copy.
4. Select all the cells of your new table and paste.

The data should then appear in the new table but retain the column widths that you have established.

Let me stress that this is a work-around. It is not pretty, but it works. I will be delighted if some other contributor comes up with a better solution.

Sorry, table and cell styles cannot “remember” size information.

It seems to be a limitation. There must be some ways to save Tables as styles with all the information including size,width, height, number of rows and columns.

@Adobe, please make a note of it.

@Masood: I don’t know if Adobe checks out these forums, and thus will make a note of it.

I think it needs to be submitted to Adobe as a feature request.

2017 and tables styles are still a joke! Do we really need to redo tables if we need to adjust the width. How about doing 200pages adjusting the width!!!! pfffff

Does anybody know a trick? My idea was object style and do something about the warning i would get if the table is to wide

Rombout, if you have 200 pages, you would normally use a script for this task. There are several scripts available that can control the table inside a textframe and also the width of different columns.

As Kai said: there are scripts, several of which are available on this site. Search for “script table width” and you’ll find a bunch.

For example:
https://creativepro.com/sizing-tables-with-script.php

okay guys thanks! But still wondering why after 7 years this is not implemented, imean some items are. But very need items like this still need to be done by scripting, thats weird, isnt it???