Create a Nested Table in Word in Java

In Word documents, inserting tables can help users to display data in a more organized way. Sometimes, you may also need to create a complex table that includes nested tables. This article will share how to programatically create a nested table within the main table in a Word document using Free Spire.Doc for Java.

Import Dependency

Method 1: Download the free library and unzip it. Then add the Spire.Doc.jar file to your Java application as dependency.
Method 2: Directly add the jar dependency to maven project by adding the following configurations to the pom.xml.

<repositories>
   <repository>
      <id>com.e-iceblue</id>
      <name>e-iceblue</name>
      <url>https://repo.e-iceblue.com/nexus/content/groups/public/</url>
   </repository>
</repositories>
<dependencies>
   <dependency>
      <groupId>e-iceblue</groupId>
      <artifactId>spire.doc.free</artifactId>
      <version>5.2.0</version>
   </dependency>
</dependencies>

Sample Code

The Table.get(int row, int column).addTable() method offered by Free Spire.Doc for Java allows you to insert a nested table to specified cell. The complete sample code is shown as below.

import com.spire.doc.*;

public class CreateNestedTable {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

        //Create a Document object
        Document doc = new Document();

        //Add a section
        Section section = doc.addSection();

        //Add a table
        Table table = section.addTable(true);
        table.resetCells(2, 3);

        //Set column width
        table.getRows().get(0).getCells().get(0).setWidth(50f);
        table.getRows().get(0).getCells().get(2).setWidth(50f);
        table.getRows().get(1).getCells().get(0).setWidth(50f);
        table.getRows().get(1).getCells().get(2).setWidth(50f);
        table.autoFit(AutoFitBehaviorType.Auto_Fit_To_Window);

        //Insert content to cells
        table.get(0,0).addParagraph().appendText("SI.No.");
        String text = "Earthwork excavation for foundation of buildings, water supply, "
                + "sanitary lines and electrical conduits either in pits or in "
                + "trenches 1.5m and above in width, in ordinary soil not exceeding "
                + "1.5m in depth including dressing the bottom and sides of pits and  "
                + "trenches, stacking the excavated soil clear.";
        table.get(0,1).addParagraph().appendText(text);
        table.get(0,2).addParagraph().appendText("Qty");

        //Add a nested table to cell(0,1)
        Table nestedTable = table.get(0,1).addTable();
        nestedTable.resetCells(3, 4);
        nestedTable.autoFit(AutoFitBehaviorType.Auto_Fit_To_Contents);

        //Add content to the cells of nested table
        nestedTable.get(0,0).addParagraph().appendText("SI.No.");
        nestedTable.get(0,1).addParagraph().appendText("Item");
        nestedTable.get(0,2).addParagraph().appendText("Qty");
        nestedTable.get(0,3).addParagraph().appendText("Rate");
        nestedTable.get(1,0).addParagraph().appendText("1");
        nestedTable.get(1,1).addParagraph().appendText("Sand");
        nestedTable.get(1,2).addParagraph().appendText("30");
        nestedTable.get(1,3).addParagraph().appendText("45");
        nestedTable.get(2,0).addParagraph().appendText("2");
        nestedTable.get(2,1).addParagraph().appendText("Cement");
        nestedTable.get(2,2).addParagraph().appendText("30");
        nestedTable.get(2,3).addParagraph().appendText("50");

        //Save the document
        doc.saveToFile("NestedTable.docx", FileFormat.Docx_2013);
    }
}