DR 09-0296 — WML: table without a gridCol

[Chris Rae]

http://cid-c8ba0861dc5e4adc.office.live.com/view.aspx/Public%20Documents/2009/DR-09-0296.docx

This DR concerns the behaviour of w:gridSpan when w:gridCol is not specified, more specifically whether w:gridSpan is permitted or not.

As the DR mentions, there's no requirement for a w:gridCol attribute. Inside 17.4.16 (gridCol) the standard mentions that "If the table grid does not match the requirements of one or more rows in the table (i.e. it does not define
enough grid columns), then the grid can be redefined as needed when the table is processed".

Likewise, inside 17.4.17 (gridSpan), the standard says "If the number of grid units specified by the val attribute exceeds the size of the table grid, then the table grid shall be augmented as needed to create the number of grid columns required".

I think these statements combined give enough indication as to behaviour (and this behaviour is what the submitter was hoping for!) so I think we can close this DR. If the above isn't clear enough we could certainly add a note to one of the relevant paragraphs.

Your thoughts,

Chris