Well, Dion, after all the Java programming I have done, I have learned to be
very sensitive to missing semicolons! So yes, I have been trying to insert
spaces into my table cells with and  . However, both of these
entity references produce errors in Microsoft IE 6 for some reason. I would
love to figure out why this is, but in the meantime I would really like to know
why utilizing <xsl:text> hasn't produced the desired result (though at least IE
doesn't crash).
As for your request for some code, let me provide an abbreviated version:
Say we have a set of data ranging in number from 0-3 elements, and these are to
be placed in a table. The presence of fewer than three elements means all
empty cells look the same but simply empty. Here is the code I have been using
to generate this.
<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="1">
<tr>
<!-- Call the following PART 1 -->
<xsl:for-each select="RepeatableItem">
<xsl:apply-templates select=".">
<xsl:with-param name="codeNumber"
select="position()" />
<!-- I am leaving out the template for brevity,
but basically it just prints any existing data in table cells...nothing too
fancy -->
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:for-each>
<!-- At this point, all of the 0-3 data items have been
printed, so it is now time to print the empty cells (if necessary) for the
remaining portion of the table
should there be fewer than the maximum 3 data items. -->
<!-- Call the following PART 2 -->
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="count(RepeatableItem) = 0">
<td>
<xsl:text> </xsl:text>
</td>
<td>
<xsl:text> </xsl:text>
</td>
<td>
<xsl:text> </xsl:text>
</td>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:when test="count(RepeatableItem) = 1">
<td>
<xsl:text> </xsl:text>
</td>
<td>
<xsl:text> </xsl:text>
</td>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:when test="count(RepeatableItem) = 2">
<td>
<xsl:text> </xsl:text>
</td>
</xsl:when>
</xsl:choose>
</tr>
</table>
As you can see, all that is going on here is a very rudimentary generation of
empty cells to occupy the remainder of the table. However, my problem is that
the empy cells do not render at all. It is as if none of the code in PART 2
even executes.
Thanks again to all for any insights, and please let me know if you need any
further explanation or clarification.
Neil
____________________________
Neil Chaudhuri
Research Fellow
Systems Development & Technology Support
Logistics Management Institute
(571) 633-7786
nchaudhuri(_at_)lmi(_dot_)org
www.lmi.org
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