I would call myself an intermediate-level "XSL guy." I am currently trying to
generate a form from an existing XML instance by utilizing XSL, and part of the
form involves a grid for six possible choices for values. If any fewer than
all six values are present (which occurs almost all the time), I would like the
other portions of the grid to display as empty. However, when I build code to
do this with XSL, it turns out that the empty portions of the grid do not
render at all, and the grid looks as though it only has room for the values it
displays. For example, if there are two values, the space occupied by the grid
as a whole is occupied instead with two data cells and nothing more.
I have tried several workarounds: utilizing <xsl:text> within a <td> element,
calling a variable whose value is whitespace within a <td> element, calling a
template with a parameter whose value is whitespace within a <td> element, and
utilizing and   (which actually causes the page to bomb in Internet
Explorer 6 and I am not quite sure why) within a <td> element. None of these
have worked.
I never thought something so trivial as whitesapce could be so perplexing. Are
the circumstances I described unique to Internet Explorer, or would they arise
just as seamlessly in other renderings (e.g. by Xalan)? And of course, any
solutions or insights into this problem would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks very much.
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