Using Layout Actions in MS Word | Lucanet Knowledge Base

Documentation

Getting Started

Global Functions

Lucanet Lume

Administration

Data Hub

Consolidation & Financial Planning

Lease Accounting

Extended Planning & Analysis (xP&A)

ESG Reporting

Disclosure Management

The Lucanet Disclosure Management User Interface

All Steps at a Glance

Basic Configuration

Dashboard

Configuring a Document

Cockpit

Creating and Editing Chapters

Creating and Editing Periods

Importing Data

Working with MS Office Files

MS Office Variants

Ribbons for Disclosure Management

Creating and Editing Excel Files

Creating and Editing Word Files

Inserting Outareas into a Word Document

Using Text Values in MS Word

Using Layout Actions in MS Word

Inserting XBRL Tags

Inserting Texts From ESG Reports

Using Copilot for Disclosure Management

Working with Word References

Versioning and Recovery of MS Office Files

Creating and Inserting Document Variables

Reviewing Layout Check Violations

Creating and Editing PowerPoint Files

Creating and Editing Validations

Using the Data View

Using the XBRL Tagger

Creating Result Document

Rolling Forward or Copying a Document

Editing Documents in the XBRL Tagger

XBRL Tagger

Tax Compliance & Reporting

Banking & Cash Management

Data Collection

Glossary

With layout actions in Lucanet Disclosure Management, you apply the specifications of a layout robot to linked Excel tables in Word files. You can configure several tables one after the other and then update the display together.

By saving a layout robot, you can use layout actions in MS Excel and MS Word to give your tables a uniform design. Use the Configure document option to assign a layout robot to a document.

How you open layout actions in Disclosure Management depends on the selected MS Office variant. The labels and the arrangement of the configuration options differ depending on the variant (see section Configuring Layout Actions).

To use layout actions in Office for the Web and Office Native:

Open the Word chapter file for editing and position the cursor in the required Disclosure Management table.

On the DM-Content tab of the Word ribbon, click Table Insert & Layout:

Shows the 'DM-Content' tab of the Word ribbon for Lucanet Disclosure Management in MS Office Native with the groups 'Server', 'Lucanet', 'Highlight', 'Integration', 'Copilot', and 'File'. Highlighted in red is the 'Table Insert & Layout' command in the 'Integration' group. — 'Table Insert & Layout' command on the 'DM-Content' tab of the Word ribbon

The Table Insert & Layout task pane is displayed on the right. It contains the Table overview and Table layout properties areas:

Shows the 'Table overview' and 'Table layout properties' areas of the 'Table Insert & Layout' task pane in Lucanet Disclosure Management. Visible are the 'Layout actions' drop-down list, 'Table scaling', the table parameters, the options 'Generic column widths' and 'Fixed column widths', and the buttons 'Previous table', 'Next table', 'Save', 'Apply', and 'Update document'. — 'Table Insert & Layout' task pane with the table overview and the table layout properties

Open the Table layout properties area. In the Layout actions drop-down list, select the required layout and configure the table parameters (see section Configuring Layout Actions).

Click Apply to save the layout assignment for the selected table. Disclosure Management does not update the display in the Word document yet.

Configure further tables if necessary. Then click Update document to save the displayed settings and apply the saved layout actions in the document.

If no table is selected in the Word document, the Table layout properties area of the Table Insert & Layout task pane in Disclosure Management prompts you to select a table instead of displaying the layout actions. In this case, position the cursor in the required Disclosure Management table. The task pane then displays the layout settings of this table.

Shows the 'Table Insert & Layout' task pane of Lucanet Disclosure Management when no table is selected in the Word document. The 'Table overview' area shows the drop-down lists 'Document', 'Chapter', and 'Outarea' (for example 'Annual Report 2025', '2.3.1. Currency Table', and 'outarea') and the 'Use Excel number format' check box, the 'Table layout properties' area shows a prompt to select a table, and the 'Insert' button is visible. — 'Table Insert & Layout' task pane without a selected table

The layout actions in the Table Insert & Layout task pane require a layout robot to be assigned to the document. If no layout robot is assigned, the Table layout properties area displays a hint about the missing assignment instead of the layout actions. In this case, assign a layout robot to the document under Configure document.

The Save button in the Table overview area saves changes to the Use Excel number format option. For layout assignments, use the Apply or Update document button.

In the Table overview area of the same task pane, you insert tables from Disclosure Management into the Word document. For more information, see Inserting Tables with Outareas into MS Word in Disclosure Management.

To use layout actions in Office for Desktop:

In the Word document, position your cursor in the table to which you want to apply layout actions.

Go to the Word ribbon and click the Insert layout actions button.

Shows part of the 'Disclosure Management' tab of the Word ribbon in Office for Desktop. Highlighted in red is the 'Insert layout actions' button in the 'Link' area. — Open the ‘Layout Action’ dialog from the Word ribbon

The Layout Action dialog is displayed in MS Word:

Shows the 'Layout Action' dialog of Disclosure Management in MS Word with the area 'General' ('Layout Action'), the area 'Parameter' with the fields and options for the table, the tabs 'Use generic column widths' and 'Use fixed column widths:' with the fields 'Width of the number column' and 'Width of the layout column', and the 'Apply' button. — 'Layout Action’ dialog

Configure the layout action (see Configuring Layout Actions), then click Apply.

After a document update, the table that was selected beforehand is selected again, so you stay where you were working.

In Disclosure Management, you can configure the layout actions of several linked tables one after the other without updating the document after each assignment. The available buttons depend on the MS Office variant.

In the Table Insert & Layout task pane of Disclosure Management, the following actions are available when a table is selected and the Table layout properties area is open:

Action	Description
Apply	Saves the layout assignment for the selected table without a document update. Applying again for the same table replaces its saved assignment.
Update document	Saves the displayed settings and updates the Word document. Disclosure Management then selects the previously selected table again.
Previous table	Saves the current layout assignment without a document update and switches to the previous Disclosure Management table. Note: The action is locked if the first Disclosure Management table is selected.
Next table	Saves the current layout assignment without a document update and switches to the next Disclosure Management table. Note: The action is locked if the last Disclosure Management table is selected.

When switching, Disclosure Management skips plain Word tables. After each switch, the task pane displays the settings of the newly selected table.

A counter displays how many tables have received a layout assignment since the last document update. The counter counts multiple assignments for the same table once. After the update, Disclosure Management resets the counter. The assignments remain saved even if you reload the task pane.

In Office for Desktop, the Layout Actions Assistant of Disclosure Management can apply a layout action and move straight on to the next table, so that you do not have to scroll through the document to find it. This is useful in chapters that contain several tables.

The assistant offers the following options in addition to Apply:

Option	Description
Previous	Applies the current layout action to the selected table without running a document update, then selects the previous Disclosure Management table in the document. Note: The option is not available while the first Disclosure Management table in the document is selected.
Next	Applies the current layout action to the selected table without running a document update, then selects the next Disclosure Management table in the document. Note: The option is not available while the last Disclosure Management table in the document is selected.

Only Disclosure Management tables are taken into account. Plain Word tables in the same document are skipped.

After each jump, the assistant displays the layout action of the newly selected table, so you can adjust it before moving on.

Previous and Next deliberately do not run a document update. Use Apply when you want the document to be updated as well.

Unless stated otherwise, the following configuration options for layout actions in Disclosure Management apply to all MS Office variants – Office for the Web, Office Native, and Office for Desktop. In Office for the Web and Office Native, you find the options under Table layout properties in the Table Insert & Layout task pane. In Office for Desktop, you use the Layout Action dialog. The example screenshots in this section are taken from Office for Desktop.

In Office for the Web and Office Native, Generic column widths is selected by default for the column widths. The numerical parameters are initially empty. Do not separate paragraphs is enabled by default; Invert zebra and Do not apply DoubleTab to percentage values are disabled. For tables that have already been configured, the task pane shows the saved values.

Shows the 'General' area of the 'Layout Action' dialog in Disclosure Management with the drop-down list 'Layout Action'. — 'General' area in the 'Layout Action' dialog

In the General section of the Layout Action dialog, you can select and configure the table layouts defined in the layout robot. The following options are available:

Option	Description
Layout Action (Office for Desktop) / Layout actions (Office for the Web and Office Native)	Click the corresponding table in the Word document and select the required layout from the drop-down list. Note: The available layout actions come from the layout robot assigned to the document under Configure document.
Table scaling	Available in Office for the Web and Office Native. In the drop-down list, select the scaling percentage to be applied to the table. Table width, spacing, and font size are adjusted proportionally, so that a table that is otherwise too large fits on one page.

Shows the 'Parameter' area of the 'Layout Action' dialog in Disclosure Management with the fields 'Double Tab position' (twice), 'Table indentation', 'First Layout Column' and 'First Double Tab Column' and the options 'Do not separate paragraphs', 'Invert zebra pattern' and 'Do not apply DoubleTab to percentage values'. — 'Parameter' area in the 'Layout Action' dialog

In the Parameter section of the Layout Action dialog, you can edit the properties of the table. In Office for the Web and Office Native, these fields are located directly under Table layout properties. The following table names both labels where they differ:

Option	Description
Table width	The absolute width of the table in cm, e.g. 15.5. Equivalent to the Preferred width table property in MS Word.
Double tab position (Office for Desktop) / Position of the DoubleTab (Office for the Web and Office Native)	Moves the number in the table by the specified factor in order to ensure the numbers wrap around existing footnotes or brackets, for example. This value is specified in cm, e.g. - 0.2 would move the numbers 2 mm to the left. You can find an example at the bottom of the table.
Table indent	The indent of the table in cm, e.g. 2. Equivalent to the Indent from left table property in MS Word.
First layout column	Numerical value indicating which column should be treated as the first layout column. Layout columns are empty columns created between value columns in MS Excel. Layout columns are used purely for aesthetic reasons. If a column does not contain any content and its width is <= 0.5 px, the layout robot will register it as a layout column.
First double tab column (Office for Desktop) / First DoubleTab column (Office for the Web and Office Native)	Numerical value indicating which column should be the first to include a double tab.
Do not separate paragraphs	Prevents paragraph breaks in the table, ensuring it stays together as intended.
Invert zebra	Inverts the pattern of alternating colors used in a table (e.g. each white column is followed by a gray one, etc.).
Do not apply DoubleTab to percentage values	The position of the DoubleTab entered under the Double tab position or Position of the DoubleTab option is not applied to percent values.

Example for the Double tab position option: In the example below, negative numbers are written in brackets in MS Excel. This has resulted in the numbers no longer being positioned below one another (left-hand column). Entering a double tab in MS Excel will realign the numbers so they are below one another again (right-hand column):

Shows the example columns 'MS Excel' and 'MS Word' with the numbers '123.456' and '(123.456)'. In the 'MS Excel' column, the numbers are not aligned with each other. In the 'MS Word' column, the numbers are aligned one below the other. — Using a DoubleTab to align numbers one below the other in MS Word

Shows the 'Use generic column widths' tab of the 'Layout Action' dialog in Disclosure Management with the fields 'Width of the number column' and 'Width of the layout column' and the 'Apply' button. — 'Use generic column widths' in the 'Layout Action' dialog

Shows the 'Use fixed column widths:' tab of the 'Layout Action' dialog in Disclosure Management with the hint to specify column widths in the format '1.2#2.3#3.4', an input field and the 'Apply' button. — 'Use fixed column widths' in the 'Layout Action' dialog

In the Columns section of the Layout Action dialog, you can edit the column widths of the selected table. In Office for the Web and Office Native, the corresponding options are called Generic column widths and Fixed column widths. The following descriptions refer to the dialog in Office for Desktop:

Option	Description
Use generic column widths	Combination of fixed and calculated column widths. For example, you can enter the widths for number columns and layout columns (in cm). The width of the name column is then calculated automatically. This value is specified in cm. Alternatively, you can use an Auto column; the column width will then be calculated automatically based on the value you enter in the other column. Note: You can use generic column widths if your table regularly alternates between column types, e.g. Name column, Layout column, Value column, Layout column, Value column, etc.
Use fixed column widths	Use this option to define fixed column widths. When using fixed column widths, you will need to enter the width of each column in turn, in cm. Each width should be separated with a hash (#), e.g. 0.3#1.2#2.0#3#4.1. Instead of a specific size value, you can also use Auto, e.g.: auto#2.5#1.3. The column width will then be calculated automatically based on the values you have entered for the other columns. Note: You can use fixed column widths if you don’t want your columns to alternate regularly, e.g. if you want several Name columns next to each other.

Option

Description

Use generic column widths

Combination of fixed and calculated column widths. For example, you can enter the widths for

number columns

and

layout columns

(in

). The width of the name column is then calculated automatically. This value is specified in

.
Alternatively, you can use an

Auto

column; the column width will then be calculated automatically based on the value you enter in the other column.

Note:

You can use

generic column widths

if your table regularly alternates between column types, e.g. Name column,

Layout

column,

Value

column,

Layout

column,

Value

column, etc.

Use fixed column widths

Use this option to define fixed column widths. When using fixed column widths, you will need to enter the width of each column in turn, in cm. Each width should be separated with a hash (#), e.g.

0.3#1.2#2.0#3#4.1

.
Instead of a specific size value, you can also use

Auto

, e.g.:

auto#2.5#1.3

. The column width will then be calculated automatically based on the values you have entered for the other columns.

Note:

You can use

fixed column widths

if you don’t want your columns to alternate regularly, e.g. if you want several Name columns next to each other.

A separate layout robot can be stored for each document in Lucanet Disclosure Management.

To assign a layout robot to a document, you must open the Configure document workspace and add a layout robot in the Layout Robot settings area (see also Configuring a Document).

This is also where you can use the icon to save an already assigned layout robot locally, e.g. to use it in another document.

Shows the 'Configure document' workspace in Disclosure Management with the areas 'Layout Robot settings' and 'XBRL' and the 'Save' button. Highlighted in red are 'Configure document' in the overview and the field 'Add Layout Robot' with the file 'LAR_TheGroup.xml' and the download and delete icons. — Assign, save, or delete layout robots

This content was generated using AI and reviewed by Lucanet subject matter experts before publication.

Page IDKB8323590

Last updated on Oct 20, 2026

Overview

Opening the Layout Actions Assistant in Disclosure Management

Office for the Web and Office Native

Office for Desktop

Working Through Several Tables in Sequence in Disclosure Management

Office for the Web and Office Native

Office for Desktop

Configuring Layout Actions in Disclosure Management

Using Layout Actions in MS Word in Disclosure Management

Overview

Opening the Layout Actions Assistant in Disclosure Management

Office for the Web and Office Native

Office for Desktop

Working Through Several Tables in Sequence in Disclosure Management

Office for the Web and Office Native

Office for Desktop

Configuring Layout Actions in Disclosure Management

General

Parameter

Description

Columns

Table of Contents

Company

Legal Notice

Table of Contents

Related Articles

Company

Legal Notice