This should be so simple (it is in all the other word processors I’ve used over the last 50 years). In Writer, I want to create a 19-column table where the column widths are defined by me, and thus the width of the table is the sum of those columns. And I can’t find out how to do it! Try as I might, Writer keeps adjusting my set widths. How do I say: just create this table the way I say, and let me fiddle with the column widths until I’m happy?
On Writer, table width is entangled with table alignment. In order to have absolute freedom to set anything on a given table, right click → Table properties and on Table tab select Manual, now on the Column check the Adapt table width button. Now you’ll see how, every time you make a column narrower, the box Remaining space is automatically updated.
Thank you very much! I’d tried that, but I think I made the mistake of not starting off with narrow columns, so that my attempted settings were over-ridden by the limit of the page width. Thanks again