Skip to main content
padding() controls the space between cell content and cell borders. All padding values are in points (pts) by default.

​
Function signature

padding(
  x,
  i = NULL,
  j = NULL,
  padding = NULL,
  padding.top = NULL,
  padding.bottom = NULL,
  padding.left = NULL,
  padding.right = NULL,
  part = "body"
)

​
Parameters

​
x
flextable
required
A flextable object.
​
i
integer | formula | logical
Row selector. Accepts integer indices, a one-sided formula (e.g., ~ col > 5), or a logical vector. NULL selects all rows in the specified part.
​
j
integer | character | formula
Column selector. Accepts integer indices, column names, or a formula. NULL selects all columns.
​
padding
number
A single value (in points) applied as shortcut for all four sides: top, bottom, left, and right. Individual side arguments take precedence over this shortcut if both are supplied.
​
padding.top
number
Top padding in points.
​
padding.bottom
number
Bottom padding in points.
​
padding.left
number
Left padding in points.
​
padding.right
number
Right padding in points.
​
part
string
default:"\"body\""
Which part of the table to target: "body", "header", "footer", or "all".

​
Return value

The modified flextable object.

​
Examples

Set uniform top padding across all parts: 
ft <- flextable(head(iris))
ft <- theme_vader(ft)
ft <- padding(ft, padding.top = 4, part = "all")
ft
Set per-side padding on specific rows and columns: 
ft <- flextable(head(iris))
ft <- theme_vader(ft)
ft <- padding(ft, padding.top = 4, part = "all")
ft <- padding(ft, j = 1, padding.right = 40)
ft <- padding(ft, i = 3, padding.top = 40)
ft <- padding(ft, padding.top = 10, part = "header")
ft <- padding(ft, padding.bottom = 10, part = "header")
ft <- autofit(ft)
ft
In PDF output, only padding.left and padding.right are applied. padding.top and padding.bottom are ignored due to LaTeX limitations. For global horizontal spacing in PDF, use set_table_properties(opts_pdf = list(tabcolsep = 1)).

​
See also