Table Guidelines

Formatting Rules and Constraints

Tables submitted to SAFE Journal of One Health must follow the formatting rules described in this section.

Merged cells

Cell merging may be used to indicate content that spans across more than one column or row.

Multi-section tables

When a table is divided into multiple sections, the number of columns must remain consistent throughout every section. Where necessary, sections may be separated and renumbered as independent tables. Tables and cells must not be nested — that is, a table must not be placed inside another table or within a cell.

Text color and formatting

All text within tables must be black. The following formatting styles are permitted: bold, italic, bold italic, underlined, superscript, subscript, and strikethrough. Meaning may also be communicated through symbols, which should be explained in the footnotes. Text appearing in header rows will be set to bold automatically during typesetting.

Text font

Any standard font size and any standard font may be used, with the exception of the font named "Symbol". To include symbols in the manuscript, use the Insert → Symbol function available in your word processor, or paste the relevant Unicode character directly into the document.

Cell shading

Background color may be applied to individual cells to communicate meaningful distinctions in the data. See the Cell Shading section below for full requirements.

Size

Tables do not have fixed width or height requirements. Do not split a table across separate files, and do not attempt to force the table to fit within the manuscript page margins. In the published PDF, very wide tables may be rotated to landscape orientation, and long tables may extend across more than one page.

When should a table become a figure? If a table has an especially complex structure or contains graphical elements, the most reliable approach is to convert it into a figure. Export the table as a TIFF, then cite and label it as a figure. Refer to the figure guidelines for technical requirements.

Arrangement of Cell Content

The rules below govern how content should be arranged within individual cells. To display formatting marks such as paragraph returns, spaces, and indents in Microsoft Word, click the ¶ (paragraph) button in the toolbar. Use the reference table below to understand the symbols shown in the examples on this page.

Symbol	Meaning
¶ or ↵	Return (paragraph mark)
· · · · ·	Spaces
→	Indent / Tab / List Entry
□	End of content

Arranging content within a cell

Use only separate cells, ordered lists, unordered lists, or paragraph returns to place content on individual lines within a cell.
Use a single tab character to indent individual content items.
Do not use spaces to create new lines, indents, or to justify text within a cell.

✔ Correct approaches

Use separate cells, ordered lists, unordered lists, or single returns to arrange content on separate lines within a cell.

✘ Incorrect approaches

Do not use multiple spaces to create a new line, and do not use tab characters or spaces to indent or justify content within a cell.

Aligning Content Across Rows and Columns

Place data in separate cells so that the text alignment matches that used in adjacent rows and columns.
Do not use paragraph returns, spaces, or tab characters to position content across the table. Alignment applied in this way is unlikely to be preserved in the published version of the article.

✔ Correct

Enter content in separate cells to control alignment across rows and columns.

✘ Incorrect

Do not insert returns, spaces, or tabs to align content across rows and columns — this method is not reliably preserved during typesetting.

Cell Shading

Color can be applied only to the background of cells, not to the text itself.

Any shading color may be used, provided legibility is maintained. Accessibility guidelines recommend a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 between the text and the cell background color. Text color must remain black throughout.
Only solid fill colors are permitted — patterns and gradients are not accepted.
Lighter shades are preferable to ensure clear contrast against the black text.
When more than one shading color is used, avoid combinations that create difficulties for readers with color vision deficiencies.
Footnotes that refer to shaded cells should describe the color in words rather than using colored images or colored text. For example: "All comparisons involving renin-angiotensin receptor blockers are shown with an orange background."

Heavy Gridlines

A heavier gridline may be applied to individual cells or to complete rows or columns. A heavy gridline renders at approximately three times the weight of a standard gridline.

To add a heavy gridline, use the Borders and Shading options in your word processor and set the line weight to 3 pt on the relevant border.

Note: When a heavy gridline is applied, the surrounding standard-weight gridlines may display as dotted lines in the editing view. This is expected behavior — the standard gridlines will be restored to their normal weight on those cells during typesetting.

How to Submit

Organization

Each table should be placed in the manuscript document immediately after the paragraph in which it is first cited, following reading order. Tables must not be submitted as separate files.

Captions

The caption must appear alongside the table in the manuscript. Captions contain three required elements:

Label: Use the format "Table X", numbered with Arabic numerals.
Title: A short, descriptive title placed above the table body.
Legend and Footnotes: Placed below the table.

In-text citations

Tables must be cited in ascending numerical order based on first appearance in the text. Each table will be positioned immediately after the paragraph in which it is first cited during typesetting.

In-text citations must match the label. For instance, if the label is "Table 1", the citation in the text must also read "Table 1".

Multiple tables may be cited together using formats such as "Table 1 and 2", "Tables 1–3", or comparable variations.

Caption structure — example

Label

Table 3.

Title

Analyses of Prognostic Factors for Overall Survival and Recurrence-free Survival.

Legend / Footnotes (placed below the table):

ALK, anaplastic lymphoma kinase; CNG, copy number gain; AJCC, American Joint Committee on Cancer; ER, estrogen receptor; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2.

* p values were calculated using the Cox-proportional hazard model.

Contact

Authors with questions about how to format and submit tables are welcome to contact the Editorial Office.

Editorial Office — SAFE Journal of One Health
Published by The SAFE Society Publishing
Email: editor@thesafesociety.com
Website: https://journal.thesafesociety.com