clin_row_height: Set the row height of a clintable

In clinify: Clinical Table Styling Tools and Utilities

Set the row height of a clintable

Description

Regulatory outputs are usually specified to an exact row pitch, and the rendered height of a row is what decides how much fits on a page. flextable leaves rows at a nominal quarter inch with a rule of "auto", which lets the renderer size them however it likes. This records the pitch you want and applies it when the table renders.

Usage

clin_row_height(
  x,
  body = NULL,
  title = NULL,
  footnote = NULL,
  header = NULL,
  header_leading = NULL,
  rule = c("atleast", "exact", "auto"),
  unit = c("pt", "in", "cm", "mm")
)

Arguments

x	A clintable object
body	Row pitch for the table body
title	Row pitch for the title lines
footnote	Row pitch for the footnote lines, and for a footnote page
header	Row pitch for the column header rows. A floor under rule = "atleast", so a header cell of several lines still grows
header_leading	Leading of the lines within the header, as a multiple of single spacing - 0.75 draws them three quarters as far apart. This is the only measurement here that is not a length, because flextable and Word both express leading as a multiple, so unit does not apply to it
rule	How the renderer should treat the pitch. "atleast" (the default) makes it a floor, so a cell whose text wraps grows past it instead of being clipped. "exact" pins the row to the pitch and clips anything that does not fit, which is the only way to get a pitch at or below the font's line height. "auto" lets the renderer decide, ignoring the pitch.
unit	Unit the pitches are given in. Row pitch is normally specified in points, so that is the default.

Details

The surfaces are set separately because they are separate tables: the table body, the column header, and the title and footnote blocks that go into the Word header and footer. Group label and caption rows, which clinify inserts while it renders, take the body pitch.

The column header has two levers rather than one, and they do different things. header bounds the header rows the same way body bounds the body rows, so with the default rule = "atleast" it is a floor: a header cell holding three lines still grows past it. header_leading is what closes the gap between those lines, so it is the one to reach for when a wrapped arm label sits looser than a reference output. They can be used together.

Called a second time, this refines what the first call set rather than replacing it: arguments this call does not name keep their earlier value. So a house wide pitch can be set once and a single table can add an exception without restating the rest.

The height is applied to whole parts, so it is a pitch for every row of the surface rather than a per-row height. Anything already set with flextable::height() or flextable::height_all() is replaced. Because the pitch is applied after the default styling functions run, it also holds when an organisation's clinify_table_default() sets a house pitch of its own - the table's own setting wins.

Value

A clintable object

Examples

clintable(mtcars) |>
  clin_row_height(body = 15.35, title = 11.4, footnote = 11.4)

# Or in inches
clintable(mtcars) |>
  clin_row_height(body = 0.213, unit = "in")

# A wrapped header label sitting too loose: bound the header rows and close
# up the lines inside them
clintable(mtcars) |>
  clin_column_headers(mpg = "Miles\nper\ngallon") |>
  clin_row_height(header = 13, header_leading = 0.75)

clinify documentation built on Aug. 2, 2026, 1:06 a.m.