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optimized data table layout

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From: Lee, Samson (HRSA) [C]
Date: Apr 9, 2008 12:00PM


I have a data table that looks like this:

Age

Type

Many Words1 Blah Blah Blah

Many Words2 Blah Blah Blah

Total

Male

Female

Male

Female

10 - 20

TypeName1











TypeName2-This name is long











20 - 30

TypeName1











TypeName2-This name is long











I'm trying to simplify the table format for accessibility while keeping
it intuitive from usability's point of view.

There are two options I can think of:

Option 1:

TypeName1


Age

Many Words1 Blah Blah Blah

Many Words2 Blah Blah Blah

Total


Male

Female

Male

Female


10 - 20












20 - 30















TypeName2-This name is long


Age

Many Words1 Blah Blah Blah

Many Words2 Blah Blah Blah

Total


Male

Female

Male

Female


10 - 20












20 - 30













This gets rid of the spanned rows in the header column, but it has two
tables with the same header rows, which doesn't seem to be intuitive.

Option 2:



Age & Type

Many Words1 Blah Blah Blah

Many Words2 Blah Blah Blah

Total

Male

Female

Male

Female

10 - 20: TypeName1











10 - 20: TypeName2-This name is long











20 - 30: TypeName1











20 - 30: TypeName2-This name is long













This option keeps everything in one table and it is simplified. I like
this better than Option 1, but I wonder if I can improve even more. Any
thoughts?