Table Cell Node Type

Category: Structural • Detailed implementation guide with view integration notes

Schema Definition

Schema definition for the Table Cell node type:

{
  tableCell: {
    content: 'block+',
    tableRole: 'cell',
    isolating: true,
    attrs: {
      colspan: { default: 1 },
      rowspan: { default: 1 }
    },
                      node.attrs.rowspan > 1 ? { rowspan: node.attrs.rowspan } : {}, 0]
  }
}

Model Representation

Example model representation:

{
  type: 'tableCell',
  attrs: { colspan: 1, rowspan: 1 },
  children: [
    {
      type: 'paragraph',
      children: [{ type: 'text', text: 'Cell content' }]
    }
  ]
}

HTML Serialization

Converting model to HTML:

function serializeTableCell(node) {
  const attrs = {};
  if (node.attrs.colspan > 1) attrs.colspan = node.attrs.colspan;
  if (node.attrs.rowspan > 1) attrs.rowspan = node.attrs.rowspan;
  return '<td' + serializeAttrs(attrs) + '>' + 
         serializeChildren(node.children) + '</td>';
}

HTML Deserialization

Parsing HTML to model:

function parseTableCell(domNode) {
  return {
    type: 'tableCell',
    attrs: {
      colspan: parseInt(domNode.getAttribute('colspan')) || 1,
      rowspan: parseInt(domNode.getAttribute('rowspan')) || 1
    },
    children: Array.from(domNode.childNodes)
      .map(node => parseNode(node))
      .filter(Boolean)
  };
}

View Integration

View Integration Notes: Pay special attention to contenteditable behavior, selection handling, and event management when implementing this node type in your view layer.

View integration code:

// Rendering table cell
const td = document.createElement('td');
td.contentEditable = 'true';
if (node.attrs.colspan > 1) td.colSpan = node.attrs.colspan;
if (node.attrs.rowspan > 1) td.rowSpan = node.attrs.rowspan;
node.children.forEach(child => {
  td.appendChild(renderNode(child));
});

// Handling Enter in table cell
function handleEnterInTableCell(e) {
  e.preventDefault();
  // Create new paragraph in cell
  const p = document.createElement('p');
  insertNode({ type: 'paragraph', children: [] });
}

Common Issues

Common Pitfalls: These are issues frequently encountered when implementing this node type. Review carefully before implementation.

Common issues and solutions:

// Issue: Empty cells
// Solution: Ensure at least one block
function validateTableCell(cell) {
  if (!cell.querySelector('p, ul, ol, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6')) {
    const p = document.createElement('p');
    cell.appendChild(p);
  }
}

// Issue: Cell selection
// Solution: Handle cell selection
function selectCell(td) {
  const range = document.createRange();
  range.selectNodeContents(td);
  const selection = window.getSelection();
  selection.removeAllRanges();
  selection.addRange(range);
}

// Issue: Colspan/rowspan validation
// Solution: Validate span attributes
function validateCellSpan(cell, table) {
  // Ensure colspan/rowspan don't exceed table dimensions
}

Implementation

Complete implementation example:

class TableCellNode {
  constructor(attrs, children) {
    this.type = 'tableCell';
    this.attrs = {
      colspan: attrs?.colspan || 1,
      rowspan: attrs?.rowspan || 1
    };
    this.children = children || [];
  }
  
  toDOM() {
    const td = document.createElement('td');
    if (this.attrs.colspan > 1) td.colSpan = this.attrs.colspan;
    if (this.attrs.rowspan > 1) td.rowSpan = this.attrs.rowspan;
    this.children.forEach(child => {
      td.appendChild(child.toDOM());
    });
    return td;
  }
  
  static fromDOM(domNode) {
    return new TableCellNode(
      {
        colspan: parseInt(domNode.getAttribute('colspan')) || 1,
        rowspan: parseInt(domNode.getAttribute('rowspan')) || 1
      },
      Array.from(domNode.childNodes)
        .map(node => parseNode(node))
        .filter(Boolean)
    );
  }
}