Table in latex overlap with second page column

Question

I am having a problem with tables in LaTeX. I use a predefined format from the conference, which makes the page consist of two columns. My table is too wide to be contained in one column, so it goes to the second column of the page and overlaps with the text!

• Why does LaTeX allow this?
• Is it possible in the current format to make the table a block so that it uses two columns, and the text in the other column stretches a little?
• Any other suggestion?

This is my code:

\begin{table} \centering \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|} \hline Rule & Factor & Best Value & Delta_t & Delta_{do} & Comments \\ \hline \multirow{3}{c}{Diagonal Dominance} & Line Angle & 45 & 15 & 30 & The angle between the prominent line of the object and the diagonal lines \\ % TODO: What object? Make sure it is clear. & Line Distance & 0 & 0.25 & 1 & The distance, in screen coordinates, from the prominent line of the object to the diagonal lines. \\ % TODO: Need to define screen coordinates & Corner Distances & 0 & 0.1 & 0.7 & The distance, in screen coordinates, from the end of the prominent line of the object to the corners of the screen. \\ \hline \end{tabular} \caption{The factors of each rule and their parameters.} \label{table:factors} \end{table} 

Thank you in advance for your help.

Respectfully,
Rafid

Answer 1

Typically, the stellar version of floating environments is used to tell LaTeX about two columns. So something like:

 \begin{table*} % Table contents \end{table*} 

The same thing can be done with numbers.

Answer 2

Instead of tabular use tabularx , for example:

 \begin{tabularx}{\textwidth}{|c|c|c|c|c|X|} 

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Sorry @Rafid, I usually use a memoir that turns it on, so I forgot this bit:

 \usepackage{tabularx}