jx:autoColWidth

jx:autoColWidth adjusts column widths after content is written so that all text fits without truncation. The column counterpart to jx:autoRowHeight.

Syntax

jx:autoColWidth(lastCell="D1")

Attributes

Attribute	Required	Description
lastCell	Yes	Bottom-right cell of the area whose columns should be auto-sized

When to use jx:autoColWidth

Use it when your data has variable-length content and you don’t want users to manually resize columns:

• Name columns where some entries are short (“Al”) and others long (“Christopher Alexander”)
• Description or notes columns
• Any column where the template’s fixed width might truncate output data

Example: Auto-size all columns

Cell A1 comment:
  jx:area(lastCell="D10")
  jx:each(items="employees" var="e" lastCell="D1")
  jx:autoColWidth(lastCell="D1")

After all rows are written, columns A through D are resized to fit the widest content in each column. The header row and all data rows are considered.

Template width as minimum

The auto-sizing uses the template column width as a minimum. If you set column A to 15 characters wide in your template, jx:autoColWidth will never shrink it below that — it only widens columns when content requires it.

Combining with jx:autoRowHeight

For fully adaptive layouts, use both:

Cell A1 comment:
  jx:autoColWidth(lastCell="D1")
  jx:autoRowHeight(lastCell="D1")

Columns expand to fit the widest value; rows expand to fit wrapped text. The output is always readable regardless of data length.

Common pitfalls

• Doesn’t shrink — only widens. Columns set narrower than their content will widen; columns wider than needed stay as designed.
• Capped at ~60 characters. Very long strings stop expanding the column at ~60. Cells with longer text will be partially hidden unless wrap-text is enabled (combine with jx:autoRowHeight).
• Streaming mode is unsupported. WithStreaming(true) writes column widths up front; per-output adjustments after that are silently ignored.
• Width calculation is a heuristic. It estimates ~1.2 character widths per character. Mono-width and proportional fonts can differ; don’t expect pixel-perfect alignment.

What’s next?

Freeze header rows and columns for easier scrolling:

jx:freezePanes →