> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://overleaf-pro.ayaka.space/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://overleaf-pro.ayaka.space/latex/in-depth-articles/02-a-quick-visual-guide-to-creating-table-cells-with-diagonal-lines-in-latex.md).

# A quick visual guide to creating table cells with diagonal lines in LaTeX

There are many packages in LaTeX that help with table creation – [booktabs](https://www.ctan.org/pkg/booktabs) is a popular example—and there are also a growing number of automatic table generators now available online (such as [this one](https://www.tablesgenerator.com/)) which are a great way to create the LaTeX code for a table without having to type it out manually. There's even a package to help you create [really long tables](https://www.overleaf.com/read/xxwzfxkxxjmc) that span multiple pages! But what if you want to add some additional styling or formatting to certain cells within your tables?

The simple answer is that there's usually a package for it! Here we focus on one particular piece of cell formatting—how to create table cells with diagonal lines. These diagonal lines often used in the upper-left corner of a table to allow both row and column headers to be placed in that same cell, and there are two similar packages that can be used to achieve this: `slashbox` and `diagbox`.

To help you try this out, we've added [a short example](https://www.overleaf.com/read/zrnpkbmzvtk) which demonstrates how to produce diagonal lines in table cells using those packages. Some people prefer to use `diagbox` because the lines produced by `slashbox` can be more jagged, while the `diagbox` lines are smoother; however, we've included options for both in the example so you can decide for yourself!

In addition, we've recorded an animated GIF showing how to add the file `slashbox.sty` to your project directly from the CTAN repository.

![Using the slashbox and diagbox LaTeX packages for tables on Overleaf](/files/bWmnAdnqc76DFnyE0YHW)

We hope this helps, and if you'd like to see more animated GIF tutorials please [let us know](https://www.overleaf.com/contact).


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