How to control cell width in pandoc/markdown table?

Question

Is there a way to control the maximum cell width in a pandoc table?

For example:

|          |            |
|----------|------------|
| I want to the contents of this cell to fit on one line|   XXXXXXX  |

I want to control how the line in the left cell is broken or, in other words, I want to control the maximum width of a cell.

Answer 1

_{{CAVEATS: This answer applies to Pandoc only, and only when making use of the multiline_table extension to the input in the Markdown syntax. So it won't work for Github Flavored Markdown (GFM).}}

---

Multiline tables do support the relative width of columns. (However, you will not be able to control exactly where + how the line in any cell is broken.)

See my answer to your other question.

Be aware that this works for LaTeX, PDF and HTML output only, but not necessarily for HTML, ODT, DOCX or other output...

---

Update

Here is an example, using three different examples of multiline tables. They vary in Markdown as far as the widths of their table header/content separator lines are concerned:

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Column 1                                                Column 2
------------------------------------------------------  ------------
I want the contents of this cell to fit into one line   Word1 Word2

------------------------------------------------------  ------------

: **Column 2 is narrow.** For column 1: 54 dashes in Markdown source 
for separator line; for column 2: 12 dashes in separator line (22% of column 1).


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Column 1                                                Column 2
------------------------------------------------------  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I want the contents of this cell to fit into one line   Word1 Word2

------------------------------------------------------  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

: **Column 1 is narrow.** For column 1: 54 dashes in Markdown source for
separator line; for column 2: 162 dashes in separator line (300% of column 1).


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Column 1                                                                                                                                                                                                            Column 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  ---------------
I want the contents of this cell to fit into one line                                                                                                                                                               Word1 Word2

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  ---------------

: **Column 2 is even narrower than in Table 1.** For column 1: 210 dashes 
in Markdown source for separator line; for column 2: 15 dashes in separator 
line (7% of column 1).

Results

1. PDF

   

2. HTML (without much of a stylesheet used)