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§9.4.1

Gutter Columns

A $ or (ii) in its own gutter—its own column or part of the value?

✅ NormativeSettled. The requirement holds as written.📄 Page ruleCan be applied from the page alone.Read §9.4.1 in the RFC ↗

The requirement

A currency glyph or a separator typeset in a column track of its own SHOULD be rendered in the same cell as the value it belongs to — $ 277.09, $1,200 — $1,800. A marker numeral such as (i) or (ii) SHOULD be rendered in a column of its own.

When it applies

Financial PDFs frequently typeset $ in its own column track, and print ranges as value — value with the dash in a track of its own. Those tracks are real in the typesetting, but they are layout, not data.

Sketch of the printed page — layout, not output
Printed tracks:  $ | 1,200 | — | $ | 1,800
Rendered as:     $1,200 — $1,800   (one cell)

Reading the examples. Each one pairs a source page with the output the rule expects. ✅ Sample: the rule applies. ❌ Counter-sample: it looks like it applies and does not, or a rendering got it wrong. A non-conforming output, in red, is shown only for contrast. … marks content left out of an excerpt.

Currency and separators: merged into the value

  • A currency glyph printed in its own track SHOULD be rendered in the cell of the number it belongs to. The glyph MUST NOT be dropped: where the page prints $ only on some rows, only those rows' values carry it.
  • A separator between the two ends of a range (a dash, +/-, to) SHOULD be rendered in one cell with both ends.
  • A $ kept in a cell of its own beside its value, as a pair of cells, also conforms; the single cell is the preferred form.
01

✅ SampleThe rule applies

$ typeset in its own column track, separate from the digits, throughout the balance sheetwarn

It is printed only on the first row of each block and on the grand total, so only those values carry it. The stub header is italic. The row labels are printed flush left, without indentation, so every label is level 0.

Source page
Gutter Columns — $ typeset in its own column track, separate from the digits, throughout the balance sheet. Source page.
Expected output · excerpt, first block
Unaudited; in millions, except par value September 30, 2024 December 31, 2023
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $2,414 $2,850
Receivables, net 4,120 4,510
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 2,905 3,102
Total current assets 9,439 10,462
Film and television content rights and games 15,220 16,340
Property and equipment, net 4,890 4,715
Goodwill 19,640 24,905
Intangible assets, net 24,110 27,830
Other noncurrent assets 5,715 5,940
Total assets $79,014 $90,192
…
Gutter Columns · Source page

$ typeset in its own column track, separate from the digits, throughout the balance sheet

Gutter Columns — $ typeset in its own column track, separate from the digits, throughout the balance sheet. Source page.
02

✅ SampleThe rule applies

The same $-gutter pattern in Halyard Genomics' cash-flow statementearn

The same $-gutter pattern in Halyard Genomics' cash-flow statement.

Source page
Gutter Columns — The same $-gutter pattern in Halyard Genomics' cash-flow statement. Source page.
Expected output · excerpt, table 1 of 2
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 29, 2024 October 1, 2023 September 29, 2024 October 1, 2023
Net cash provided by operating activities $316 $139 $473 $254
Net cash used in investing activities (42) (54) (130) (146)
Net cash used in financing activities (332) (707) (523) (1,183)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents 7 (4) 1 (9)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (51) (626) (179) (1,084)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 920 1,553 1,048 2,011
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $869 $927 $869 $927
…
Gutter Columns · Source page

The same $-gutter pattern in Halyard Genomics' cash-flow statement

Gutter Columns — The same $-gutter pattern in Halyard Genomics' cash-flow statement. Source page.
03

✅ SampleThe rule applies

And again in Sablecrest Dynamics' statement of operationsearnin

And again in Sablecrest Dynamics' statement of operations — this typesetting is the norm, not an oddity. Gross profit, Gross margin and Operating income (loss) are indented one step.

Source page
Gutter Columns — And again in Sablecrest Dynamics' statement of operations. Source page.
Expected output · excerpt
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 27, 2025 June 28, 2025 September 28, 2024 September 27, 2025 September 28, 2024
Net revenue $9,246 $7,685 $6,819 $24,369 $18,127
Cost of sales 4,206 4,366 3,167 12,023 8,590
Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles 260 260 233 771 694
Total cost of sales 4,466 4,626 3,400 12,794 9,284
Gross profit 4,780 3,059 3,419 11,575 8,843
Gross margin 52% 40% 50% 47% 49%
…
Net income $1,243 $872 $771 $2,824 $1,159
Gutter Columns · Source page

And again in Sablecrest Dynamics' statement of operations

Gutter Columns — And again in Sablecrest Dynamics' statement of operations. Source page.
04

❌ Counter-sampleLooks like it applies and does not — or a rendering got it wrong

The $ sits in its own boxed column track in the imagesome

The $ sits in its own boxed column track in the image, which looks like a column of its own. It is not: the glyph belongs to the value, so the first value cell reads $274. The Second Quarter and January - June spanners printed above the header are part of the table.

Source page
Gutter Columns — The $ sits in its own boxed column track in the image. Source page.
Expected output · table 1 of 5
Second Quarter January - June
Main Indicators 2Q06 2Q05 Change 2006 2005 Change
Million US dollars (1) (2) (1)/(2) (3) (4) (3)/(4)
Net Revenue $274 207 32.3% 515 409 26.07%
EBITDA $53 49 7.7% 105 111 19.05%
Gutter Columns · Source page

The $ sits in its own boxed column track in the image

Gutter Columns — The $ sits in its own boxed column track in the image. Source page.

Marker gutters: kept as a column

Sketch of the printed page — layout, not output
| (i)  | Base salary … |     ← one column for the numeral, one for the text
| (ii) | Bonus …       |

A marker numeral such as (i) / (ii) SHOULD be rendered in a column of its own. A merged (i) Base salary … cell also conforms, but the separate numeral column is the preferred form.

Why the two resolve opposite ways

A currency symbol is part of the value. A marker numeral is a reference label: it is cited elsewhere on the page ("see (ii)"), so it has an identity of its own and earns a column.

A gutter this rule does not name is decided by the column-count test: a track gets its own column only if a competent person modelling this data in a spreadsheet would give it one. That is the same appeal to how a person would model the content that decides Is This Even a Table (§9.1.5) — judge by the data, not by what is inked.

05

✅ SampleThe rule applies

an operator in its own track

The Outlook table prints $5.70 Billion | +/- | $300 Million as three ruled cells, and 1.26 Billion spanning all three on the last row. The +/- track is the range dash of this rule in another costume: one value, one cell. Merged, the GAAP and Non-GAAP ranges each become one column and the reconciling amount sits between them; the row labels are bold.

Source page
Gutter Columns — an operator in its own track. Source page.
Expected output · table
U.S. GAAP Reconciling Items Non-GAAP
Revenue $5.70 Billion +/- $300 Million — $5.70 Billion +/- $300 Million
Gross margin as a percentage of revenue 48.0% +/- 1% $ 2.4 Million 48.0% +/- 1%
Operating income as a percentage of revenue 33.0% +/- 1% $ 2.8 Million 33.6% +/- 1%
Net income per diluted share $1.30 +/- $0.10 $ 3.2 Million $1.30 +/- $0.10
Diluted share count 1.26 Billion — 1.26 Billion
Gutter Columns · Source page

an operator in its own track

Gutter Columns — an operator in its own track. Source page.
06

✅ SampleThe rule applies

a line-number column in the middle

LINE # runs 1 to 22 in a column between the labels and the first year, not at the left edge. A marker gutter keeps its column wherever the page puts it. The column headers are italic except FOR THE PERIOD ENDED; the empty spacer track between 2023 and 2024 prints nothing and is not a column.

Source page
Gutter Columns — a line-number column in the middle. Source page.
Expected output · excerpt, first two sections
LINE # 2023 2024 Q2 % change vs Q2 23 Year To Date
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2023 2024
Results of operations ($ millions)
Net income – operating cash basis 1 412 398 405 440 318 – – (27)% 852 758
Net interest income (TEB) 2 781 769 812 824 899 – – 15 1,550 1,723
Total revenue (TEB) excluding special gains 3 2,214 2,180 2,266 2,301 2,412 – – (2) 4,394 4,713
Per common share
Basic net income – operating cash basis 4 $ .68 .65 .66 $ .71 .51 – – (25)% $ 1.33 1.22
Diluted net income – operating cash basis 5 .67 .64 .65 .70 .50 – – (26)% 1.31 1.20
…
Gutter Columns · Source page

a line-number column in the middle

Gutter Columns — a line-number column in the middle. Source page.
07

✅ SampleThe rule applies

v. in its own track

A court daily list: time, case number and party, v., the other party, hearing type. The v. column carries the same token on every row that has two parties and nothing on the rows that do not — a separator track, like the range dash, so it joins the two parties in one cell. Rows with a single In the matter of… line then take the same shape.

Source page
Gutter Columns — v. in its own track. Source page.
Expected output · excerpt, first three rows
10:30 S HCI 2025 07641
Tobias Renwick Hale v. Marisa Quellan & Ors.
Post Mediation Directions Hearing
10:30 S HCI 2026 00638
Oswin Barrow Tallis v. Denholt Legal Pty Ltd trading as Denholt Partners & Ors.
Directions Hearing
10:30 S HCI 2026 00914
Brightvane Pty Ltd (ACN 900 437 375) v. Gideon Farrow & Ors.
Post Mediation Directions Hearing
…
Gutter Columns · Source page

v. in its own track

Gutter Columns — v. in its own track. Source page.

More

Rule id tables-gutter-columns · tables columns currency