use strict;
use warnings;
use XML::Simple;
use Data::Dumper;

# read __DATA__ file into $_
{
    $/ = undef;
    $_ = <DATA>;
    close DATA;
}

# use XML::Simple to read the table string
my $ref = XMLin( $_ , NoAttr=>1 );
my $tr = $ref->{tr};

my @ARR;
# flatten table structure into an array
for my $row (keys @{$tr}){
    my @X = values @{(values %{ $tr->[$row] })[0]};
    push @ARR, @X;
}

# now we reformat the table
my $COLUMNS = 2;
my $counter = 0;
my %S;

for my $v (@ARR){
  my $i=int($counter/$COLUMNS);
  my $j=int($counter % $COLUMNS);
  push @{$S{'tr'}->[$i]->{'td'}}, $v;
  ++$counter;
}

# We use XML::Simple to transform this stucture to an xml/html string
my $xml = new XML::Simple (NoAttr=>1, RootName=>'table');
# convert Perl array ref into XML document 
my $new_table = $xml->XMLout(\%S);

# now show the result
print $new_table;


__DATA__
<table style="width:100%">
  <tr>
    <th>Firstname</th>
    <th>Lastname</th>
    <th>Age</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Jill</td>
    <td>Smith</td>
    <td>50</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Eve</td>
    <td>Jackson</td>
    <td>94</td>
  </tr>
</table>
[download]

if it's only one table better do it manually!

For a recurring task you'd need a proper HTML parser...

If you really prefer to code it for just one table:

• identify and cut the table by hand
• try to split on each <tr to get the rows
• and than the row on each <td to get the columns
• create an AOA (array of arrays) representing your table
• print a join of those rows and columns you need

NOTE: This is fragile and only suitable for half-automatic use.

I won't code this for you... do it manually.

You remind me of that "How To Do It" sketch by Monty Python.

"To play flute you simply hold down these keys, and blow here." xD

"I won't code this for you."

But you will expect XP for your "contribution." XP for xD

"You're fired."

Probably the best reply of the bunch. Unlike the others, if you're not going to answer the question, at least make an effort at an alternative answer. ;-)

The thought of lifting and shifting dozens of cells by hand is filling me with dread !

Come on, these are just 5 dozen. About a quarter of an hour if you manage to lift and shift 4 cells per minute.

To begin with programmatically, I'd describe first which cell from the origin table goes to which cell of the destination table, then write a program to do it, making some loops which iterate over the origin rows and cells. If something fails, I'd come back here and ask specifics, posting my code.

Figure out how you'd do it manually, then have the computer do the same thing.

I think I'd probably read the HTML table into Excel, then dump the result into a CSV. From there, I would get a Perl script to read the CSV and write out a new table. Presumably you want the first seven elements (1,1 to 1,5, 2,1 and 2,2) to go into the first row of the new table, and son on.

But there are many ways to solve this problem. :) Let us know how it turns out!

Reading between the lines, it seems likely that what you have is a bunch of elements, not rows and columns of data (in other words, not really a table). using a table to format a collection of boxes is a very HTML 3.2, 1998ish way of doing HTML (and it wasn't the suggested method even back then). It seems somebody noticed that on their monitor, with the browser window whatever size they happen to have it at the moment, using their preferred font size, 7 items can fit in a row. Adjusting layout to fit different screens, different text sizes, etc is precisely what a web browser is for! It very likely shouldn't be a table with some predefined number of rows at all. Rather, it should be a sequence of boxes. Let the browser do its job and decide how many boxes fit in each row, on a particular display.

To make each box the same width so they line up nicely you'd use some CSS like this:

.gallery{
    display:block;
}
.thumbnail{
    display:inline-block;
    border:1px solid black;
    float:left;
    height:200px;
    width:100px;
    margin-left: 1em;
}
[download]

What tabular data do you have that can change its number of data points per item without having the data updated?

Its a series of tables with images (e.g. sponsor logos). The point is I want to stretch it, i.e. expanding the width just brings up the stuff from the next line. Just like when you expand/contract a text window in Word or whatever.

So it turns out it isn't a table at all (because the rows and columns have no semantic meaning) but actually a grid (a 2D representation of a linear series). In which case you should use the same method with Perl as you would without Perl: a responsive layout with appropriate CSS.

If they had such data, they would have already posted it.

you need to fix the table data such as rows and columns. Perl can be used to match these data and replace it where ever you want according to your dimension. Perl Regex is effective in doing this task.