Typesetting LaTeX tables is time consuming and can get very complicated. It is, however, very easy to use the Perl [LaTeX::Table][1] Module from within VIM. Install the module with
$ cpan LaTeX::Table
Then for example, type following code in VIM and select the lines in VISUAL LINE mode:
theme=NYC;caption_top=1;caption=Bla Animal & Description & Price Gnat & per gram & 13.65 & each & 0.02 Gnu & stuffed & 92.59
Now type ":!ltpretty". The text is then replaced with the following LaTeX code:
% theme=NYC;caption_top=1;caption=Bla % Animal & Description & Price % Gnat & per gram & 13.65 % & each & 0.02 % Gnu & stuffed & 92.59 \definecolor{latextbl}{RGB}{78,130,190} \begin{table} \centering \caption{Bla} \setlength{\extrarowheight}{1pt} \begin{tabular}{|llr|} \hline \rowcolor{latextbl}\multicolumn{1}{|>{\columncolor{latextbl}}c}{\color{white}\textbf{Animal }} & \multicolumn{1}{>{\columncolor{latextbl}}c}{\color{white}\textbf{ Description }} & \multicolumn{1}{>{\columncolor{latextbl}}c|}{\color{white}\textbf{ Price}} \\ \hline \rowcolor{latextbl!25}Gnat & per gram & 13.65 \\ \rowcolor{latextbl!10} & each & 0.02 \\ \rowcolor{latextbl!25}Gnu & stuffed & 92.59 \\ \hline \end{tabular} \end{table}