Replay each path's selectors through the walk for the family fence, require a key for a name, refuse a name shadowing a key, a table reading its own family and an ancestor's column clash, add the row node and family.go, and pin eight rows inline

reference.go

@@ -109,6 +109,9 @@ func linkTemplateRefs(folder []string, path, category string, t *template, root
 		if category != "" && key == "/"+category {
 			return fmt.Errorf("%s: reference {%s}: names the category it sits in; read a sibling field as a path, or move the shared value into its own category and reference that", path, name)
 		}
+		if err := checkNotOwnFamily(root, category, target); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("%s: reference {%s}: %w", path, name, err)
+		}
 		if err := checkPath(target, tail, key); err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("%s: reference {%s}: %w", path, name, err)
 		}
@@ -122,6 +125,22 @@ func linkTemplateRefs(folder []string, path, category string, t *template, root
 	return nil
 }
 
+// checkNotOwnFamily refuses a reference from a table's format or cell into a table of
+// its own family: a table rendered whole draws its row without pinning it, so the
+// family would draw apart from the row being rendered.
+func checkNotOwnFamily(root map[string]node, category string, target node) error {
+	if category == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	_, own, _, err := resolveCategory(root, strings.Split(category, "."))
+	from, isTable := own.(*table)
+	into, targetIsTable := target.(*table)
+	if err != nil || !isTable || !targetIsTable || from.family() != into.family() {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return fmt.Errorf("a cell or format of %s reads %s, a table of its own family, which a row of %s rendered whole would draw apart from; read the family from a template beside it, or add the value as a column", from.category, into.category, from.category)
+}
+
 // columnRead is a record's column read by a format of that one reference alone, which is the
 // column: it takes the column's datatype and null.
 type columnRead struct {