Aligning columns using set-width - c++

Question

I am trying to get this C++ assignment aligned properly. The main goal is to properly read data from a file, which is being done, but the output is not aligned properly.
Somebody has suggested putting all the variables into one string and outputting that row by row, but that seems like I would need to re-write the majority of the program and I'm not completely sure how to do it. I have attached the code and what the output looks like below. Just wondering if there's a better way to keep everything aligned while using setwidth, or another basic alignment method if one exists. By the way, the file's input can change.
while (!PatientsFile.eof()) {
PatientsFile >> firstName;
PatientsFile >> lastName;
PatientsFile >> pulse;
PatientsFile >> respir;
PatientsFile >> oxygen;
PatientsFile >> room;
string name = firstName + ", " + lastName;
//patient info
cout << setw(4) << room << ' ';
cout << name;
//pulse
if (pulse >= 101) {
cout << setw(13) << "High=" << pulse << ' ';
dangerCount++; }
else if (pulse <= 59) {
cout << setw(16) << "Low=" << pulse << ' ';
dangerCount++; }
else {
cout << setw(19) << pulse << ' '; }
//respir
if (respir >= 21) {
cout << setw(5) << "High=" << respir << ' ';
dangerCount++; }
else if (respir <= 10) {
cout << setw(6) << "Low=" << respir << ' ';
dangerCount++; }
else {
cout << setw(7) << respir << ' '; }
//oxygen
if (oxygen >= 101) {
cout << setw(7) << "High=" << oxygen << ' ';
dangerCount++; }
else if (oxygen <= 91) {
cout << setw(5) << "Low=" << oxygen << ' ';
dangerCount++; }
else {
cout << setw(7) << oxygen << ' '; }
//dangerCount
if (dangerCount == 1) {
checkTotal++;
cout << "CHECK\n";}
else if (dangerCount == 2) {
alertTotal++;
cout << "ALERT***\n"; }
else if (dangerCount == 3) {
criticalTotal++;
cout << setw(15) << "CRITICAL****\n"; }
else {
normalTotal++;
cout << endl; }
dangerCount = 0;
}
//display totals
cout << endl << normalTotal << " Normal\n";
cout << alertTotal << " ALERT\n";
cout << checkTotal << " CHECK\n";
cout << criticalTotal << " CRITICAL\n";
Output:
Room Name Pulse Respir Oxygen
-----------------------------------------------------
111 Pete, Moss Low=59 11 Low=91 ALERT***
312 Diana, Canser High=107 Low=10 96 ALERT***
332 Willie, Makit High=123 High=30 94 ALERT***
111 Betty, Wont Low=50 Low=10 Low=90 CRITICAL****
331 Freda, Spirit High=110 High=23 Low=90 CRITICAL****
321 Wilma, Moneylast High=132 18 Low=88 ALERT***
121 Robin, Banks Low=59 20 100 CHECK
122 Charlie, Horse Low=56 15 95 CHECK
121 Eileen, Back Low=45 17 Low=88 ALERT***
222 Eaton, Buggs 79 16 97
222 Summer, Day 60 12 92
231 Bea, Sting 73 High=21 Low=91 ALERT***
311 Anita, Bath High=111 High=33 97 ALERT***
232 April, Showers 61 High=22 93 CHECK
222 Rose, Bush 100 20 100
231 Buster, Leggs 88 High=44 Low=88 ALERT***
221 Barb, Wire 60 12 Low=82 CHECK
322 Jim, Shoos High=101 19 94 CHECK
322 Kris, Mass Low=4 14 99 CHECK
222 Rich, Bright 77 16 92
4 Normal
8 ALERT
6 CHECK
2 CRITICAL

Answer 1

You can try using tab \t in order to align your list correctly.
Here is the link you might want to look at: How many spaces for tab character(\t)?
Otherwise you will have to do
cout << "text" << setw(#) << "text" << setw(#) << endl;
I would advise against this since it just hardcoding set numbers and its tedious because you would have to count and make sure it is matching correctly.

Answer 2

As Xion's answer mentioned, the process of hardcoding the correct value for the for the text to be aligned correctly, is tedious. Furthermore, it might even not be correct at all for a different data set - For example, what would happen if someone had a much larger name than anticipated?
My suggestion is the following: Iterate over the data completely once, and store the maximum width of each field in a separate variable (also storing the data retrieved).
After that, you could then loop once again over the input, and now everything would be correctly aligned, as you would now know the maximum width of each field (including not having the guess the correct spacing for the header column beforehand, which would be ideal).
You could either create objects of this information and store them in a std::vector, or do the same with each separate data field, having a vector for each one.