Compact repeats render as default when final node node is text.

A repeat such as the following, will render as a table.

<xf:repeat nodeset="*" appearance="compact"><xf:output ref="." /></xf:repeat>

As will:

<xf:repeat nodeset="*" appearance="compact"><xf:output ref="." />some text<xf:output ref="." /></xf:repeat>

However, the following will not.

<xf:repeat nodeset="*" appearance="compact"><xf:output ref="." />some text</xf:repeat>