About tables. 1

Create a table. 1

Layout 2

Different ways to work with tables. 3

Convert text to a table or vice versa. 3

Convert text to a table. 4

Convert a table to text 4

Add a cell, row, or column to a table.

To select: 4

Merge cells into one cell in a table. 5

About tables

A table is made up of rows and columns of cells that you can fill with text and graphics. Tables are often used to organize and present information.

Columns

Create a table

Microsoft Word offers a number of ways to make a table.   The best way depends on how you like to work, and on how simple or complex the table needs to be.

1. Click where you want to create a table.
2. Click Insert Table on the Standard toolbar.
3. Drag to select the number of rows and columns you want.

You can also do any of the following:

Use this procedure to make choices about the table dimensions and format before the table is inserted into a document.

1.      Click where you want to create a table.

2.      On the Table menu, point to Insert, and then click Table.

3.      Under Table size, select the number of columns and rows.

4.      Under AutoFit behavior, choose options to adjust table size.

5.      To use a built-in table format, click AutoFormat.

Select the options you want.

You can draw a complex table ¢ for example, one that contains cells of different heights or a varying  number of columns per row.

1. Click where you want to create the table.
2. On the Table menu, click Draw Table.

The Tables and Borders toolbar appears, and the pointer changes to a pencil.

3. To define the outer table boundaries, draw a rectangle. Then draw the column and row lines inside the rectangle.
4. To erase a line or block of lines, click Eraser on the Tables and Borders toolbar, and then click the line you want to erase.
5. When you finish creating the table, click a cell and start typing or insert a graphic.

Note   Hold down CTRL to automatically apply text wrapping while you draw the table.

Create nested tables to design Web pages. Think of a Web page as one big table that holds other tables ¢ placing text and graphics inside different table cells helps you to lay out the different parts of your page.

1. On the Table menu, click Draw Table.

The Tables and Borders toolbar appears, and the pointer changes to a pencil.

2. Position the pencil in the cell where you want the nested table (or a table inside another table).
3. Draw the new table. To define the table boundaries, draw a rectangle. Then draw the column and row lines inside the rectangle.
4. When you finish creating the nested table, click a cell, and start typing or insert a graphic.

Note   If you have an existing table, you can copy and paste it inside of another table.

Layout

You can also use tables to create interesting page layouts, or to create text, graphics and nested tables (nested table: A table inserted within a table cell. If you use a table to lay out a page, and you want to use another table to arrange the information, you can insert a nested table.) on a Web page

Different ways to work with tables

• Use the Table AutoFormat command to quickly give your table a polished design.
• Move or copy a table to another place on a page, or resize a table.
• Adjust long tables to make sure that the information appears as you want it to when the table spans multiple pages.
• Make each column a fixed width, or let columns adjust based on the amount of text you type. 
• Change the orientation of text from horizontal to vertical or vice versa. 
• Add spacing between table cells, or add cell "padding" by changing cell margins.
• Insert nested table to create page layouts.
• Sort lists inside a table.
• Use or modify the built-in table styles that come with Microsoft Word, or create your own styles to reuse later on.

Convert text to a table or vice versa

Do one of the following:

Convert text to a table

When you convert text to a table,  you separate text with a comma, tab, or other separator character to indicate where a new column should begin. Use a paragraph mark to begin a new row.

1. Indicate where you want to divide text into columns by inserting the separator characters you want.

For example, in a list with two words on a line, insert a comma or a tab after the first word to create a two-column table.

2. Select the text you want to convert.
3. On the Table menu, point to Convert, and then click Text to Table.
4. Under Separate text at, click the option for the separator character you want.

Select any other options you want.

Convert a table to text

1. Select the rows or table that you want to convert to paragraphs.
2. On the Table menu, point to Convert, and then click Table to Text.
3. Under Separate text with, click the option for the separator character you want to use in place of the column boundaries.

Rows are separated with paragraph marks.

Add a cell, row, or column to a table

1. Select the same number of cells,  rows, or columns as the number of rows or columns you want to insert.

Some parts of a table can only be seen if you display all formatting marks by clicking  Show/Hide on the Standard toolbar.

To select:

A cell

Click the left edge of the cell.

A row

Click to the left of the row.

A column

Click the column's top gridline or border.

Multiple cells, rows, or columns

Drag across the cell, row, or column.

Or select multiple items that are not necessarily in order. Click the first cell, row, or column you want, press CTRL, and then click the next cells, rows, or columns you want.

Text in the next cell

Press TAB.

Text in the previous cell

Press SHIFT+TAB

The entire table

Click the table move handle, or drag over the entire table.

Note   You can also select rows, columns, or the entire table by clicking in the table and then using the Select commands on the Table menu, or by using keyboard shortcuts.

2. On the Table menu, point to Insert, and then click an option.

Merge cells into one cell in a table

You can combine two or more cells in the same row or column into a single cell. For example, you can merge several cells horizontally to create a table heading that spans several columns.

1.      Select the cells you want to merge.

2.      On the Table menu, click Merge Cells.

Note   When you merge several cells in a column to create a vertically oriented table heading that spans several rows, click Change Text Direction on the Tables and Borders toolbar to change the orientation of the heading text. If you change the direction of text and save the document as a Web page, the text will not appear changed when the page is viewed in the browser.