AutoFitting Tables

Word makes it very easy to add tables to your documents. Once added, you may need to adjust the width of the columns in your table to fit your needs. There are a myriad of ways you can do this, as has been covered in other issues of WordTips. One of the quickest ways you can adjust the width of columns is to use the AutoFit feature of Word. This feature is particularly useful if you have a small amount of information in each cell of your table. To use the feature, follow these steps if you are using Word 97:

1. Select the entire table.
2. Choose Cell Height and Width from the Table menu. Word displays the Cell Height and Width dialog box.
3. Make sure the Column tab is selected.
4. Click on AutoFit.

If you are using Word 2000, 2002, or 2003, the procedure is a bit different:

1. Select the entire table.
2. Choose AutoFit from the Table menu. Word displays a submenu.
3. Choose AutoFit to Contents from the Submenu.

Finally, if you are using Word 2007 follow these steps:

1. Select the entire table.
2. Make sure the Layout tab is displayed.
3. In the Cell Size group click AutoFit. Word displays a drop-down list of choices.
4. Choose AutoFit to Contents from the choices.

The effect on your table depends on whether it contains information or not. If the table is empty, the columns are evenly resized so they fit within the page margins. If there is information in any of the columns, the column width is set so that information fits on a line (if possible).

If your table contains information, you can use the mouse to quickly do an AutoFit. You do that by simply double-clicking the mouse on the left border of the table. The column widths adjust automatically, the same as if you went through the steps detailed above.