Entering Tabs in a Table

Summary: When press the Tab key while entering info into a table, Word dutifully moves to the next table cell. If you don't want to do this, but instead want to add the Tab into a cell, you'll appreciate the techniques in this tip. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, Word 2003, and Word 2007.)

When you are entering text in a table, some of the keyboard keys don't function as they do when you are working in the body of your document. One of those keys is the Tab key. If you press Tab, the insertion point moves to the next cell in the table, or if you are at the end of the table, it creates a new row.

There may be times, however, when you want a tab character in the table's text. In order to insert a tab, you can use either of these methods:

Press Ctrl+Tab.
Hold down the Alt key as you type 0009 on the numeric keypad.

Tip #1087 applies to Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

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Entering Tabs in a Table