Tables

Tips, Tricks, and Answers

The following articles are available for the 'Tables' topic. Click the article's title (shown in bold) to see the associated article.

Adding a Line Before a Table
Easily add a blank line before your already inserted table.

Adding Borders to Cell Contents
Word allows you to quickly add borders to cells in a table, but you may not know that you can also add borders to the text within the cells. It all depends on a single setting in the Borders and Shading dialog box, as described here.

Blank Lines before Tables
Adding a blank line before your table is easy, but Word's behavior as you attempt to make the insert can depend on where the table is located in the document. Here's the skinny on how Word handles your attempts.

Blank Page Printing after Table at End of Document
When you print, do you get an extra blank page printed at the end of the document? It could be because of the final paragraph mark in the document being pushed to that blank page. This tip discusses ways you can get rid of that unwanted blank page.

Cannot Set Heading Rows in a Table
Word allows you to specify which rows in a table should be considered headings. What if setting the headings doesn't work like you think it should? Here's one thing to check.

Centering a Table
When you insert a table, it is positioned at the left margin of the page. You may want to center the table between margins. How you accomplish this depends on the version of Word you are using.

Changing Table Cell Text Direction
When creating a table, you can turn the orientation of the text, within a cell, by ninety degrees in either direction from normal. It's easy to do using either dialog boxes or toolbars, as described in this tip.

Converting a Table Into Text
Tables are great for some layouts, but for others you may need regular text. You can convert a table into text very quickly using the selections from the Table menu described in this tip.

Counting Values in Table Cells
In Excel it is easy to count how many times a certain character occurs in a column of cells. In Word, it is a bit trickier. It could be done with a macro, but there is an even easier way, as described in this tip.

Creating a Split Page
Word users who are familiar with WordPerfect may miss the "split page" feature for a document. The closest comparable feature in Word is to use a table to create the desired side-by-side text. This tip walks you through the process of creating such a table.

Creating Tables with Specific Column Widths
Create a table and Word figures out column widths by dividing the horizontal space by the number of columns you want in the table. You can use this feature to your advantage when creating tables by applying the simple technique described in this tip.

Deleting Cells
You can modify the structure of a table by deleting cells. This tip shows just how easy it is to delete one (or more) cells from the middle of a table.

Different Layout for a Portion of a Page
Got a document layout that requires a portion of the page to be in one layout and another portion to be in a different layout? While Word is better at word processing than at document design, there are some things you can do to get the layout to appear the way you want.

Different Table Captions on Multiple Pages
If you have a table that spans multiple pages, you may want to add a caption to the table and have that caption use different wording on the first page of the table. While Word doesn't allow you to do this directly, the information in this tip provides a workaround that is easy to implement.

Differing Column Widths when Pasting
When you move information from one table to another, you may be faced with the problem of making that information fit within the structure of the target table. Here's some techniques you can use to make the post-pasting table look the way you want it to.

Distributing Columns Evenly
When you want the horizontal space in a table to be divided evenly among the columns in the table, you'll love this tip. How you can accomplish this task is simple, but varies depending on the version of Word you are using.

Distributing Table Rows Evenly
If you've adjusted the height of your table and the rows within the table, you might want to later return all those rows to a uniform height. In Word this is referred to as "distributing" rows, and it is an easy task to do, as discussed in this tip.

Erroneous Table Math
Depending on the type of data you have in your table, the SUM(ABOVE) function might return incorrect results. Here's an explanation of why this happens, along with several ways to work around the problem.

Expanding Width of All Tables
If you have a lot of tables in your documents, you might want to change the width of all of them. You can take forever doing it manually, or you can apply the simple macro in this tip to make quick work of the task.

Finding a Cell Reference
Want to know what the reference address is for a particular cell in a table? Word won't tell you, but you can use a macro to figure it out.

Finding and Deleting Rows
Got a table that contains rows you want to delete? Deleting one or two rows in a table is easy; deleting a bunch of rows that meet certain criteria can be more difficult. Here's a way you can make the deletions.

Fitting Text Into Cells
Need a way to make sure your text fits within the space available in a table cell? Word has a handy setting that will adjust your text's format, as necessary, to make it fit.

Fitting Your Text In a Cell
Got some text you absolutely must fit on a single line in a table cell? Then you'll appreciate this rather esoteric setting that allows you to force text to fit on that line.

Footnotes for Tables
Word includes a powerful feature that allows you to add footnotes and endnotes to your document. What if you want them at the bottom of a table, however? There are a couple of approaches you can try, as described in this tip.

Formatting an ASCII Table with Spaces
When you get a text file from a program other than Word, tabular information may be formatted with nothing but spaces in between columns. You can easily convert such information to Word's native table structure by using the macro in this tip.

Formatting an ASCII Table with Tabs
If you get a document from a coworker that has tabs used to line up tabular information, you might want to change that type of formatting to a regular table. Word provides some capabilities to do this, but you may want to use the macro presented in this tip to make the conversion even easier.

Formatting Currency
If you need to format a number so that it appears as currency, it is not as easy to do in Word as it is in Excel. You can use the technique introduced in this tip (utilizing fields) to control exactly how you want that number displayed.

Freezing a Table
Tired of your table readjusting itself to fit whatever you put in it? Word allows you to "freeze" a table's layout, but doing so is not that intuitive. This tip presents the steps you need to follow to stop your table from jumping around unexpectedly.

Freezing Cell Size when Inserting Pictures
Insert a picture into a table cell, and you may quickly find that the table is no longer the size you expected. Here's how to make sure that the cells in your table don't resize themselves when you insert an image.

Hiding Gridlines
For those times when you remove the borders from your tables, Word provides a way that you can display non-printing gridlines. These help you to see the structure of your table.

Hiding Table Gridlines, by Default
Gridlines allow you to see the boundaries of a table, even if you have table borders turned off. Word allows you to specify whether you want the gridlines turned on or off, by default. This tip explains how that works, in addition to how gridlines relate to borders.

Index Number for the Active Table
For some programming needs, it is important to determine the index of an object within a collection of such objects. This tip discusses ways you can determine the index number of a table within the Tables collection.

Inserting Cells in a Table
You can enlarge a table by adding cells where they are needed. Just pick where you want the cells inserted, then use the commands described in this tip.

Jumping to Tables
If your document contains quite a few tables, you may find it helpful to jump quickly from one table to another. There are two ways you can do this: using Go To and the Object Browser.

Jumping to the Ends of Table Columns
Need a quick shortcut to jump to the top or bottom of a table column? Here's the two shortcuts you are searching for.

Jumping to the Ends of Table Rows
Need to jump from one end of a table row to another? Word provides a couple of handy shortcuts that can make this type of navigation a snap.

Keep Your Headings in View
Headings on a table are very important when it comes to understanding what is in the table. This tip explains an easy way you can keep those headings in view when working with very long tables.

Line Numbering and Tables
Line numbers come in very handy for certain types of documents, such as legal or scientific documents. Word adds the lines to the left of any line of text, except lines of text that appear within other objects, such as text boxes or tables. This tip explains how you can work around this limitation when it comes to tables.

Moving a Table Column
Want to move a column in a table very easily? You can do so by using the same editing techniques you are already using.

Moving a Table Row
Want to move a row in a table very easily? You can do so by using the same editing techniques you are already using.

Noting Table Rows Containing a Character
If you want to have Word highlight rows in a table that contain a certain character, you need to resort to using a macro. This tip shows how such a macro could work to give the desired results.

Overriding Automatic Numbering of Tables
Word lets you add automatic numbering to different elements of your document. It does not, however, allow much flexibility in how those numbers are applied.

Picking a Contiguous Range of Table Cells
Creating a table in Word is a relatively simple task. When you want to format or edit information in the table, often the first step is to select the cells you want to affect. Word provides several techniques you can use to select those cells.

Protecting a Table Column
Do you need a way to protect the information you put in a table? Word doesn't have a way to do this, but there are a few workarounds you can use.

Putting Something in Every Cell of a Table
Need to make sure that all the cells of a table have something in them? It's easy to do with a handy little macro.

Quick Recall of Table Formats
Got a table that you use over and over again? One way you can make quick work of such repetition is to save the table in an AutoText entry. This tip shows how easy this is.

Quickly Inserting Table Rows
Need to pop a few extra rows into a table? It is easy to do using the same tools you used to create the table in the first place. This tip explains how you can add the rows you need.

Repeating Column Information on Each Page
When your table occupies lots of pages, you may want to have information in a particular column repeated on each page. Word doesn't provide this ability, as discussed in this tip.

Resizing Table Columns with the Mouse
Once a table is inserted in your document, you can use the mouse to adjust the width of columns. The effect the mouse pointer has on column widths depends, primarily, on your use of keys such as Shift and Ctrl.

Selecting a Table
There are several different ways you can select an entire table in Word. The various methods and shortcuts are described in this tip.

Selecting Individual Cells in a Table
Many times before applying formatting or doing another operation, you need to select an individual cell in a table. Here's the quickest ways to make the selection.

Setting Up Multi-page Columns
Do you want the text in your columns to go from page to page in the same column rather than from left to right on the same page? Although not the perfect solution for demanding layouts, the best way to accomplish this task is to use tables.

Spacing Table Rows Vertically
Want to get just the right amount of spacing above and below text in a table cell? A very easy way to do this is to adjust the paragraph spacing, as you do when formatting normal text.

Squaring Table Cells
Inserting a table is fast and easy in Word. You may want to make sure that the cells in the table are as square as possible. Here's how to do this task.

Summing a Table Column
Need to add a sum to a column of figures in a table? Word makes it relatively easy to provide the sum you need.

Suppressing a Zero In a Calculated Sum
You can use fields to sum values in a table column. If the summed amount is zero, you may want the sum suppressed. This tip discloses two ways you can get the desired result.

Table Borders Won't Print
Print a table and you may be surprised if it has no borders. That could be because you actually have the borders turned off. Confused? You don't need to be (read this tip).

Table Header Rows after a Manual Page Break
Insert a manual page break into the middle of a table, and you may find that subsequent pages of the table don't always look like you expect. The reason is discussed in this tip, along with some solutions to get around the problem.

Table Numbers are Skipped
What do you do if you add numbered captions to an element of your document (such as tables) and Word skips a number? There are a couple of things you can check to discover where the problem lies, as discussed in this tip.

Table Won't Flow to Second Page
Have you ever created a table that never seems to flow to a second page, even when it should? This could be caused by any number of settings within Word, as described in this tip.

Using Outline Numbering in a Table
You can use outline numbering in a table, the same as you would outside of a table. The only difference is the keystrokes you use to change different outline levels. This tip discusses these differences.

Validating Data
When users add information to a Word document, you may want that information to somehow be validated—to make sure it meets some criteria that you define. Unfortunately, Word doesn't provide great resources for validating information. Here are some ideas you can consider.

Viewing Formulas in Table Cells
Word allows you to add formulas (using fields) to table cells. It is easy for these formulas to get quite long, and then they may not be visible within the cells, but instead appear cut off. This tip explains how you can make these formulas more visible.

 

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