Repeating the First Column of a Table

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 14, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Debbie is looking for a way to repeat the first column of a table on each page of a document. The table runs several pages, and having the first column repeated would make their work a lot easier. (She knows how to do it in Excel, but wants to do the same repetition in Word.)

There is no way to repeat left-most columns in a Word table. The only workaround is to use a text box to simulate the columns you want repeated. Display the header area of the document, and create a text box that is anchored to the header. The text box should be wide enough to hold the column (or columns) you want to repeat, and long enough that it extends to the bottom of the page. Paste the column you want repeated into the text box, and remove it from the table itself.

In order to make this look just right, you will need to play with positioning of the text box, position of the left margin, and spacing around the text box and table. This, obviously, entails some trial and error. You'll also want to make sure that the table occupies the entire page of each page on which it occurs, so you may want to add a section break before and after the table, then make sure that the added text box is only applied to the header in the table's section of the document.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (226) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing the Default Drive

Macros can be used to read and write all sorts of files. If those files are on a different drive than the current one, ...

Discover More

Creating a Workbook Clone

If you are afraid of messing up a workbook, consider doing your work on a clone of the workbook. Excel provides an easy ...

Discover More

Combining Documents

Need to combine quite a few text documents? A macro may be the easiest way to stuff them all into a single Word document.

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

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 ...

Discover More

Creating a Table Using the Keyboard

Want to easily add a table to your document simply by typing a few keystrokes? Here's how you can do it in one easy step.

Discover More

Drawing a Table

There are several ways you can create tables in a document, but one of the most unique (and perhaps most fun) is to ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is five less than 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.