Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Formatting an ASCII Table with Spaces.
It is not uncommon in many word processors to format tables with spaces. Enough spaces are inserted between each column to align the first letter of each column. Word, however, includes a table editor, which provides more flexibility in formatting and working with tables. Converting ASCII tables originally formatted with spaces to Word tables can be time consuming. The following VBA macro will do the formatting automatically. It assumes that each line represents a different row in the table, and that anything beyond a single space represents a division between columns.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: 
Sub SpacesToTable
With Selection.Find
.ClearFormatting
.Replacement.ClearFormatting
.Text = " {2,}"
.Replacement.Text = "^t"
.Forward = True
.Wrap = wdFindStop
.Format = False
.MatchCase = False
.MatchWholeWord = False
.MatchAllWordForms = False
.MatchSoundsLike = False
.MatchWildcards = True
End With
Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
Selection.ConvertToTable _
Separator:=wdSeparateByTabs, _
Format:=wdTableFormatNone
End Sub
Before running the macro, select the text you want to convert. When you run this macro, you will get the same thing you would get if you selected the option from the Table menu and then chose Text to Table. This means your columns might look funky; they will definitely need to be resized. But the hard work of getting rid of all the spaces has been done for you.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (781) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Formatting an ASCII Table with Spaces.
Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!
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. ...
Discover MoreNeed to make sure that all the cells of a table have something in them? It's easy to do with a handy little macro.
Discover MoreInsert 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 ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2012-10-26 10:52:23
William J. Wolfe
I've used a similar macro for years, except that the macro I scripted follows up by "cleaning up" space-tab, and tab-space pairs (removing the spaces, then by reducing tab-tab pairs to single tabs.
Assuming that text in the table does not contain extra spaces (e.g., following a full-stop or before/after a hard return), the resulting text will convertcleanly to the desired row-column configuration.
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2017 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments