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: Converting Text Into a Table.

Converting Text Into a Table

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 7, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

There are two major ways you can create tables in Word. One way is to create a blank table by any of the various methods provided by Word (such as drawing the table or using Insert Table tool). The other method is to convert existing text into a table. To convert text into a table, follow these steps:

Make sure the text which is to be converted into the table contains only a single tab character between each column.
Select the text you want converted into a table.
Either click on the Create Table tool on the toolbar or select the Insert Table option or the Convert Text to Table option from the Table menu.
If you selected the Convert Text to Table option, you are shown the Convert Text to Table dialog box. (See Figure 1.) Make sure all the table settings are correct and then click on OK.

Figure 1. The Convert Text to Table dialog box.

The selected text is immediately converted into a table. In some instances, the width of columns in the resulting table may need to be adjusted. You will know if this is the case because the table will look very strange. Sometimes you can get files from programs such as a spreadsheet that use commas to separate columns. Word will also convert this comma separated text to a table.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1129) 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: Converting Text Into a Table.

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. Learn more about Allen...

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