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: Splitting a Table.

Splitting a Table

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 30, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Word provides a powerful table editor that allows you to create and modify data in tabular format. If you are working with large tables, there may be times when you need to split a table in half. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Position the insertion point anywhere in the row you want as the first row in the table that is split-off the larger table.
  2. Choose Split Table from the Table menu.

The result is that Word inserts a Normal-formatted paragraph prior to the table row in which your insertion point was placed. The two resulting tables can now be treated independently.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1171) 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: Splitting 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. ...

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