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: Distributing Table Rows Evenly.

Distributing Table Rows Evenly

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 4, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

When it is time to format a table, you may find that your overall table depth (height) is set the way you want it, but the rows within the table are not "just right." For instance, you may want the rows to be the same height as each other without disturbing the overall width of the table.

Simply follow these directions if you are using Word 97:

Make sure the insertion point is located somewhere within your table.
Choose Distribute Rows Evenly from the Table menu.

The process is slightly different if you are using Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003:

Make sure the insertion point is located somewhere within your table.
Choose AutoFit from the Table menu. Word displays a submenu.
Choose Distribute Rows Evenly from the submenu.

Word changes the row heights to reflect your selection. You should note that if you are using the Tables and Borders toolbar, you could simply click your mouse on the Distribute Rows Evenly tool after you first position the insertion point in the 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 (1314) 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: Distributing Table Rows Evenly.

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...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Shortcut Key for Format Painter

The Format Painter is great for copying formatting from one cell to another. If you don't want to grab the mouse to use ...

Discover More

Renaming a File

Need to rename a disk file from within a macro? You can do it using the Name command, described in this tip.

Discover More

Adding Last-Row Data to a Page Footer

If you want to modify information that appears in the footer of a worksheet printout, on a page-by-page basis, you can ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More WordTips (menu)

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 ...

Discover More

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 ...

Discover More

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 ...

Discover More

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is five less than 6?

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.