Adding a Line Before a Table

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated October 23, 2014)

4

If you have a table at the beginning of your document, and you are using Word 2000 or later versions, adding a blank line before the table is easy--all you need to do is position the insertion point at the start of the first cell and press Enter. It doesn't work that way in Word 97, however. There you need to use a different approach. Any of the following will do the trick:

  • Position the insertion point at the start of the first cell in the table and choose Split Table from the Table menu.
  • Position the insertion point at the start of the first cell in the table and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter.
  • Position the insertion point at the start of the first cell in the table and insert a column break. (Choose Break from the Insert menu, then click on Column Break, then on OK.)

The result is that Word inserts a Normal-formatted paragraph prior to 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 (1372) 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

Inserting the Saved Date In a Header or Footer

When preparing a worksheet for printing, you may want to include in the header or footer the last date the workbook was ...

Discover More

Numbering on New Paragraph Doesn't Work as Expected

The Numbering feature in Word can be a bit tricky to navigate. Sometimes it works as it should, and other times it seems ...

Discover More

Customizing the Send To Menu

Adding items to the Send To menu can be a great way to open files with specific programs. Here's how easy it is to add ...

Discover More

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!

More WordTips (menu)

Indenting a Table

Insert a table into your document, and it normally appears aligned with the left margin. Word allows you to indent the ...

Discover More

Different Table Captions on Multiple Pages

If you have a table that spans multiple pages, you may want to add a caption to the table and have that caption use ...

Discover More

Putting Something in Every Cell of a Table

Need 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 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.

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

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}] 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 two minus 1?

2017-01-23 05:45:04

kaka

This also works when adding a line before a table at the top of ANY page, not just the beginning of a document.

2016-12-09 11:36:36

Janice

I used to love tables. What have you done? Nothing is easy.

Things were fine until I installed 2010. I am so frustrated. It takes me all day to print tallies for euchre.

2016-09-29 07:30:33

ak

thank you!!! I was so frustrated with it!

2015-03-18 11:55:11

Tony

Thanks, that had been driving me crazy!

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.

Newest Tips
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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.