Adding a Line Before a Table

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 3, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Pulling Apart Characters in a Long String

You can easily use formulas to pull apart text stored in a cell. For instance, if you need to pull individual characters ...

Discover More

Minimizing the Ribbon for a Document

Want the ribbon to be minimized for a particular document? Word may not allow you to get the exact result you want, as ...

Discover More

Specifying a Number of Matches

The wild card searching capabilities of Word are amazing. One thing you can do with wild cards is to specify not only a ...

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)

Converting a Table into Text

Word includes a power table editor that allows you to create and work with tables easily. At some point, however, you ...

Discover More

Setting Consistent Column Widths in Multiple Tables

Tables are great for organizing and presenting information in a document. If you have a document containing multiple ...

Discover More

Fitting Text Into Cells

Need a way to make sure your text fits within the space available in a table cell? Word has a handy setting that will ...

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 7 - 7?

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.