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: Expanding Width of All Tables.
If you have a document that contains quite a few tables, you may be searching for a way to modify the width of all the tables in the document. For instance, your company standards may require that all tables be the same width, extending from the left to the right margin. If you have forty or more tables in a document, modifying the width of them all, individually, can be very tedious.
The following macro, ResizeAllTables, will quickly do what it says—resize all tables. The widths of the tables are adjusted to fill the available margins.
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: 
Sub ResizeAllTables()
Dim oTbl As Table
For Each oTbl In ActiveDocument.Tables
oTbl.AutoFitBehavior wdAutoFitFixed
With ActiveDocument.PageSetup
oTbl.PreferredWidth = .PageWidth - .LeftMargin - .RightMargin
End With
Next oTbl
End Sub
After the macro is complete, you should still examine each table to make sure that your column widths are appropriate for your data, but the overall width of the tables will be as you expected.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1382) 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: Expanding Width of All Tables.
Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!
Need a way to make sure your text fits within the space available in a table cell? Word has a handy setting that will adjust ...
Discover MoreAdding a blank line before your table is easy, but Word's behavior as you attempt to make the insert can depend on where the ...
Discover MoreIf you want to have Word highlight rows in a table that contain a certain character, you need to resort to using a macro. ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2017-02-20 19:44:00
Janine
I find that this doesn't work for tables within headers and footers. Is there a way to get the tables in headers/footers to update as well?
Thanks
2016-11-05 09:54:25
Nigel
Brilliant. Thanks so much. Been programming Excel VBA since 2009 but not done anything with Word. You've got me interested now though. Saved me a lot of time.
Thanks
2015-02-01 15:39:42
Qi
Thank you so much, I had a table which have about more 50 tables. This really helps!
2014-06-13 13:45:06
Eugene
This is really a great and easy to use macro!
Thank you for its creators! It really simplified my work a lot!
I was using it in MS Word 2007.
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2017 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments