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 Columns Evenly.

Distributing Columns Evenly

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 29, 2021)
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 width is set the way you want it, but the columns within the table are not "just right." For instance, you may want the columns to be the same width as each other without disturbing the overall width of the table. How you do this depends on the version of Word you are using:

If you are using Word 97, select the table and then choose Table | Distribute Columns Evenly.
If you are using Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003, select the table and then choose Table | AutoFit | Distribute Columns Evenly.

Word dutifully adjusts individual column widths without affecting the overall width of your 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 (1752) 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 Columns 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...

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What is eight less than 8?

2018-11-24 13:25:45

Steve Rawcliffe

Thanks for this Allen.

Have spent much time dragging column boundaries.

Must get new specs, as in Word 2016 this feature is really visible, right in the middle of the Table Layout tab!

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