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: Moving a Table Column.
After creating a table to hold data in your document, you may have a need to reorganize the table. One common way of reorganizing is to move columns so that they are in a different order than they were originally. Here's the general process for moving columns:
It should be noted that the above steps don't work as expected if you have Track Changes turned on. If you do, then when you attempt step 2 you are told that if you continue, your edit will not be "tracked" (marked). You will then need to make a decision as to whether this is a "deal breaker" on the edit. For most people it probably isn't, since you are going to paste the column elsewhere.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1769) 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: Moving a Table Column.
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2017-02-16 10:24:44
GG
Note: For moving rows in Word Tables, you can use keyboard shortcuts of Ctrl-Shift-{UpArrow} and Ctrl-Shift-{DownArrow}. Moving columns is different.
2017-01-27 08:56:29
Imiril B
I have Word 2010 and this tip works like a charm. Thanks!
2016-02-10 03:03:30
khatib
Thanks. It works.👍
2014-05-23 17:20:18
Mr. Raymond Kenneth Petry
Can't select a column unless every row has exactly the same column alignment.
Microsoft Word 2010 ver. 14
2013-05-07 11:10:46
dannagrace
I have a table in an exercise with various cells in gray tone to identify which cell in a row the reader is to put their answer. I followed the instructions above. When I highlighted the column and hit ctrl+x, the column disappeared from the screen. I moved the cursor to where I wanted the column to go (to the right of the last column, next to the top cell) and hit ctrl+v. The column reappeared with the appropriate heading, but the gray cells were changed to mimic those in the column to the left of the moved cell. Why is that?
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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: 
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