Indenting a Table

After you have inserted a table in your document, you cannot use the regular formatting tools to indent the table. This is because in most instances, tables do not behave the same way as paragraphs.

Exactly how you indent tables depends on the version of Word you are using. If you are using Word 2000 or a later version, you can drag a table to an indented position in your document. All you need to do is move the indent marker for the table. This is the marker right above the leftmost edge of your table. When you move this marker, Word moves the entire table in the direction you move the marker.

Another, more precise method of indenting your table in Word 2000, Word 2002, and Word 2003 is accomplished by following these steps:

1. Position the insertion pointer somewhere within the table you want to indent.
2. Choose Table Properties from the Table menu. Word displays the Table Properties dialog box.
3. Make sure the Table tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)



Figure 1. The Table tab of the Table Properties dialog box.

4. Using the Indent From Left control, specify how much of an indent to use for the table.
5. Click on OK.

If you are using Word 97, you should use these steps:

1. Position the insertion pointer somewhere within the table you want to indent.
2. Choose Select Table from the Table menu. Word dutifully selects the table.
3. Choose Cell Height and Width from the Table menu. Word displays the Cell Height and Width dialog box, with the Row tab selected.
4. Using the Indent From Left control, specify how much of an indent to use for the table.
5. Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1845) 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: Indenting a Table.