Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 16, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Maria has a table that she doesn't want to extend past three lines vertically in any given cell. She wonders if there is a way to lock how many lines there can be in any given cell of a table.
Normally the height of a row (which, of course, controls the height of cells in that row) can vary from row to row. Word does this so that whatever you place in the row can be fully accommodated by the table. There may be times when you don't want the row to expand, but instead you want the row to be a specific height.
Here's how you can set the row height to only allow three lines of text:
Figure 1. The Row tab of the Table Properties dialog box.
Now your row height will never go above whatever you set in step 4.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8133) 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: Limiting Lines in a Table Cell.
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