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: Transposing Table Contents.

Transposing Table Contents

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 4, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


If you are working with tables in a document, at some point you may find it helpful to transpose the contents of the table, so that rows become columns and columns become rows.

There is no way to do this in Word. There is, however, a way to transpose rows and columns in Excel. So, the typical method of accomplishing this task is to use both Word and Excel, using these general steps:

  1. Create your table in Word.
  2. Select the entire table and copy it to the Clipboard.
  3. In Excel, use Paste Special to paste the table as Text.
  4. Using Excel, transpose the rows and columns. (How you do this can be found on the Excel.Tips.Net site.)
  5. Copy the transposed table to the Clipboard.
  6. Paste the table back into Word.
  7. Format the pasted table as desired.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9076) 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: Transposing Table Contents.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Nesting IF Worksheet Functions

The IF worksheet function is very handy to make conditional evaluations. You are not limited to a single IF comparison, ...

Discover More

Using Stored Views

After creating different views of your worksheet data, you can display those views by simply selecting which one you want ...

Discover More

Inserting the Time Remaining Until a Target Date and Time

Would you like a countdown value of some type to appear in your document? You can create your own through the use of a ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Protecting a Table Column

Do you need a way to protect the information you put in a table? Word doesn't have a way to do this, but there are a few ...

Discover More

Table Won't Flow to Second Page

Have you ever created a table that never seems to flow to a second page, even when it should? This could be caused by any ...

Discover More

Footnotes for Tables

Word includes a powerful feature that allows you to add footnotes and endnotes to your document. What if you want them at ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 5 - 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

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.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.