Using the Table Command

Table Command basics

• The intersection of a row and column is a cell; a cell can contain text, graphics or both.
• Text entered into a cell automatically wraps within the cell.
• Text entered into a cell is treated as a paragraph and can be formatted as such using the same methods described elsewhere with respect to alignment, indentation, etc.
• Tables created with the table command can be resized and rearranged to fit your data. Because of this feature, many argue that it is easier to modify a table created with the table command after the fact than it is with one created using tabs.

Creating Tables Using the Table Command

There are essentially three different ways to create a table from scratch via the Table Command. They are:

• drawing a table
• inserting a table via the button on toolbar
• inserting a table via the menu command

Once a table is created, you can then enter the information. After the data is entered, you can then modify the table.

Drawing a Table

Tables are drawn in Word using the <Tables and Borders> button(Word XP) or(Word X) on the Standard Toolbar

• click on the <Tables and Borders> button
• the Tables and Borders Dialog Box will appear

Table and Borders Toolbar (Word XP)	Table and Borders Toolbar (Word X)

• Word switches to Print Layout (Windows) or Page Layout (Macintosh) view, if you are not already in that view
• the mouse pointer now looks like a pencil
• drag the mouse to draw the outline of a table (in other words a rectangle)
  • start with the upper-left corner of where you want the table and drag to the lower-right corner
  • an outline of the “box” will appear as you draw; this will form the outside “margin” of your table
  • although you can resize the table later, try to approximate the desired size
  • any text that you already have in your document will automatically move to make room for the table
• now “draw” the columns and rows
  • how many rows and columns are needed in your table? 2 rows by 3 columns? 3 by 2? 1 by 4?
  • to create whatever you need, simply draw vertical lines to create columns and horizontal lines to create rows within the table  you have already created
    • you need not worry about making the lines perfectly straight, Word will take care of that for you
    • position the lines approximately where you want the rows and columns, you can adjust them later
      • note the two buttons, distribute rows evenly and distribute columns evenly (point to the buttons in the dialog box to discover which buttons do what)
        • by selecting combination of cells you can make rows and columns distribute evenly, that is, make all selected cells the same width or same height
• click the <Draw Table> button (pencil in upper-left corner of dialog box) in the Tables and Borders Dialog Box
  • this turns off the table-creating mode but leaves the dialog box open (it is very useful to have it available while working with a table)
  • if you click the <Tables and Borders> button on the toolbar the table-creating mode is turned off and the dialog box is closed
    • if this happens, or at any time you want the Tables and Borders Dialog Box to reappear
      • click on the <Tables and Borders> button or
      • choose View Toolbars and select the Tables and Borders Dialog Box
• proceed with Entering Text in a Table below

Inserting a Table, Button on Toolbar

Tables can also be inserted via the <Insert Table> button

• click in your document at the location you wish to insert a table
• now click on the <Insert Table> button(Word XP) or(Word X) on the Standard Toolbar
  • a five column by four row grid will appear just below the button as shown here
  • you now need to select the size of your table
    • move your mouse pointer into the grid (selected cells become highlighted) and highlight the desired table size
      • for example, if you need 3 columns and 4 rows, move across the grid 3 cells and then down 4 cells
      • the grid will expand beyond five by four if you need more rows/columns
    • click the mouse button
  • a table will be inserted at the location of your cursor in the document
  • proceed with Entering Text in a Table below

NOTE: when you click anywhere in regular text, whether that text is text in the body of the document or in a table, this button looks as shown above. If you instead select text in a table, this button becomes the <Insert Cells> in a table button. Select this button to open the Insert Cells Dialog Box. Select one of the radio buttons and then click to perform the insertion selected at the point of the cursor.

Inserting a Table, Menu Command

Tables can also be inserted using the Table Insert Table … command.

• click in your document at the location you wish to insert a table
• choose TableInsertTable …
• the Insert Table Dialog Box will appear

Insert Table Dialog Box Word XP	Insert Table Dialog Box Word X

• select the desired number of rows and columns, click <OK>
  • a table will be inserted at the location of your cursor in the document
• select the appropriate radio button under “AutoFit behavior” (the default setting is shown and is usually the best choice)
• if you do not feel creative, you may wish to explore the options for automatically formatted tables by clicking on the <AutoFormat> button
• proceed with Entering Text in a Table below

Entering Text in a Table

Click in a cell in the table and enter text as you would enter text anywhere in a Word document. Keep in mind:

• Word wrap will occur within a cell as the cell edges act as margins
• Press <RETURN>/<ENTER> to start a new paragraph within a cell, or use <SHIFT-ENTER> to start a new line within the same paragraph
• Use the cursor keys to navigate in the text within a cell as described elsewhere.
• Use the <TAB> key to move forward from one cell to the next; use <SHIFT-TAB> to move backward
  • if you press the <TAB> key in the last cell in the table, you automatically create a new row of cells
• As stated above, each cell is treated as a single entity with respect to paragraph formatting. Therefore:
  • one cell can be formatted to contain one or more block style paragraphs while a neighboring cell contains one or more hanging indented paragraphs
  • to format an entire row or column of cells in the same paragraph format
    • click in a cell in the row or column then choose
      • Table Select Row to select the entire row
      • Table Select Column to select the entire column
      • Table Select Table to select the entire table
    • then apply the desired paragraph formatting
  • you can also select rows/columns as follows:
    • position the mouse point just above the top edge of the table until it changes to a bold, downward pointing arrow; click to select the column you are pointing to; drag across multiple columns to select more than one column
    • position the mouse pointer to the left of a row; when it turns to an arrow pointing northeast, click to select the row; drag across multiple rows to select more than one row

Modifying a Table

Adding/Deleting Rows and Columns

• click in a cell in a row then either
  • choose Table Insert Rows Above to insert new rows above the position of the cursor
  • or choose Table Insert Rows Below to insert new rows below the position of the cursor
• repeat as needed to insert additional rows

• click in a cell in the row to be deleted then
  • if you wish to delete more than one row, drag through one cell in each row to be deleted then
• choose Table Delete Rows

 

For either platform, you may instead select an entire row by moving the mouse pointer to the left of the table and clicking when the mouse pointer changes to an arrow pointing to the northeast. To select more than one row, “drag” the mouse along the edge of the table after the mouse pointer changes to an arrow pointing to the northeast. If more than one row is selected, then that many rows will be inserted or deleted. In other words, select three rows, insert/delete three rows!

• click in a cell in a column then either
  • choose Table Insert Columns to the Left
  • or choose Table Insert Columns to the Right
• repeat as needed to insert additional columns
  • or you may select more than one column and insert an equal number of columns

• click in a cell in the column to be deleted then
  • if you wish to delete more than one column, drag through one cell in each column to be deleted then
• choose Table Delete Columns

For either platform, you may instead select an entire column by moving the mouse pointer to the top of the table and clicking when the mouse pointer changes to an arrow pointing down. To select more than one column, “drag” the mouse along the edge of the table after the mouse pointer changes to an arrow pointing down. If more than one column is selected, then that many columns will be inserted or deleted. In other words, select three columns, insert/delete three columns!

Adjusting Row or Column Width

adjustment with precision

click in a cell in the column to be adjusted choose Table Table Properties the Table Properties dialog box will open click on the [Column] tab to adjust columns, click on the [Row] tab to adjust rows
Table Properties with Row Tab Selected	Table Properties with Column Selected
make the necessary adjustments set the column width by adjusting the number next to [Preferred width] the column number listed here will set by which column you clicked in before opening this dialog box again you may now set the adjustment and move on to other columns in the table by click the appropriate button; then when you are finished, click

a quick way to adjust

• Place the mouse pointer on the border between two columns. As soon as it changes to a vertical line bisected with a horizontally, double-headed arrow, you may drag to increase or decrease the column width.
• Or, place the mouse pointer on the table columns marker on the rulerand drag left or right

Adjustments to row height for either platform follow the same steps as described above except

• if you are using the dialog box, you select the [Row] tab in instead of the [Column] tab
• there are no ruler markers for row height adjustment!

Other Items of Interest

Borders or Gridlines?

Gridlines are the gray guidelines that appear to help you “see” the rows and columns. They are for display purposes only, they do not print. By default, gridlines are “on”. To hide them, choose

• Windows: Table Hide Gridlines (when gridlines are “off”, the command will read Show Gridlines)
• Macintosh: Table Gridlines (when gridlines are “on”, there will be a check next to the command; when “off”, there will be no check next to the command)

Borders are for display and are used to visually separate parts of a table. Use the Format Borders and Shading as described elsewhere.

Sorting Information in Tables

Information in a table may be sorted. Select the entire table then choose the Table Sort . You have the option of doing up to a three level sort. If your table has column headings, be sure to check [Header row] at the bottom of the dialog box under [My list has]. This tells the sorting process to ignore the first row since they are labels and not data to be sorted.
By the way, you can use this sort command to sort paragraphs even if they are not organized into a Table. Select the paragraphs to be sorted and then choose Table Sort . In this situation, you will only be able to do a first level sort (the first box, [Sort by], will read “Paragraphs”. This is great for sorting bibliographies.

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Copyright©2003
last updated August 12, 2003