But what if you want to make sure each cell is a certain height? This tip explains how to format your table so it looks the way you want. When creating tables, Word automatically sets the size of the cells. How to make the border on the last row on a page look right. Need to make sure that your smaller tables stay on a single page? Here's a handy trick you can use to enforce this rule. You can make sure that Word presents the table the way you expect by adjusting the table formatting. When you create a table that extends beyond a single page, you may want to make sure that the information in a table row doesn't span a page break. How you do the formatting depends on the version of Word you are using. How to Stop a Table Row from Splitting Over Two Pagesĭo you want your table rows to be split between pages? Word allows you to format the table so that rows stay together and don't split. If you need to routinely remove background shading from tables, here's a couple of ways you can make your task easier. When working with tables (particularly those created by others), you can spend a large amount of time getting the formatting the way you want. Getting Rid of Background Color in All Tables You can use the technique introduced in this tip (utilizing fields) to control exactly how you want that number displayed.ĭo you need a quick way to format your tables? Believe it or not, there are several tools you can use from Word's arsenal to make table formatting easier and easier. If you need to format a number so that it appears as currency, it is not as easy to do in Word as it is in Excel. You can easily convert such information to Word's native table structure by using the macro in this tip. When you get a text file from a program other than Word, tabular information may be formatted with nothing but spaces in between columns. Here's a discussion of why this happens and what you can try to do about it. This may not result in the optimum table design, however. Word can adjust the height of individual rows in a table based on the information you put in each row. In Word this is referred to as "distributing" rows, and it is an easy task to do, as discussed in this tip. If you've adjusted the height of your table and the rows within the table, you might want to later return all those rows to a uniform height. There are several ways you can accomplish this task, as described in this tip. You may spend some time getting the color in a portion of a table just right, only to be faced with the task of copying that shading to other cells in the table. It's easy to do using either dialog boxes or toolbars, as described in this tip. When creating a table, you can turn the orientation of the text, within a cell, by ninety degrees in either direction from normal.
Need to adjust the space between individual cells in a table? Word gives you a good deal of control over this spacing, as discussed in this tip. As pointed out here, just select the cell and apply the formatting. Individual cells in a table can be aligned any way you desire. Here's a couple of ways you can shorten the table-formatting time you need to spend. When you get a document from another person, you can spend a lot of time formatting their tables, as well. Here's how to align such numbers properly within the table.įormatting tables can be very time consuming. This can be a challenge in some situations, such as if your negative numbers use parentheses around them. When you use a table to present numeric information, you may want to have Word align the numbers in the table. Need to align numbers around their decimal point within a table? It's easy to do by using the three simple steps provided in this tip.Īligning Positive and Negative Whole Numbers in a Column
How you go about such adjustments depends on the version of Word you are using. When working with tables, you can adjust the height of individual rows. You can easily add borders to your table cells. Want to add a border diagonally, through the middle of a table cell? It's easy if you follow the formatting steps presented in this tip.