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Tables in Microsoft Word

All versions of Microsoft Word provide special commands for inserting and working with tables. The exact location of these differs between older and newer versions of Microsoft Word but they are all present. These are some of the more common tasks required when working with tables in Microsoft Word.

Inserting a Table in Microsoft Word

To insert a table in Microsoft Word 2003 and earlier:

1.       Click the Table menu from the top toolbar.

2.       Click Insert and then Table.

3.       Fill in the appropriate values and press Ok to insert the table.

To insert a table in Microsoft Word 2007 and later:

1.       Click the Insert tab.

2.       Choose the Tables drop down menu.

3.       Select Insert Table.
 

4.       Fill in the appropriate values and press Ok to insert the table.
 

Removing a Table or Table Elements in Microsoft Word

To remove a table or individual table elements in Microsoft Word 2003 and earlier:

1.       Click inside the table in the position that you want.

2.       Click the Table menu from the top toolbar.

3.       Click Delete.

4.       Choose the menu item of element you want to delete. For instance choosing Table will remove the entire table from the document.

To remove a table or individual table elements in Microsoft Word 2007 and later:

1.       Click inside the table at the desired position.

2.       The Layout tab should appear. Click this tab.

3.       Click the Delete drop down menu.

4.       Choose the menu item of the element you want to delete. For instance choosing Delete Table will remove the entire table from the document.
 

Merging Cells in a Table in Microsoft Word

1.       Select the cells to be merged by dragging the cursor over the cells.

2.       Right click on the selection.

3.       Select Merge Cells from the popup menu.
 

Using the AutoFit feature in Microsoft Word

To use the AutoFit feature to automatically size a table in Microsoft Word:

1.       Right click anywhere inside the desired table.

2.       Select AutoFit from popup menu.
 

3.       Select the desired autofit option:
 

a.       AutoFit to Contents fits the table around content.

b.       AutoFit to Window resizes the table so it fills the available page width between the left and right margins.

c.       Fixed Column Width sets each column width to an absolute value. This means even if the content within the cells were to change the width of each column in the table will stay the same.