applied tips : february 2008
microsoft word : setting the table
Tables are a great way to organize key information in your documents. They can make material easier for readers to understand, and can also help you emphasize certain items.
You can choose different ways to create a table, depending on the information you need to present.
Inserting a simple table
If all you need is something simple and straightforward, the Insert Table button is the best tool for you.
To insert the table, click where you want the table to go in the document. Then click the Insert Table button on the Standard toolbar, drag your mouse pointer across the grid to select the desired number of rows and columns, and click. A table appears in your document.
Inserting a bigger table
One drawback with inserting a table using the Insert Table button is that you are limited in the number of column and rows you can create in the table.
If you want a bigger table, select Table > Insert > Table from the menu (Table > Insert Table in Word 97). The Insert Table dialog box appears, allowing you to enter the table dimensions.
Click the arrow buttons or type in the number of columns and rows you want, then click OK to insert the table.
Draw Table feature
But what if you need a more complex table? Maybe you want a table with different numbers of rows in different columns, or different sized cells within the table? Or a really funky layout of rows and columns, including cells that are joined together?
In these cases, the Draw Table feature helps by allowing you to draw the table freehand as if you were using a pencil and graph paper.
To create a table with the Draw Table feature, right-click the menu bar and click Tables and Borders to display the Tables and Borders toolbar.
Click the Draw Table button. Your pointer turns into a pen so you can draw your table. First you need to draw the outside of the table.
Click and drag to create the table on the page. Then draw the column and row borders by clicking and dragging the pen across the table.
If you make a mistake or change your mind about a border in the table, click the Eraser button on the Tables and Borders toolbar and click and drag over the border to remove it. That’s all there is to it!
Creating a table with your text
If you already have text you want to put into a table, you can simply make a table around the text.
Select the text you want to convert to a table. Select Table > Convert > Text to Table from the menu (Table > Convert Text to Table in Word 97). The Convert Text to Table dialog box appears.
Here, select the number of columns you want, as well as what character Word should use to separate the text into columns: paragraphs, tabs, commas, or other. (If you select commas, for example, Word will break up the text into a new column every time it runs into a comma.) Click OK. You're done!
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