[ October 2006 ]
Boo... Happy Halloween everyone!
There is a definite tingle in the air and the wind has a whiff of Autumn in it nowadays. Watch out for black cats and ghosts and goblins!
Table of Contents
Use Tables in MS Word - Everything you ever wanted to know about tables and then some!
Insert a Table - Start with the basics
Changing Table Structure - Move on to Intermediate
Draw a Table - More Intermediate
Use Tables in MS Word
There are a couple of methods to insert a table into your document. You can click the Table icon on your toolbar and drag to specify the number of rows and columns you would like in your table. You can also click on the Word Table on your toolbar.
When you want to keep text side by side in a document, create a table. This grid-like sturcture can contain short text, such as a number, long text, a sentence, paragraph, or several paragraphs. A table keeps the items properly aligned in columns and rows, so you don't have to fuss with setting tabs.
Tables are invaluable when you have text that must be aligned side by side. For example, when you are setting up an agenda, you'll have the time and the event next to each other. Another example would be a resume that may show a heading on the left and a position and its responsibilities on the right.
I think you're starting to see the endless possibilities where you might use a table quite often.
Insert a Table
There are a couple of methods to insert a table into your document. You can click the Table icon on your toolbar and drag to specify the number of rows and columns you would like in your table. You can also click on the word Table on your toolbar.
From there, you will select Insert and then Table, which will open the Insert Table dialog box. From there you will select the number of columns and rows. Not to worry about whether you have enough rows and columns, as you can always add and remove them later. You can also create a table by drawing it on the page, but that is a tip for another day. For this article we will focus on using the Table icon to create a table.
After you have clicked on the Table icon on your toolbar and dragged to specify the number of rows and columns you desire, a grid-like table will appear, stretching between the left and right margins. The insertion point appears in the first cell, where the column and row intersect, ready for you to enter text.
- Type the contents of the first cell. Press Enter when you want to start a new paragraph within the cell. The height of the row will expand to contain all the text.
- Press Tab to advance to the next cell, and then type its contents. Press Tab at the last cell in a row to advance to the first cell in the next row.
- Press Shift + Tab to return ot the previous cell.
- To add a new row, press Tab from the bottom-right cell in the table. This adds a new row and advances the insertion point to the first cell in the new row.
The table keeps the text aligned side by side.
Changing Table Structure
Once you've begun a table, you can easily change its structure. You can change the width of the columns to fit the text, and you can also insert, delete and rearrange the rows and columns any way you like.
Even though you established the overall table structure when you first created it, you may find that more or fewer columns or rows are needed after you start entering text. It would be a real pain if you had to delete the table and start all over again just because you needed to rearrange or restructure. Luckily, Word gives you great flexibility in modifying the table structure.
Draw a Table
Another way to create a table is to draw it by using two buttons found on the Tables and Borders toolbar. Using your mouse, you can drag a rectangle on the screen and then divide it into rows and columns of varying sizes and shapes.
When the table you're creating is a simple grid, using the Table button works well. But sometimes you want larger and smaller cells and rows, having different numbers or sizes of columns, or various columns divided into several row arrangements. In this case, you can use the Draw Table feature to sketch out the exact structure of the table at the outset, rather than adjusting column widths and row heights, and merging or splitting cells.
Included in the Premium Edition:
- Change Column Width
- Insert Rows and Columns in Tables
- Move Rows and Columns
- Delete Rows and Columns
- Even up Rows and Columns
- Draw a Table
- Create a Complex Table
- Merge Cells in a Table
- Split Cells
- Format a Table
- Shortcut Keys
- What is the Difference Between a File and a Folder
- Make Excel Worksheets and Charts Easier to Read with Custom Number Formats
- Function keys
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