Working With Tables in Microsoft Word

Aligning text in a word processing document can be tedious when it's done with tabs and spaces. With Microsoft Word, insert tables in a document to align columns and rows of text with ease. Learn how to work with tables in Word.

Insert Table Method

Using the menu, you can either select or type the desired number of columns and rows.

1. Open a Word document and select the location where you want to place the table.

2. Go to the Insert tab.

3. In the Tables group, select Table.

4. Select Insert Table.

   To make a quick and basic table, drag across the grid to select the number of columns and rows for the table.

5. In the Insert Table dialog box, enter the number of columns and rows you want in the table.

6. In the Autofit Behavior section, enter a width measurement for the columns. Or, leave the field set to autofit to generate a table the width of the document.

7. Select OK. The blank table appears in the document.

8. To add or delete rows or columns, select Insert > Table.

9. To change the width or height of the table, drag the lower-right corner of the table.

Draw Table Method

Drawing a table in Word gives you more control over a table's proportions.

1. With a Word document open, go to the Insert tab.

2. Select Table.

3. Select Draw Table. The cursor turns into a pencil.

4. Drag down and across the document to draw a box for the table. The dimensions can be modified later if needed.

5. Click inside the box and draw a vertical line for each column and a horizontal line for each row you want in your completed table.

6. Style the table using the Table Design and Layout tabs.

Enter Text in a Table

No matter which of these methods you use to draw a blank table, you enter text in the same way. Select a cell and type. Use the tab key to move to the next cell or the arrow keys to move up and down or sideways within the table.

Convert Text to Table

If there's text in a document that you want to use in a table, insert separator characters, such as commas or tabs, to indicate where to divide the text into table columns. For example, in a list of people's names and addresses, insert a tab between each name and corresponding address to make it easy to create a table.

1. Open the Word document containing the text you want to convert into a table and select that text.

2. Go to the Insert tab.

3. Select Table.

4. Select Convert Text to Table.

5. In the Convert Text to Table dialog box, change the default settings if needed.

6. Select OK to create the table.

7. To revert the table to text, go to the Layout tab and select Convert to Text.