IT 201

WORD XP Spring 2008

Spring 2008

Word Table Basics…

Dr. Taralynn Hartsell
University of Southern Mississippi

A table is composed of columns (vertical) and rows (horizontal). Where a column and
row meet, a cell is formed.

The following graphic is an example of a table with three columns and two rows. The
highlighted cell is just one of the 9 cells in the table.

Columns

Rows

Cell

Creating a Table
There are two major ways in which you can create tables in Word. We will cover both of
these in the following section. Preliminary planning is important when creating tables. If
you have an idea of what the finished table should look like, it will help you save time at
the end.

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Creating a Table: Menu Option

1. Place the insertion point where you want the table to appear.

2. Click on TABLE in the menu bar and select Insert Table. The Insert Table
dialog box appears.

3. In the Insert Table dialog box, type the number of columns

and rows that you want for your table

4. To create the table, click OK. An empty table appears on

your screen and you are ready to begin adding information
to the table.

Creating a Table: Toolbar Option

1. Place the insertion point where you want the table to appear.

2. On the Standard toolbar, click and hold the INSERT TABLE button.
A drop-down menu appears.

3. To indicate the size of your table, select the appropriate dimensions

NOTE: Drag right to select columns; drag down to select rows.

4. When the correct size is selected, release the mouse button. An empty table
appears on your screen and you are ready to begin adding information to the table.

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Adding Information to the Table

To enter information into your table, just type the text. When you want to move to
another cell in a table, you will need to use one of the following methods:

♦ press the [Tab] key

♦ press an [arrow] key
♦ use the mouse to click in the appropriate cell

You can also format the text like you would in a Word document using features from the
Format toolbar.

Moving Around and Selecting within a Table

Since the Tab key is used to move between cells, you need to press the following keys to
insert a tab character within a cell:

Windows Users: [Ctrl]+[Tab]

Other helpful shortcuts include the following:

MOVE TO CELLS... USE . . .

previous cell left arrow until you are in the cell

next row down arrow
previous row up arrow

SELECT CELLS. . . USE . . .

next cell [Tab]

previous cell [Shift]+[Tab]

entire row drag I-beam across the rows or place the pointer to the left
of the row and click

entire column [Alt]+click or place the pointer at the top of the column,
when down arrow appears, click

multiple cells,
rows or columns drag across the cells

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Formatting Tables

Adding Rows & Columns

To add a row at the end of a table:

1. Place your insertion point in the last cell (last row, last column)

2. Press [Tab]

To add a row within the table:

1. Place your insertion point in a cell below where you want to add a row

2. From the Table menu, select Insert Rows OR click the INSERT ROWS button

To add a column within the table:

1. Place your insertion point to the right of where you want to insert a column

2. From the Table menu, select Select Column

3. From the Table menu, select Insert Columns OR click the INSERT COLUMNS
button

To add a column at the end of the table:

1. Place your insertion point outside and to the right of the last column

2. From the Table menu, select Select Column

3. From the Table menu, select Insert Columns OR click the INSERT COLUMNS
button

Deleting Rows & Columns

To delete a row:

1. Place your insertion point in the row to be deleted

2. From the Table menu, select Delete Cells . . .

3. In the Delete Cells dialog box, select Delete Entire Row

4. Click OK

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To delete a column:

1. Place your insertion point in the column to be deleted

2. From the Table menu, select Delete Cells . . .

3. In the Delete Cells dialog box, select Delete Entire Column

4. Click OK

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