Creating a Table

Word offers four ways to create a table:

Use the Insert Table command and dialog to create a table at the insertion point.
•Use the Insert Table toolbar button to create a table at the insertion point.
Use the Draw Table command and toolbar button to draw a table anywhere on a page.
Use the Convert Text to Table command to convert existing text to a table.

1.	Position the insertion point where you want the table to appear.
2.	Choose Table > Insert > Table (Figure 2) to display the Insert Table dialog (Figure 3). Figure 2. Use commands at the top of the Table menu to create a table. Figure 3. The Insert Table dialog.
3.	Enter the number of columns and rows for the table in the Number of columns and Number of rows boxes.
4.	Choose an AutoFit behavior option: Initial column width sets the width of each column regardless of its contents or the window width. If you select this option, enter Auto in the text box to set the table as wide as the print area and divide the table into columns of equal width or enter a value in the text box to specify the width of each column. AutoFit to contents sets each column to fit the contents of the widest cell in the column and makes the table as wide as all of the columns combined. AutoFit to window sets the table's width based on the width of the window and divides the table into columns of equal width.
5.	Click OK. The table appears, with the insertion point in the top left cell (Figure 4). Figure 4. An empty four-column, three-row table inserted after some text.

Tips

You can click the AutoFormat button in the Insert Table dialog (Figure 3) to format the table as you create it. Automatically formatting tables is covered later in this chapter.
To set the options in the Insert Table dialog (Figure 3) as the default options for all new tables you create, turn on the Set as default for new tables check box.
You can use this technique to insert a table into a table cell. Just make sure the insertion point is within a table cell before you choose Table > Insert > Table (Figure 2).

Position the insertion point where you want the table to appear.

Click the Insert Table button on the Standard toolbar to display a menu of columns and rows.

Select the number of columns and rows you want in the table (Figure 5).

The table appears, with the insertion point in the top left cell (Figure 4).

Tips

This is probably the fastest way to insert an empty table into a document.
You can use this technique to insert a table into a table cell. Just make sure the insertion point is within a table cell before you use the Insert Table button's menu.

1.	Choose Table > Draw Table (Figure 2) or click the Tables and Borders button on the Standard toolbar.
2.	If you are not in Page Layout view, Word switches to that view. The Tables and Borders toolbar appears (Figure 6). If necessary, click the Draw Table button to select it. Figure 6. The Tables and Borders toolbar appears when you draw a table.
3.	Position the Draw Table tool, which looks like a pencil (Figure 6), where you want the upper-left corner of the table.
4.	Press the mouse button down and drag diagonally to draw a box the size and shape of the table you want (Figure 7). When you release the mouse button, the outside border of the table appears (Figure 8). Figure 7. Drag diagonally to draw a box the size and shape of the table you want. Figure 8. The outside border for a single-cell table appears.
5.	Drag the Draw Table tool from the top border of the table to the bottom to draw each column boundary (Figure 9). Figure 9. Draw vertical lines for column boundaries...
6.	Drag the Draw Table tool from the left border of the table to the right to draw each row boundary (Figure 10). Figure 10. ...and horizontal lines for row boundaries. When you're finished, the table might look something like the one in Figure 11. Figure 11. A drawn table.

Tip

Don't worry if you can't draw column and row boundaries exactly where you want them. Changing column widths and row heights is discussed later in this chapter.

1.	Select the text that you want to convert to a table (Figure 12). Figure 12. Tab-separated text selected for conversion.
2.	Choose Table > Convert > Convert Text to Table (Figure 13). Figure 13. Use the Convert submenu's Convert Text to Table command to convert text to a table.
3.	In the Convert Text to Table dialog that appears (Figure 14), confirm that the correct separator has been selected and the correct values appear in the text boxes. Make any required changes. Figure 14. The Convert Text to Table dialog.
4.	Click OK. The text turns into a table (Figure 15). Figure 15. The text in Figure 12 converted to a table.

Tips

This method works best with tab- or comma-separated text.
The AutoFit behavior options in the Convert Text to Table dialog (Figure 14) are the same as in the Insert Table dialog. I explain them earlier in this chapter.
In most instances, Word will correctly "guess" the settings for the Convert Text to Table dialog (Figure 14) and no changes will be required in step 3 above.