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Merging Splitting Cells Tables

Merging & Splitting Cells & Tables

You can modify the structure of a table by merging and splitting cells or splitting the table:

Merging cells turns multiple cells into one cell that spans multiple columns or rows.
Splitting a cell turns a single cell into multiple cells in the same column or row.
Splitting a table turns a single table into two separate tables.

To merge cells

Select the cells that you want to merge ( Figure 60 ).

Figure 60. Select the cells that you want to merge.

Choose Table > Merge Cells ( Figure 18 ). The cells become a single cell ( Figure 61 ).

Figure 61. The cells are merged into one cell.

Tip

When you merge cells containing text, each cell's contents appear in a separate paragraph of the merged cell ( Figure 61 ).

To split cells

1.	Select the cell(s) that you want to split ( Figure 62 ). Figure 62. Select the cell that you want to split.
2.	Choose Table > Split Cells ( Figure 18 ) to display the Split Cells dialog ( Figure 63 ). Figure 63. The Split Cells dialog.
3.	Enter the number of columns and rows for the cell split in the Number of columns and Number of rows text boxes.
4.	Click OK. The cell splits as specified ( Figure 64 ). Figure 64. A cell split into one column and two rows.

Tips

To split a cell in the middle of its contents, in step 1 position the insertion point where you want the split to occur.
To merge and split multiple cells at the same time, in step 1, select all the cells ( Figure 60 ). Then, in step 3, make sure the Merge cells before split check box is turned on ( Figure 63 ). When you click OK, the cells are merged and split ( Figure 65 ).

Figure 65. The cells selected in Figure 60 after merging and splitting them into one column and three rows.

To split a table

Position the insertion point anywhere in the row below where you want the split to occur ( Figure 66 ).

Figure 66. Position the insertion point in the row below where you want the split to occur.

Choose Table > Split Table ( Figure 18 ).

The table splits above the row you indicated ( Figure 67 ).

Figure 67. The table splits above the insertion point.

Resizing Columns & Rows

Word offers two ways to manually change the width of columns or height of rows:

Drag to change column widths and row heights.
Use the Table Properties dialog to change column widths and row heights.

To change a column's width by dragging

Position the mouse pointer on the boundary between the column that you want to change and the one to its right. The mouse pointer turns into a double line with arrows ( Figure 68 ).

Figure 68. Position the mouse pointer on the column's right boundary.

Press the mouse button down and drag:

Drag to the right to make the column wider.
Drag to the left to make the column narrower.

As you drag, a dotted line indicating the new boundary moves with the mouse pointer ( Figure 69 ).

Figure 69. Drag the column boundary.

Release the mouse button. The column boundary moves to the new position, resizing both columns ( Figure 70 ).

Figure 70. When you release the mouse button, the column and the column to its right resize.

Tips

To resize a column without changing the width of other columns, in step 1, position the mouse pointer on the Move Table Column area for the column's right boundary ( Figure 71 ). Because this method changes only one column's width, it also changes the width of the table.

Figure 71. You can also resize a column by dragging the Move Table Column area for the column's right boundary.
If a cell is selected when you drag to resize a column, only the selected cell 's width changes.

To change a row's height by dragging

1.	If necessary, switch to Page Layout view.
2.	Position the mouse pointer on the boundary between the row that you want to change and the one below it. The mouse pointer turns into a double line with arrows ( Figure 72 ). Figure 72. Position the mouse pointer on the bottom boundary.
3.	Press the mouse button down and drag: Drag up to make the row shorter. Drag down to make the row taller. As you drag, a dotted line indicating the new boundary moves with the mouse pointer ( Figure 73 ). Figure 73. Drag the row boundary.
4.	Release the mouse button. The row boundary moves to the new position. The rows beneath it shift accordingly ( Figure 74 ). Figure 74. When you release the mouse button, the boundary moves, changing the row's height.

Tips

Another way to resize a row by dragging is to position the mouse pointer on the Adjust Table Row area of the row's bottom boundary ( Figure 75 ). Then follow steps 3 and 4 above.

Figure 75. You can also resize a row by dragging the Adjust Table Row area for the row's bottom boundary.
Changing a row's height changes the total height of the table.
You can't make a row's height shorter than the height of the text within the row.

To change a table's size by dragging

1.	If necessary, switch to Page Layout view.
2.	Position the mouse pointer on the table resize handle. The mouse pointer turns into a box with arrows in two corners ( Figure 76 ). Figure 76. When you position the mouse pointer on the table resize handle, it turns into a resize pointer.
3.	Press the mouse button down and drag in any direction: Drag to the left to make the table narrower. Drag to the right to make the table wider. Drag up to make the table shorter. Drag down to make the table longer. As you drag, a dotted line indicating the new table boundary moves with the mouse pointer ( Figure 77 ). Figure 77. Drag the table resize handle.
4.	Release the mouse button. The table resizes ( Figure 78 ). Figure 78. When you release the mouse button, the table is resized.

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Tips

Dragging the table resize handle to resize a table resizes each column and row proportionally.
You cannot make a table any shorter than it needs to be to display table contents.
Although you can make a table wider than the page boundaries, the table may be cropped when printed. It's best to keep table width within the page margins. You can change page orientation to landscape (in the Page Setup dialog, as discussed in Chapter 6 ) to print a wide table.

To set row height or column width

1.	Select a cell in the row or column for which you want to set height or width.
2.	Choose Table > Table Properties ( Figure 18 ) to display the Table Properties dialog.
3.	To set row height, click the Row button to display its options ( Figure 79 ). Turn on the Specify height check box, enter a value in the box beside it, and choose an option from the Row height is pop-up menu ( Figure 80 ). Figure 79. The Row pane of the Table Properties dialog. Figure 80. Use this pop-up menu to specify how the row height measurement you enter should be used. or To set column width, click the Column button to display its options ( Figure 81 ). Turn on the Preferred width check box, enter a value in the box beside it, and choose an option from the Measure in pop-up menu ( Figure 82 ). Figure 81. The Column pane of the Table Properties dialog. Figure 82. Use this pop-up menu to specify how the column width measurement you enter should be used.
4.	Click OK.

Tips

To set column width and row height at the same time, in step 1, select a cell that is in both the column and row that you want to change. Then follow the remaining steps, including both parts of step 3.
You can click the Previous Row and Next Row buttons in the Row pane ( Figure 79 ) and the Previous Column and Next Column buttons in the Column pane ( Figure 81 ) of the Table Properties dialog to cycle through and set values for all the rows and columns in the table.
The Table Properties dialog also offers a number of advanced features for formatting tables, rows, columns, and cells . Explore them on your own.

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