Enhancing Your Tables with Formatting

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Tables come in all shapes and sizes, from simple to sophisticated. Word includes a number of formatting features you can apply to your tables to give them the look you want. Word now supports custom table styles, which means you can create your own Table AutoFormats from scratch or modify existing formats to meet your needs. In this section, you'll also find out about creating borders, adding shading, and using table colors.

Producing a Finished Table with AutoFormat

Word's Table AutoFormat feature gives you a library of different formats you can apply to your tables. When you want to create a table in a hurry, you can rely on Word's Table AutoFormat to give you the look you want, and then you can just plug in the data. Or, if you've already created a basic table, as discussed in the first half of this chapter, you can apply an AutoFormat to your table. To apply an AutoFormat to an existing table,, simply click in the table you want to reformat, open the Table menu, and choose Table AutoFormat. In the Table AutoFormat dialog box (shown in Figure 13-8), scroll through the list to find the format you want to try, then click the desired format and click Apply.

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Figure 13-8: Table AutoFormat enables you to apply predesigned table styles to your tables.

In the Table AutoFormat dialog box, you have the option of disabling any of the special features Table AutoFormat applies that you don't want to use. You can select the Heading Rows, First Column, Last Row, and Last Column check boxes if you want the entire table to be formatted in a uniform fashion.

Tip 

Select a default table style  If you want to choose a particular Table AutoFormat as the default table style for your document, select it in the Table Styles list box and click Default. Word will display the Default Table Style dialog box, asking whether you want to make this style the default style for this document only or for all documents based on the Normal template. Click your choice, and click OK.

Tip 

Create a new table with AutoFormatting  If you want to start using AutoFormat immediately to set up a new table, you can do so by clicking Insert Table on the Tables And Borders toolbar. The Insert Table dialog box appears. Enter the number of columns and rows you want to create; then click AutoFormat. This action takes you to the Table AutoFormat dialog box, where you can choose the style you like.

Modifying an Existing Table AutoFormat

Once you get used to working with Table AutoFormat, you might discover that you like some styles more than others. Perhaps you like light shading behind columns but find it distracting in heading rows. You might prefer one color to another, or perhaps a certain font matches the standard design of your business documents.

You can modify an existing AutoFormat to create a new style that accommodates the settings you like best. Follow these steps:

  1. Click in the table that has been formatted with the Table AutoFormat style you want to enhance.

  2. Choose Table, Table AutoFormat. The Table AutoFormat dialog box appears, with the current AutoFormat style selected in the Table Styles list box.

  3. Click Modify. The Modify Style dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 13-9.

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    Figure 13-9: You can modify an existing Table AutoFormat style to create a unique table style.

  4. Enter a name for the new table style.

    Tip 

    Name table styles memorably  Name any new styles you create in such a way that you'll be able to identify the style later. For example, you might choose to name a new shaded table BlueShade1 if that will help you remember what is unique about that style.

  5. By default, the table style already applied to the table (if applicable) is shown in the Style Based On list box. Click the arrow and choose a different style if you want to change the format the new style is based on.

  6. In the Formatting section, choose the item you want to modify.

    Note 

    For those times when you want to modify only a single element of the table format (for example, removing the bold from the last row in the table), choose just the item you want to change, select the new format settings, and click OK.

  7. Make your formatting changes in the Modify Style dialog box. When you're finished, click OK to return to the Table AutoFormat dialog box and then click Close to return to the document. Your changes will be reflected in the table.

    Note 

    If you want to add the new Table AutoFormat style you create to the template for this document, select the Add To Template check box in the Modify Style dialog box.

    Tip 

    Create your own table style  The process of modifying an existing Table AutoFormat isn't too different from creating your own from scratch. To create your own AutoFormat table style, click Table AutoFormat on the Tables And Borders toolbar to display the dialog box; then click New. The New Style dialog box appears, containing all the same choices you worked with in the Modify Style dialog box.



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Microsoft Office Word 2003 Inside Out
Microsoft Office Word 2003 Inside Out (Bpg-Inside Out)
ISBN: 0735615152
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 373

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