Chapter 9: Creating and Formatting Tables

You can type tabular data-in other words, data in a grid of rows and columns-directly into a table or import it from other applications. You can also apply much of the formatting that you learned about in Chapters 6 and 7, but there are some special methods that you must consider when working with tabular data. In this chapter, you'll learn how to create and manage PowerPoint tables and how to insert tabular data from other sources.

Creating a New Table

A table is a great way to organize little bits of data into a meaningful picture. For example, you might use a table to show sales results for several salespeople or to contain a multicolumn list of team member names.

Note 

Text from a table does not appear in the presentation's outline.

There are several ways to insert a table, and each method has its purpose. The following sections explain each of the table creation methods. (Methods that involve using other programs, such as Word or Excel are covered later in the chapter, in the sections "Using Tables from Word" and "Integrating Excel Cells into PowerPoint.")

A table can be part of a content placeholder, or it can be a separate, free-floating item. If the active slide has an available placeholder that can accommodate a table, and there is not already content in that placeholder, the table is placed in it. Otherwise the table is placed as an independent object on the slide and is not part of the layout.

EXPERT TIP 

Depending on what you want to do with the table, it could be advantageous in some cases to not have the table be part of the layout. For example, perhaps you want the table to be a certain size and to not change when you apply a different theme. To ensure that the table is not part of the layout, start with a slide that uses a layout that contains no table-compatible placeholder, such as Title Only.

Note 

In earlier versions of PowerPoint, an AutoLayout feature changed the layout to one that contained a table placeholder if none were available. A lot of people found that annoying, though, and PowerPoint 2007 does not do it.

Creating a Table with the Insert Table Dialog Box

To create a basic table with a specified number of rows and columns, you can use the Insert Table dialog box. You can open it in either of two ways (see Figure 9.1):

• In a content placeholder, click the Table icon.

• On the Insert tab, choose Table Insert Table.

Figure 9.1: Open the Insert Table dialog box from either the Table menu or a content placeholder.

In the Insert Table dialog box shown in Figure 9.2, specify a number of rows and columns and click OK. The table then appears on the slide.

Figure 9.2: Enter the number of rows and columns to specify the size of the table that you want to create.

Creating a Table from the Table Button

When you opened the Table button's menu (see Figure 9.1) in the preceding section, you probably couldn't help but notice the grid of white squares. Another way to create a table is to drag across this grid until you select the desired number of rows and columns. The table appears immediately on the slide as you drag, so you can see how it will look, as shown in Figure 9.3.

Figure 9.3: Drag across the grid in the Table button's menu to specify the size of the table that you want to create.

Other than the method of specifying rows and columns, this method is identical to creating a table via the dialog box, because the same issues apply regarding placeholders versus free-floating tables. If a placeholder is available, PowerPoint uses it.

Note 

When you create a table with this method and the preceding one, the table is automatically formatted with one of the preset table styles. You learn how to change this later in the chapter.

Drawing a Table

I've saved the most fun method for last. Drawing a table enables you to use your mouse pointer like a pencil to create every row and column in the table in exactly the positions you want. You can even create unequal numbers of rows and columns. This method is a good one to use whenever you want a table that is nonstandard in some way-different row heights, different column widths, different numbers of columns in some rows, and so on. To draw a table, follow these steps:

1. From the Insert tab, click Table, and choose Draw Table. The mouse pointer turns into a pencil.

2. Drag to draw a rectangle representing the outer frame of the table. Then release the mouse button to create the outer frame and to display the Design tab.

3. The mouse pointer remains a pencil; drag to draw the rows and columns you want. You can draw a row or column that runs all the way across or down the table's frame, or you can stop at any point to make a partial row or column. See Figure 9.4. When you begin to drag vertically or horizontally, PowerPoint locks into that mode and keeps the line exactly vertical or horizontal and straight. (Exception: It allows you to draw a diagonal line between two corners of existing cells.)

   
   Figure 9.4: You can create a unique table with the Draw Table tool.

4. (Optional) To erase a line, click the Eraser button on the Table Tools Design tab, and then click the line to erase. Then click the Draw Table button on the Design tab to return the mouse pointer to its drawing (pencil) mode.

5. When you finish drawing the table, press Esc or click Draw Table again to toggle the drawing mode off.

EXPERT TIP 

If you need a table that is mostly uniform but has a few anomalies, such as a few combined cells or a few extra divisions, create the table using the Insert Table dialog box or the grid on the Table button, and then use the Draw Table and/or Eraser buttons on the Design tab to modify it.