Microsoft Office Word 2003: Tables

Introduction:
Creating documents using Microsoft Word allows for the manipulation and display of text and other information. Tables, which are made up of rows and columns that form cells, can be utilized to organize information in your document. Formatting text, structuring your document, and adding a little bit of aesthetic appeal to your document are just a few ways in which you can use tables in Word. By using tables, you can turn an otherwise dull and unorganized document into a more well-designed and laid-out project. This guide will provide some basic information on the creation and manipulation of tables.


Open a Document:

Before you can begin working with tables, you must first open up a document in Word. You can either start a new blank document (File >> New, or Ctrl+N), or open up a previously saved document from your computer (File >> Open, or Ctrl+O). Once the file is opened in Word, you can insert a table.

Creating a Table:
There are different methods you can use to insert a table into your Word document. If you are less experienced with tables, then you might want to consider using the "Insert Table" option. Otherwise, you can use "Draw Table," which lets you make a table by scratch by drawing it freehand using the Draw Table tool.

Insert Table:
In your document, place your cursor where you wish to insert a table. Then, go to the menu bar and select Table >> Insert >> Table.

After you make this selection, the "Insert Table" window will pop up.

Input the necessary information needed to create your table. Decide on a number of rows and columns. "AutoFit" refers to the space that the table takes up in your document. For your initial table, you might want to set the "Fixed column width" to "Auto." This sets the width to all of the columns in your table to an equal amount, and the table itself will take up the entire width of the document. When you have decided on all of your table options, click on the "OK" button. The table will then be automatically inserted into your document.

Draw Table:
If you'd like to draw your own table for scratch, go to the menu bar and select “Table” >> “Draw Table.”

Once this option is selected, the "Tables and Borders" toolbar will pop up (we will cover this toolbar more in-depth in a little bit).

Click on the first icon on this toolbar, the "Draw Table" tool (looks like a pencil drawing a line), to begin drawing a table. Then, navigate to the location in your document where you want to draw your table. Using the "Draw Table" tool, click and drag to form the outside border of the table, determining its width. When you are finished, let go of the mouse button so that the outside border of the table can be rendered.

You can draw rows and columns by using the "Draw Table" tool to draw vertical lines to create columns, and horizontal lines to form rows. Continue to draw your table as you see fit.
Now that you have the initial table inserted into your Word document (either by using the "Insert Table" or "Draw Table" method), you can begin to modify your table as needed.

The Tables and Borders Toolbar:
You'll primarily be using the Tables and Borders toolbar for formatting and modifying the appearance of your table. To open the toolbar, go to the “File” menu and select “Toolbars” >> “Tables and Borders.”

1. Draw Table: Lets you create a table by drawing it freehand (see above section).
2. Eraser: You can remove parts of your table by using the eraser to click and drag on lines, rows and columns.
3. Line Style: Click on the small triangle to show the drop down menu. From here, you can choose a line style for your borders, such as solid, dotted, dashed, and more.
4. Line Weight: Click on the small triangle to show the drop down menu. Using this, you can choose a line thickness for your table line borders. The bigger the line weight, the thicker the line.
5. Border Color: By clicking on this button, you can access the color template that will allow you to apply a color to your line borders.
6. Borders: To apply a certain border style to the borders of specific cells, or to remove the borders from specific cells completely, use your mouse to select the desired cells. Then, use the Borders menu to apply or remove borders from those selected cells. You can identify the cells that have borders by the border type icons that are a light shade of gray in the Borders menu.
7. Shading Color: You can apply a background color to cells, rows, and columns by accessing the color palette that appears when you click on the small triangle next to the paint bucket.
8. Insert Table: Clicking on this icon brings up the "Insert Table" window which allows you to input specific information about the look and design of your table (see above section on "Insert Table").
9. Merge Cells: Merging cells is the act of selecting more than one separate cell and merging them so that they become one. First, select the cells that you want to merge with your mouse (by clicking and holding within one cell and dragging the mouse across the cells you want to select), and then click on the "Merge Cells" icon. Word will automatically merge the two cells together.

     10. Split Cells: Splitting a cell is the act of selecting a specific cell, and dividing it into one or more rows or columns. Select the cell that you want to split, and then click on the "Split Cells" icon. Once you do this, the "Split Cells" window will appear. From here, you can decide how many rows or columns you wish to create from the one cell.

1. Align: Choosing an alignment from the drop-down menu allows you to format the text or content within a cell. From here, you can make your text right, left, and centered aligned. There are also other alignments to choose from, such as different horizontal and vertical alignments.
2. Distribute Rows Evenly: Makes the heights between rows equally spaced. Select the desired rows that you wish to format, and then click on the "Distribute Rows Evenly" icon.
3. Distribute Columns Evenly: Makes the widths between columns equally spaced.
4. Table AutoFormat: Clicking on this icon brings up the Table AutoFormat window. There are a number of pre-made design table templates you can use to apply to your table. You can customize colors, fonts, borders, and other table features.

1. Change Text Direction: This allows you to modify the orientation of text within a cell. The default setting is horizontal, but by clicking on this icon, you can change the orientation of the text to display vertically.
2. Sort Ascending: Sort a selection of text in cells in ascending order.
3. Sort Descending: Sort a selection of text in cells in descending order.
4. AutoSum: Automatically calculates formulas within cells.

Inserting Text and Content into a Table:
To begin adding text to a table, click your cursor in the cell where you want the text to be placed. Begin typing (or paste text from another source) into the cell. To move from one cell to another, hit the "Tab" button on your keyboard, and continue typing in the cell as needed. You can format the text within the cell using the Formatting toolbar, just as you would edit any other text in Word (see Word Introduction tutorial).
Inserting an Image into a Table:
Place your cursor into the cell where you wish to insert an image. Then, go to the menu bar, and select Insert >> Picture, and then choose from "Clip Art" or "From File." Locate a picture, and click on "Insert" to put the image into a cell.

Modifying a Table:
Not only can you edit your table using the Tables and Borders toolbar, but you can also use your mouse to physically alter a table.
Move a Table:
To move an entire table to a new location in your document, move your cursor over the table until you see the icon that appears in the upper left-hand corner of the table, shaped like a square with crosshair arrows inside.

When you see this appear, click on it. You will see that it selects the entire table. With the table selected, you can drag it to any new place in your document.
Change Row/Column Heights/Widths:
If you need to increase or decrease the height or width of a row or column, you can do so by clicking and dragging the borders of rows or columns. Drag the borders until you create the desired amount of space between rows or columns.
Table Properties:
At any time, you are free to change the properties of your table.  Right-click inside of any table and select “Table Properties.”

A new window with four tabs will appear.  Within these tabs, you can adjust every minor detail about the table including alignment, spacing, text wrapping, etc.