Word tables are used to set out lists of information in an easy to read, organised way. There are a number of ways of inserting a table into Word – the Insert Table option, drawing a customised table or converting existing text to a table. Regardless of which method you use the table can be formatted in any way you choose.
The Insert, Table option is the easiest and quickest way to create a table but all 3 methods are explained below.
On the Insert menu, click the drop down arrow beneath Table.
Drag to select the number of rows and columns you want in the table, click the mouse when you’ve highlighted the correct number.
The Draw, Table command allows you to create table layouts specific to the data you want to display. This option will enable you to create fully customised tables.
Click the Insert menu, click the drop down arrow beneath Table and select Draw, Table. The mouse shape should change to a pencil, click and drag to draw the first column or row in your table.
When you’ve finished drawing your table, press the Esc key on your keyboard.
Text that already exists in your document can be converted to a table quickly, Word needs to know what to use as Row or Column dividers and once this has been specified it will create a table and place all the text in separate cells.
Drag to select the text that you want to convert to a table.
Click the drop down arrow beneath Tables on the Insert toolbar. The Convert Text to Table dialog box is displayed.
Word will try and work out the number of columns and rows for the table based on the text selected. The number of rows can’t be changed – this is calculated from the number of rows selected. The number of columns field will contain the number of columns that Word thinks the table should contain but this can be changed if needed.
You shouldn’t need to make any changes to the Autofit behaviour at this stage – if the table doesn’t look correct after it’s been created you can it change it in the formatting options.
