Column problem in word

I know this is an old post but I just encountered the same problem and think I figured it out. If the next column begins with a new paragraph, and that paragraph is styled with, say, 12pt spacing before it, the 12pt space will appear. If you’re using something from «Styles» to format the first line of the next column, it’s quite possible this is the cause. Modify the style so the spacing «Before» it is set to 0. This might mess up the spacing for the rest of your styles and paragraphs, so you may have to remove spacing «Before» and add it «After» all of them. You can «Modify» a style, click the «Format» menu button in the lower left of the dialog that appears, choose «Paragraph», and then you’ll see the choices in the screen shot below. I hope this helps someone out there.

Modify Style > Format menu > Paragraph:

While using the table function in Microsoft Word application you may have noticed that the Microsoft Word automatically adjust table columns to fix the text to make the table look more aligned. However, some people may like to adjust their table columns manually. This can be done by disabling the AutoFit feature in Microsoft Word.

In this article, we show you how to turn off AutoFit function in the Microsoft Word app as well as resizing an entire table manually.

How do I turn off AutoFit in Word?

1. Turn Off AutoFit

1. Launch Microsoft Word and open any document with a table in it.
2. Open the Layout tab and select your table.
   Note: There are two “Layout” tabs, you need to select the one under Table Tools section (on the right-hand side).
   
3. In the Cell Size group, click on AutoFit and select “Fixed Column Width“.
4. That should turn off AutoFit and set your table to a Fixed Column Width.
5. Now try to create a  new table and check if the issue persists.

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2. Add or Change the Space Inside the Table

1. If you want to manage the Space Inside and between the table cells, here is how to do it.
2. Click on your Table.
3. Go to the Layout tab, and in the Alignment group, click on Cell Margins.
4. Next, click on the Table Options dialog box.
5. Now do one of the following.
   
6. Under Default Cell Margins, enter the measurement you want to add adjust for top, bottom, right and left margins.
7. Under Default Cell Spacing, Check the “Allow Spacing Between Cells” box and enter the measurement as your per your requirement.
8. Click OK to apply the changes.

Conclusion

That’s it. The first method should help you to resolve the Microsoft word automatically adjust table columns to fit text issue by turning off AutoFit and the second method allows you to manually change and customize the default cell margins and spacing options.

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Problem

You have a Word table with several rows. You cut a row from the table and paste it into another position within the same table. The column widths don’t ‘honor’ the widths of the original row.

You figure out you can get around it by any of these methods:

• split the table, resize the column widths, then join the table back together again
• convert the table to text, then convert it back to a table again
• drag the columns to lock them into the previously established positions
• insert a blank row into the main table, then copy/paste the content from the cut row into the table cells.

But all of these solutions are painfully tedious and time-consuming. You should ask my husband just how painful — he had this problem and I heard him complain long and loud in frustration (he works with Word tables ALL the time)!

Solution

Check your Smart Cut and Paste settings and make sure the Adjust table formatting and alignment on paste check box is selected.

1. Check the Smart cut and paste settings:
   • Word 2003: On the menu, go to Tools > Options. Click the Edit tab.
   • Word 2007: Click the Office button, then Word Options. Click Advanced in the left panel and scroll down to the Cut, copy and paste section.
2. Make sure the Smart cut and paste check box is selected.
3. Click the Settings button next to that check box.
4. Make sure the Adjust table formatting and alignment on paste check box.
5. Click OK to exit both windows.

Matthew is a Teacher’s Aide at a small school and recently Word has been resetting his documents to the default settings. For instance, he opens a new blank document, sets it up for two columns, types up his page, and saves the file. When he later reopens the document, Word has reset it to the default one-column setting. Matthew wonders if there is a way to keep the formatting for that document.

Word should definitely remember column formatting from one session with a document to the next with the same document. There are a few things, therefore, that could be happening.

First, it is a good idea to make sure that you are viewing the document in a manner that allows the columns to be displayed. If, for instance, you are viewing the document in Draft view or Web Layout view, then the columns won’t show on the screen—everything will show as a single column. So, use the View tab of the ribbon and check in the Document Views group to see what view is being used. If it is Draft view or Web Layout view, switch to a different view.

You should also check to ensure that you have columns set up correctly. Make sure that you are using the Columns tool on the Layout tab of the ribbon. If your document uses sections, then the column changes you make should apply to the section in which you are working. If you later delete the section break at the end of the section, then the columns may automatically «disappear» if the following section has a different number of columns. (This is because section formatting—including the number of columns in the section—is stored in the break at the end of the section.)

If it was other types of formatting that was disappearing (such as character or paragraph formatting) it could be because changes are being made in other documents to which a common template is attached. For instance, if your problem document shares the same template with another document, and while editing the other document you make changes to the template, then those changes may be reflected in the problem document the next time you open it.

Finally, if it is none of these items, it is possible that the document is experiencing some corruption issues. Copy the text to a plain-text editor (such as Notepad) and then copy it back into a brand new document. You’ll need to reapply formatting, but the document should not exhibit any corruption issues like the previous document did.

Author Bio

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen…