Format all tables word document

Select the table

• Using the mouse: Move the mouse over the table until you see the table selection icons in the upper-left corner of the table and click it:

  

  Note: You can also click on the table selection icon in the bottom-right corner (resizing handle) for the same effect.

• Using the keyboard: To select table elements, on the Table Layout tab, on the Table group, click the Select button, then select the option you prefer:

  

  • Select Cell
  • Select Column
  • Select Row
  • Select Table

Format the table

After positioning the cursor anywhere in a table or selecting a table element, Word shows two tabs: Table Design and Layout. E.g.:

See also Select and format table elements in Word.

Apply a predefined Table style

There are several predefined styles you can use for the table. Styles include a variety of borders, colors, and other attributes that give a table a very professional appearance.

To choose any of the predefined styles, do the following:

   1.   Select the table.

   2.   On the Table Design tab, in the Table Styles group, in the Styles Gallery, click the More arrow to see the complete list of styles:

   3.   Select the table style you want:

The Table Styles gallery includes three categories of styles:

• Plain Tables have minimal formatting.
• Grid Tables include vertical separators between columns.
• List Tables do not include vertical column separators:

Note: The selected style overrides any previously added style changes for the table.

Modify the table style options

To change the table or selected style, on the Table Design tab, in the Table Style group, click Modify Table Style…:

In the Modify Style dialog box, make changes you want:

Note: Click the Format button at the bottom of the dialog box to change other options such as Font or Paragraph. See also how to clear formatting.

Customize the table formatting

After applying a table style, you can turn various options on or off to change their appearance. On the Table Design tab, in the Table Style Options group, there are six options:

• Header Row is the first row of the table that contains Headers that helps identify the contents of a particular column. Usually, the Header Row is formatted differently and should be repeated at the beginning of each new page for tables that extend beyond one page.

  Note: According to most requirements, data tables should have a header row to provide a contextual structure that aids navigation.

• Total Row is the last row of the table. If this option is selected, the last row will be formatted differently from the body rows, designed to summarize the rows above it (see how to insert formulas).
• First Column used special formatting to the column. Usually, the First Column contains the row headings.
• Last Column applies special formatting to the column to summarize the earlier columns (see how to insert formulas).
• Banded Rows and Banded Columns alternate the background color of rows and columns (see how to change the background color for the selected cells below).

Note: Certain Table Style Options may have a different effect depending on the Table Style you’ve chosen. You might need to experiment to get the look you want.

Apply the border styles

To apply and remove cell borders, do the following:

   1.   Select the cells or entire table to which you want to add a border.

   2.   On the Table Design tab, in the Borders group, choose the desired Border Styles, Line Style, Line Weight, and Pen Color:

• Select the predefined Line Style, Line Weight, and Line Color from the Border Styles dropdown list:

  

• Select the Line Style:

  

• Select a border thickness from the Line Weight dropdown list:

  

• Select the border color from the Pen Color dropdown list:

  

• Select the borders from the Borders dropdown list:

  

  Note: Select No Borders from the Borders dropdown list to remove borders from the selected cells.
• Draw the border where you want:
  • After selecting border style or color, the Border Painter button is automatically checked, or
  • If all that you want is selected already, just click the Border Painter button by yourself:

  

  After any of these actions, your cursor changes to the brush. Now, draw the border where you need it:

  

  Note: Use the Eraser button in the Draw group on the Table Layout tab to remove the unnecessary border:

  

Apply background colors and shading

To change the background color for some table elements, select them, then on the Table Design tab, in the Table Styles group, click the Shading button, then select the background color you prefer:

Note: To use a pattern instead of a solid color, on the Table Design tab, in the Borders group, click the dialog box launcher:

In the Borders and Shading dialog box, on the Shading tab, select a pattern in the Style list:

Layout of the table

The Table Layout tab includes commands for changing the entire table format, as well as commands for changing the appearance of individual table components such as cells, columns, rows:

See Select and format table elements in Word for more details.

Resize a table

• Using the mouse: To resize a table in a Word document, move the mouse over the table until you see the table resizing icons (handle) in the bottom-right corner of the table and click it:

  

  Drag the table to the size you need, and then release the handle.

• Using the keyboard: Select a table (see also how to resize individual cells, specific rows, or columns); the do one of the following:
  • On the Layout tab, in the Cell Size group, change the values in the Height and Width fields:

    

  • Open the Table Properties dialog box by doing one of the following:
    • On the Table Layout tab, in the Table group, click the Properties button:

      

    • Right-click the table and select Table Properties… in the popup menu:

      

    In the Table Properties dialog box, on the Table tab, in the Size section, select the Preferred width check box, then:

    • In the Preferred width field, type or select the value you need,
    • In the Measure in dropdown list, select one of the items:
      • Percent to specify the percentage of the table width,
      • Inches to fix the column width:

    

See how to resize table elements for more details.

Freeze the table

Some Word tables change the width of their columns according to the data. To stop changing the table size when new data is inserted, do the following:

   1.   Select the table.

   2.   Open the Table Properties dialog box.

   3.   In the Table Properties dialog box, on the Table tab, click the Options… button:

   4.   In the Table Options dialog box, deselect the Automatically resize to fit contents check box:

See also how to fix the height of table rows.

Move a table

To move a table to a new page or a new document, select it, then use the Cut and Paste commands. You can also use the Copy command to leave a copy of the table in the original location.

If you are working with tables, we recommend that you enable gridlines. Frames that are a format are printed. Grids are not printed. These tips are not enough to cover the scope of table formatting in Word. I didn`t talk about the role of the Design tab in creating eye-catching boards. That is a problem in itself. But this is one of the smallest areas to get lost thanks to the visual help of this tab. If you`re working with documents with multiple tables, formatting with table styles can ensure that your tables are formatted consistently and save you a lot of time. If you are copying tables from another document, you may need to apply the same style to those tables.

It is long and tedious to select all the tables one by one to change the style. This tutorial shows you two simple ways to change the style of all tables in Word. Microsoft Word tables change their dimension to include new data. There may be times when you don`t want to resize the table at all, even if new data is inserted. That is, “freeze” the size of the cells. You can select document themes, color themes, and font themes from the Themes, Colors, or Fonts drop-down menus on the Theme tab of the ribbon: After inserting a table into a document, place the cursor in the table to trigger the Table Tools tab. Then click Design and select a table style from the Table Styles library. You can apply table styles to your Word tables to format them quickly and consistently. Word comes with several built-in table styles, or you can create your own. You can change table styles by changing borders, shading, character formatting, paragraph formatting, and table properties. If your document contains multiple tables, table styles can save a lot of time.

Each Word document uses a document theme that includes a font theme and a color theme. The colors used in table styles are based on the color theme. Working with tables in Word can be extremely rewarding. While tables are a common space between Microsoft Word and Excel, Microsoft Excel is more for managing tabular data. Nevertheless, learning how to properly format tables in both applications is an essential skill of Microsoft Office. Take advantage of it at every opportunity. You will find a use for this simple workaround. By default, Gmail doesn`t keep the table format when pasted from Microsoft Excel. To send tabular data by e-mail without sending it as a separate attachment, use Microsoft Word as a bridge.

NOTE: If you want to use the Select Tables feature to select all tables in the Word document, first place the cursor outside all tables. Word automatically applies the style to every new table you create in your document. If you want to format the table template in a more unique way, see this article: 2 Ways to Alternate Row or Column Colors in Your Word Table Is there a way to select all tables to apply this change? Or do I have to select them manually (`select all` doesn`t work because it also highlights the normal text that disables the table`s properties)? You can also set a default table style for new tables in the active document or for all new documents. In Method 2, we have a macro that allows you to select all existing tables in an active document. Once the tables are selected, you can apply any style to them in batches. You can edit a table style in a Word document, and all tables that use that table style are modified. Using tables and even spontaneously editing them based on the data has become much easier in new versions of Word like Microsoft Word 2019 and Office 365. The intuitive formatting features of Microsoft Word tables allow you to control more finely (and faster) the appearance of a table.

But first, go to the ribbon > > Insert Table > Table to create your first table. After you select a table style, you can select different table style options (which are affected by the formats in the table format). Loss of critical data can be a curse on people`s digital lives. What is sarcastic is that we only feel regret when what has been done has been done. Since there is no point in mourning the loss, we recommend that you get a tool to recover Word docx document error as soon as possible. In addition, this utility also allows you to select all tables to change the borders, swatches, and properties of all tables at once. For example, suppose you are writing a 20-page Microsoft Word document and you want the 10 tables in your document to look the same. Once you`ve found a style you like, use the Table AutoFormat feature to apply it to your first table.

With Word 2000, you must do the same for the 10 tables. However, with Word XP or Word 2003, you can save yourself a few mouse clicks by setting the default style for all new tables in your document. To do this, follow these steps: Tabular data specifies information in its structure. It would have been frustrating if Word didn`t have something to handle non-tabular data. You can use the Insert Table command to immediately convert data to tables. 2. After selecting all the tables, click Design on the ribbon, and then click We didn`t cover the tables as often as we would have liked. It`s time to fix this because the number of people asking questions about the correct formatting of tables is piling up. Maybe these eight table tips can be an aperitif.

You simply can`t create beautiful Microsoft Word documents by truncating tables – learn how to format tables in Word. You can also create your own custom color themes so that your boards can be formatted with your organization`s colors. However, if you want a new style for your tables, you can make a new style customization by following these steps. If you change a table style and tables that use that style are not changed, it is likely that direct or manual formatting has been applied to the table, which then replaces the table style. You may need to remove formatting from the table by selecting the table and clicking Remove Formatting in the Font group on the Home tab. Position the painting according to the text around it for a visually aesthetic look. Wrap the text around the tables by dragging it onto the handle. Text wrapping automatically changes from None to Next. Use the Table Position dialog box to specify the distance to the surrounding text for each page in the table. Now, all tables should already be selected.

You can apply a built-in or newly created style to all tables in the active document. You can specify how Microsoft Word should divide data into rows and columns. Paragraph, tabs, commas, or other delimiters. This allows you to easily import non-tabular data from CSV files or simple TXT files and convert them into formatted tables. Remember that you can also import data from Microsoft Word into an Excel spreadsheet. If your Word document contains multiple tables that you want to format consistently, we recommend that you use table styles instead of formatting each table manually or directly. In Microsoft Word, tables are important formatting tools. Microsoft Office has simplified the process of creating and formatting basic tables in Microsoft Word for Office 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013. Select Move with text if the text is directly linked to the data in the table. The table aligns vertically with the corresponding paragraph that surrounds it. If the tabular data applies to the entire document, you can leave the option unchecked.

You can also control tables by using Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts. 3. Press the F5 key to run this code and all tables have been modified in the specified style. If your tables overlap in Word, or if you want to prevent them from overlaying your text, you must learn how to position your tables on the page by using the Table Properties feature. If you don`t want to use the VBA, you can also do it quickly with Kutools for Word. After installing Kutool for Word, you can quickly change the style of all tables. Do this: just use the cursor as if you were selecting the entire line, where you go to the far left of the page, to the edge section, until the cursor tilts to the right side, say 45 degrees, and then select/highlight others by also holding down the Control button after the first selection. This is basically the selection of multiple rows across the entire page and I just found out after so many (inconvenient) VB script forum recommendations that it works for tables as well. I am in the process of editing a 21-page MSDS full of tables. If you often work on long Microsoft Word documents that contain tables in the same format, do you usually complain when you need to reset the format? Learn how to alleviate your frustrations by setting the default format for all tables.

You can save a lot of time by reusing spreadsheets in your professional Microsoft Word documents. Save empty table formats and insert new data if necessary. With this quick backup, you don`t need to create the layout for new data from scratch. Select the Microsoft Excel worksheet and paste it into a Microsoft Word document with the source formatting, and then paste it into a Microsoft Word document. Now, copy from Microsoft Word to Gmail. As you can see from the screenshot, the problem is solved. You may need to tweak the most heavily formatted tables a bit, but most of the formatting is preserved. From time to time, we need to create tables in our Word document to place and organize different data. And if there are a number of tables, it would be better to apply the same style to them to make the file more professional. For this reason, we would like to introduce you to 2 methods in the upcoming texts. Use the Building Block Organizer to preview the table you created. You can also edit the properties and delete the tables from here.

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Create, Modify and Apply Table Styles in Word Documents

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated August 21, 2022

Applies to: Microsoft^® Word^® 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021 or 365 (Windows)

You can apply table styles to your Word tables to format them quickly and consistently. Word is shipped with several built-in table styles or you can create your own. You can edit table styles by modifying borders, shading, character formatting, paragraph formatting and table properties. If your document includes multiple tables, table styles can save a lot of time.

Note: Buttons and Ribbon tabs may display in a different way (with or without text) depending on your version of Word, the size of your screen and your Control Panel settings. For newer versionns of Word, Ribbon tabs may appear with different names. For example, the Table Tools Design tab may appear as Table Design.

Recommended article: How to Keep a Microsoft Word Table Together on One Page

Do you want to learn more about Microsoft Word? Check out our virtual classroom or live classroom Word courses >

Table styles and themes

Every Word document uses a document theme which includes a font theme and color theme. The colors used in table styles are based on the color theme.

You can select document themes, color themes and font themes using the Themes, Colors or Fonts drop-down menus on the Design tab in the Ribbon:

You can also create your own custom color themes so your tables can be formatted using your organization’s colors.

Display gridlines

When you are working with tables, it’s a good idea to turn gridlines on. Borders, which are a format, will print. Gridlines do not print.

To display gridlines:

1. Click in a table.
2. Click the Table Tools Layout or Table Layout tab.
3. Click View Gridlines. Gridlines will stay on for all Word documents.

View Gridlines appears on the Table Tools Layout or Table Layout tab when you click in a table:

Apply a table style

If your Word document contains multiple tables that you want to format in a consistent way, it’s best to use table styles rather than applying manual or direct formatting to each table.

To apply a table style to a table:

1. Click in the table.
2. Click the Table Tools Design or Table Design tab in the Ribbon.
3. Click the More down arrow on the bottom right in the Table Styles gallery. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Hover over the various table styles. The table formatting will change as you move over different table styles in the gallery.
5. Click the table style you want to apply.

Below is the Table Styles gallery (the current theme is the Office theme):

Note: Table styles do not include row height, column width or custom cell formatting for individual cells. If a user applies manual or direct formatting to a table (such as fills and borders) on the Table Tools Design or Table Design tab, this formatting will override the table style.

Apply Table Style Options

Once you have selected a table style, you can select or check different Table Style Options (which are affected by the formats in the selected table style).

The six Table Style Options that you can apply are: Header Row, Total Row, Banded Rows, First Column, Last Column and Banded Columns. If you have selected a plain table style, you may not notice any changes in the table formatting if you select different Table Style Options.

Table Style Options appear on the Table Tools Design or Table Design tab as follows when you click in a table:

To select Table Style Options:

1. Click in the table.
2. Click the Table Tools Design or Table Design tab in the Ribbon.
3. In Table Style Options, check or uncheck Header Row. If this option is checked, the header row will be formatted differently from the body rows.
4. In Table Style Options, check or uncheck Total Row. If this option is checked, the last row will be formatted differently from the body rows.
5. In Table Style Options, check or uncheck Banded Rows or Banded Columns for alternate row or column shading.
6. In Table Style Options, check First Column or Last Column if you want the first or last column formatted differently from the other columns.

In the following table, Header Row and Banded Rows are checked in Table Style Options:

Modify a table style

You can modify a table style in a Word document and all tables using that table style will change.

To modify a table style:

1. Click in the table.
2. Click the Table Tools Design or Table Design tab in the Ribbon.
3. Click the More down arrow on the bottom right in the Table Styles gallery. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Click Modify Table Style. A dialog box appears. You can also right-click a table style and select Modify.
5. From the Apply Formatting to drop-down menu, select the element that you want to modify (such as Header row).
6. Select the desired formatting such as font, font size, font color, fill and border.
7. From the Apply Formatting to drop-down menu, select the next element that you want to modify.
8. Select the desired formatting such as font, font size, font color, fill and border.
9. Repeat for other elements.
10. Select Only in this document or New documents based on this template. If you select Only in this document, the modified style will only be available for the current document. If you select New documents based on this template, then the table style will be modified for future documents based on the current template (usually the Normal template).
11. Click OK.

Below is the Modify Style dialog box:

You can also click Format at the bottom of the dialog box and choose other options such as Font or Paragraph.

If you modify a table style and the tables using that style do not change, it’s likely that direct or manual formatting has been applied to the table which then overrides the table style. You may need to clear formatting in the table by selecting the table and clicking Clear Formatting on the Home tab in the Font group.

You can also modify Table Properties in a table style. Table properties include table alignment, row settings and cell margins.

To modify Table Properties in a table style:

1. Click in the table.
2. Click the Table Tools Design or Table Design tab in the Ribbon.
3. Click the More down arrow on the bottom right in the Table Styles gallery. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Click Modify Table Style. A dialog box appears. You can also right-click a table style and select Modify.
5. Click Format on the bottom left of the dialog box. A drop-down menu appears.
6. Click Table Properties. A dialog box appears.
7. Click the Table tab and select an Alignment.
8. Click the Row tab and select the desired options. For example, turn off Allow row to break across pages.
9. Select any other formatting options you want to apply to the entire table.
10. Click OK.
11. Select Only in this document or New documents based on this template.
12. Click OK.

Below is the Table Properties dialog box with the Table tab selected:

Create a new table style

You can also create a new or custom table style.

To create a custom table style:

1. Click in the table.
2. Click the Table Tools Design or Table Design tab in the Ribbon.
3. Click the More down arrow on the bottom right in the Table Styles gallery. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Click a table style to apply it as a base style.
5. Click the More down arrow on the bottom right in the Table Styles gallery. A drop-down menu appears.
6. Click New Table Style. A dialog box appears.
7. Enter a name for the new table style in the Name box.
8. Select the desired formatting.
9. Select Only in this document or New documents based on this template.
10. Click OK.

New Table Style appears at the bottom of the Table Styles gallery:

The new table style will appear in the Table Styles gallery under Custom (at the top of the gallery). If you want to delete it, right-click it in the gallery and select Delete Table Style.

Clear a table style

To clear a table style and remove formatting:

1. Click in the table.
2. Click the Table Tools Design or Table Design tab in the Ribbon.
3. Click the More down arrow on the bottom right in the Table Styles gallery. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Click Clear.

Clear appears at the bottom of the Table Styles gallery:

Set a default table style

You can also set a default table style for new tables in the current document or all new documents.

To set a default table style:

1. Click in the table.
2. Click the Table Tools Design or Table Design tab in the Ribbon.
3. Click the More down arrow on the bottom right in the Table Styles gallery. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Right-click the table style you want to use as the default style and select Set as Default from the drop-down menu. A dialog box appears.
5. Select This document only or All documents based on the Normal.dotm template (the default template in Word is the Normal template).
6. Click OK.

If you are working with documents with multiple tables, formatting with table styles can ensure that your tables are formatted consistently and save a lot of time.

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In this post, we will look at 2 useful ways to apply the same style to all tables in your Word document.

Every so often, we need to create tables in our Word document to place and arrange various data. And if there are a number of tables, it would be better to apply the same style to them so as to make the file appear more professional. For this reason, we’d like to exhibit you 2 methods in the coming texts.

Method 1: Apply the Same Style to a Table Individually

Once you insert a table in document, put cursor inside the table to trigger the “Table Tools” tab. Then click “Design” and choose a table style in the “Table Styles” library.

However, in case you may want a novel style for your tables, you are fine to customize a new one by following the succeeding steps.

1. Firstly, click the “More” button in “Table Styles” group.
2. Then choose “New Table Style”.
3. Now in the “Create New Style from Formatting” dialog box, name the new style first.
4. Next set such formatting as font, font size, borders, Fill Color, etc.
5. And select the “New documents based on this template” option.
6. Lastly, click “OK”.

If you want to format the table template in a more unique way, take a glance at this article: 2 Methods to Alternate Row or Column Colors in Your Word Table

Method 2: Manipulate Tables in Batches

In method 2, we have a macro for you to select all existing tables in an active document. Once tables are selected, you can apply whatever style for them in batches.

1. First off, click “Developer” tab in the Ribbon.
2. Then click “Visual Basic” to trigger the VBA editor.
3. Next insert a new module by click “Normal” and then “Insert”.
4. On the drop-down menu, choose “Module”.
5. Double click new module to open coding area and paste the codes:

'Select all tables in a Word document.
Sub SelectAllTables()
  Dim objDoc As Document
  Dim objTable As Table
 
  Application.ScreenUpdating = False
 
  'Initialization
  Set objDoc = ActiveDocument
 
  'Set each table in document as a range editable to everyone.
  With objDoc
  For Each objTable In .Tables
    objTable.Range.Editors.Add wdEditorEveryone
  Next
  objDoc.SelectAllEditableRanges wdEditorEveryone
  objDoc.DeleteAllEditableRanges wdEditorEveryone
  Application.ScreenUpdating = True
  End With
End Sub

1. Finally, hit “Run” button.

Now all tables shall be selected already. You can apply a built-in or newly created style to all tables in the current document.

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