Line space in word table

Cell Margins and Cell Spacing are two important settings in any Microsoft Word Table but they aren’t used much and not well understood.

Cell margins are the spaces between your text and the edge of the cell. They can be set separately for the top, bottom, and either side of the cells.

To change the cell margins, we again click in the table and go to the Layout tab on the right. Then click Cell Margins in the Alignment group.

In the Table Options dialog that opens, use the spinners to incrementally change each of the four margins, or simply type in the margin that you want into each field; Top, Bottom, Left or Right.

The margins we’ve selected above are quite large, just to show you clearly how his setting changes your table.  Here’s the large cell margins (left) compared to zero cell margins (right).

You can, of course have different margins on different sides:

Individual, Row or Column Cell Margins

Table cell margins can be changed for a row, column or even a single cell, but it’s nowhere near the main Cell Margins ribbon button.

Select the column, row or cell you want to change then go to Table Layout | Table | Properties | Cell | Options.  UNcheck the box ‘Same at the whole table’ then change the margin settings.

Here’s a single row, highlighted a little by increasing the top & bottom cell margins.

Why Adjust Table Cell Margins?

Cell margins are useful to separate lines in a table, especially when there’s no gridlines. Change the Top & Bottom cell margins to separate the lines and improve readability.

When space is tight, reducing the default left & right cell margins can help fit a table or contents into the available space.

Cell Spacing Tricks in Word Tables

Word’s Table Options have an interesting choice, Cell Spacing. While cell margins are the space between the text and the edge of the cell, cell spacing puts space around each of the cells.

Cell spacing has a surprising effect on the look of a Word Table with single line borders.

Go to Table | Alignment | Cell Margins | Default cell spacing | Allow spacing between cells.

The default is OFF with no spacing.

Here’s how a Table looks using a standard single line border but increasing the cell spacing from the default, Zero.

Changes to Table Borders

As you can see, the single line table border becomes a twin gridline just by adding cell spacing to the same table.

Word table with Footnotes

Merge Cells in Word tables

Word tables for formatting magic

Indexing ‘bug’ in Word tables

Click the “Layout” table under “Table Tools”. In the “Table” section of the “Layout” tab, click “View Gridlines”. The gridlines now display on the table. To turn off the gridlines for the table, simply select the table and click “View Gridlines” again.

How do I add gridlines to a table in Word?

Show or hide gridlines for all tables in a document

1. Click the table.
2. Click the Table Layout tab, and then under Settings, click Gridlines.

How do I make table lines invisible in Word?

Hover your mouse over the table until the table move handle displays in the upper left corner and then click this handle to select the entire table. Click “Table Tools,” select “Design,” click the arrow on the “Borders” button and then select “No Borders.” This hides the borders for the entire table.

How do you insert lines in Word?

Insert a line

1. On the Insert tab, select Shapes.
2. Under Lines, select any line style you like.
3. Select a location in the document, hold and drag your pointer to a different location, and then release the mouse button.

How do I view border lines in Word?

Click the “Layout” table under “Table Tools”. In the “Table” section of the “Layout” tab, click “View Gridlines”. The gridlines now display on the table. To turn off the gridlines for the table, simply select the table and click “View Gridlines” again.

How do you insert multiple lines in Word?

Hold down the “Shift” key and press the “Underline ( _ )” key three times. Release both keys then press “Enter” to place a heavier line across the Word document.

How do you put a line through text?

When you have your text selected, look on the “Home” tab of Word’s Ribbon. In the “Font” group, click the Strikethrough button (it’s the three letters with a line drawn through them). Now, any text you had selected should be struck through. You can also apply strikethrough formatting using the Font window.

How do you put a line above text in Word?

Learn the steps on how to put a line above a letter or text in Microsoft Word. The first step is to highlight the text you want to place the line over and navigate to the insert tab then equation and lastly accent. From here, select the option Overbar which can be found under the subheading ‘Overbars and Underbars’.

What are grid lines?

Definition of grid line
: any of a series of numbered horizontal and perpendicular lines that divide a map into squares to form a grid by means of which any point may be located by a system of rectangular coordinates.

How do I turn on automatic border lines in Word?

If you can’t automatically add lines on your system, follow these steps:

1. Choose AutoCorrect (or AutoCorrect Options) from the Tools menu. Word displays the AutoCorrect Options dialog box.
2. Make sure the AutoFormat As You Type tab is selected.
3. Make sure the Border Lines (or Borders) check box is checked.
4. Click on OK.

How do I insert a specific row in a table in Word?

Method 3: Add Multiple Rows with “Insert Table” Option

1. To begin with, click “Layout” and check the column width in “Cell Size” group.
2. Secondly, click “Insert” tab.
3. Then click “Table” icon.
4. Next, choose “Insert Table” option on the drop-down menu.
5. In “Insert Table” dialog box, enter the number of columns and rows.

How do you put a line above and below text in Word?

To insert a line in Word above and / or below a paragraph using the Borders button:

1. Select the paragraph(s) to which you want to add a line.
2. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon.
3. Click Borders in the Paragraph group. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Select the line you want to use.

How do you put a line under a letter in Word?

Hold the “Ctrl” key and press “U” to put a line under the letter.

How do you get a line above a letter on a keyboard?

These keyboard shortcuts will help you display text more accurately in your business documents.

1. Open a document in Microsoft Word.
2. Press “Ctrl-Shift” and the caret (” ^ “) key and then the letter to insert a circumflex accent.
3. Press “Ctrl-Shift” and the tilde (” ~ “) key and then the letter to insert a tilde accent.

What is grid line with example?

Alternatively referred to as a column separator or row separator, grid lines or gridlines divide each of the cells, rows, and columns in a spreadsheet.

How do you set out grid lines?

1. Step 1: Establish a baseline.
2. Step 2: Place pegs along your baseline.
3. Step 3: Place further pegs using right-angled triangles.
4. Step 1: Establish a baseline.
5. Step 2: Place pegs along your baseline.
6. Step 3: Place pegs along perpendicular lines.
7. Step 4: Fill in any missing pegs.

How do you write a grid line?

Lines can be addressed using their line number. In a left-to-right language such as English, column line 1 will be on the left of the grid, row line 1 on the top. Lines numbers respect the writing mode of the document and so in a right-to-left language for example, column line 1 will be on the right of the grid.

How do I fix lines in Word?

Change the line spacing in a portion of the document

1. Select one or more paragraphs to update.
2. Go to Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing.
3. Select Line Spacing Options and choose an option in the Line spacing box.
4. Adjust the Before and After settings to change spacing between paragraphs.
5. Select OK.

Why do lines keep appearing on my Word document?

The line you’re seeing across the page is a paragraph border that Word has automatically inserted using AutoFormat. To get rid of it:Go to Format, Borders and Shading (Word 2002-2003) or click the Border drop-down in the Paragraph section of the Home tab of the Ribbon (Word 2007 and up)

How do you insert rows in an existing table?

Add a row above or below

1. Click in a cell above or below where you want to add a row.
2. Under Table Tools, on the Layout tab, do one of the following: To add a row above the cell, click Insert Above in the Rows and Columns group. To add a row below the cell, click Insert Below in the Rows and Columns group.

How do you insert multiple rows?

To insert multiple rows, select the same number of rows that you want to insert. To select multiple rows hold down the “shift” key on your keyboard on a Mac or PC. For example, if you want to insert six rows, select six rows while holding the “shift” key.