Word delete lines in table

1. Right-click in a table cell, row, or column you want to delete.

2. On the Mini toolbar, click Delete.

   

3. Choose Delete Cells, Delete Columns, or Delete Rows.

Tip: You can delete the contents of a table row or column without deleting the table structure. To do this, select the row or column and then press the Delete key.

1. Right-click in a table cell, row, or column you want to delete.

2. On the menu, click Delete Cells.

3. To delete one cell, choose Shift cells left or Shift cells up.

   To delete the row, click Delete entire row.

   To delete the column, click Delete entire column.

Tip: You can delete the contents of a row or column without deleting the table structure. To do this, select the row or column and then press the Delete key.

When creating a new table in MS Word, you can specify the number of rows and columns that the table must contain. But the table that appears has internal and external lines or borders. Borders make it easy to enter data in the cells. But you may want to print or display the table without some or any border showing up.

Word has many options that allow customizing the appearance of your table. You can change the styling of the borders. One of the styles includes suppressing the display of borders.

Removing the table borders or lines in MS Word does not disturb the data or the layout of the data. You only remove the lines that identify the rows and columns.

• Using the Borders Menu
• Using the Borders and Shading Dialog Box

We will show you in steps how to remove the table lines in your MS Word document.

Let us begin.

Method #1: Using the Borders Menu

Step #1: Open Word document.

Open the Word document that has a table with borders.

Step #2: Select the entire table

Hover the mouse pointer over the table. 

A square icon appears in the top left-hand corner of the table.

Click on the square icon to select the entire table.

Step #3: Remove table lines

Click on the Design tab under Table Tools on the top menu bar to change the ribbon.

In the section Borders, click on the icon Borders.

A new menu will open.

Hover the mouse pointer on the appropriate button in the menu to:

• Remove the Bottom Border only
• Remove the Top Border only
• Remove the Left Border only
• Remove the Right Border only
• To show No Borders
• Remove All Borders
• Remove Outside Borders only
• Remove Inside Borders only
• Remove Inside Horizontal Borders only
• Remove Inside Vertical Borders only

Click on the one suitable for your table.

For instance, click on All Borders to remove all lines.

Method #2: Using the Borders and Shading Dialog Box

Step #1: Open Word document.

Open the Word document that has a table with borders.

Step #2: Select the entire table

Hover the mouse pointer over the table. 

A square icon appears in the top left-hand corner of the table.

Click on the square icon to select the entire table.

Step #3: Remove table lines

Right-click anywhere inside the table.

In the menu that opens, click on Table Properties.

The Table Properties dialog will open.

Click on the Borders and Shading button.

The Borders and Shading dialog will open.

Under Borders, click on All.

Under Preview on the right-hand side, click and remove the lines you do not want.

Click on OK to exit the dialog.

Word will remove all the lines you have selected.

Conclusion

Use any one of the two methods above to remove table lines in your MS Word document. You can remove all lines or display some of them.

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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Erasing Table Lines.

One of the neat things you can do with Word is to draw tables using the tools provided by the program. With you table created, you can easily erase any of the lines that make up your table. The result is a table that looks just the way you want it. To erase table lines, follow these steps:

1. Create your table as you normally would.
2. Choose the Toolbars option from the View menu, and make sure Tables and Borders is selected from the resulting submenu.
3. Click on the Eraser tool on the toolbar. This is the one just to the right of the tool that looks like a pencil.
4. Click and drag to select the table lines you want to erase.
5. Click on the Eraser tool again (on the toolbar) or press the Esc key. This turns off the Eraser tool.
6. Close the Tables and Borders toolbar when finished.

You should note that when you erase a line that is a common border between two cells, the two cells are merged. If you try to erase an exterior line from a cell (one that does not border another cell), then the visible table border is removed, but the cell still remains.

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…