Word select row in table

Selecting Rows and Columns To select a row in a table, move the cursor to the left of the row until it turns into a white arrow pointing up and to the right, as shown below. To select multiple rows this way, drag the mouse down over the other rows once you’ve selected one row.

How do you select an entire row in word?

Here are the many ways to do this:

1. Drag across the cells you want to select.
2. Click in the upper-left cell you want to select, press the Shift key, and then press arrow keys to extend the selection.
3. Click outside of the table on the left side to select an entire row.

What is the shortcut to select a row in word?

Select a row or column using a keyboard
To select a row using a keyboard, position the cursor in the first cell of the row you want to select and then press Alt + Shift + End on your keyboard to select to the end of the row.

How do I select a row in a table?

Click the left border of the table row. The following selection arrow appears to indicate that clicking selects the row. You can click the first cell in the table row, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW.

How do I select text in a row?

To select a single word, quickly double-click that word. To select a line of text, place your cursor at the start of the line, and press Shift + down arrow. To select a paragraph, place your cursor at the start of the paragraph, and press Ctrl + Shift + down arrow.

How do you select multiple rows in Word?

To select multiple rows using the keyboard, keep the “Shift” pressed and press the down arrow key once for each subsequent row you want to select. NOTE: When using the keyboard to select rows, you cannot select non-contiguous rows.

How do I select multiple rows in a table?

To select more than one row in the data view, click one row, then hold the Control (Windows) or Command (Mac) key and select each of the other rows you wish to edit or remove. To select a continuous list, click one row, then hold the Shift key and click the last row.

How do you highlight words using the keyboard?

Adding highlighting: Select the text you want to highlight, then press Ctrl+Alt+H.

How do I select text in Word without clicking and dragging?

Click the “Select” drop-down menu in the Editing group on the ribbon and choose “Select All.” All of the body text on the pages will be highlighted. You can now format it, cut, copy, align the text and more. The keyboard shortcut “Ctrl-A” will accomplish the same result.

How do you insert rows in Word?

Add a row or column

1. Click where you want in your table to add a row or column and then click the Layout tab (this is the tab next to the Table Design tab on the ribbon).
2. To add rows, click Insert Above or Insert Below and to add columns, click Insert Left or Insert Right.

How do I select all rows with specific text?

Follow these steps:

1. Begin by doing either of the following: To search the entire worksheet for specific cells, click any cell.
2. On the Home tab, click Find & Select > Go To (in the Editing group). Keyboard shortcut: Press CTRL+G.
3. Click Special.
4. In the Go To Special dialog box, click one of the following options.

What is the best way to select a row with a certain value from a column in Excel?

Go to the Select Specific Cells dialog box, specify an option as you need in the Selection type section. And in the Specific Type section, select Contains from the first drop-down list, and then type in the text or value you want to select cells, rows or columns based on into the textbox.

Why can I not select text in Word?

Restarting Word fixes it temporarily but after a few minutes you cannot click and drag to select text, you need to use the shift and arrow keys to select the text you want. Running Word in safe mode also seems to fix it.

How do you select multiple lines?

For that, follow these steps:

1. Place your cursor somewhere in or next to the first word you wish to select.
2. While holding down Ctrl (Windows & Linux) or Command (Mac OS X), click in the next word you wish to select.
3. Repeat until you’ve selected the words you want to change.

How do I select all rows under one row in Excel?

Click and hold the left mouse button. Drag the mouse pointer up or down to select the desired number of rows.

1. Press and hold the Shift key on the keyboard.
2. Use the Up or Down arrow keys on the keyboard to select additional rows above or below the selected row.
3. Release the Shift key when you’ve selected all the rows.

How do I select multiple rows in react table?

Rows Selection Modes in React DataTable. Select multiple rows by holding Shift or Ctrl and clicking on a row.

How do I quickly select thousands of rows in Excel?

Select Multiple Entire Rows of Cells.
Continuing to hold down your mouse button, drag your cursor across all the rows you want to select. Or, if you prefer, you can hold down your Shift key and click the bottom-most row you want to select.

How do you highlight selected words in word?

Highlight selected text

1. Select the text that you want to highlight.
2. Go to Home and, select the arrow next to Text Highlight Color.
3. Select the color that you want. Note: Use a light highlight color if you plan to print the document by using a monochrome palette or dot-matrix printer.

How do you select all lines?

Select an entire line of text by holding down the “Shift” key and pressing “End”, if you are at the beginning of the line, or “Home” if you are at the end of the line. Select an entire paragraph by placing your cursor at either the beginning or the end of that paragraph.

How do I select a horizontal line in word?

Microsoft Word

1. Put your cursor in the document where you want to insert the horizontal line.
2. Go to Format | Borders And Shading.
3. On the Borders tab, click the Horizontal Line button.
4. Scroll through the options and select the desired line.
5. Click OK.

How do I highlight a large section of text?

The F8 key

1. Position the insertion pointer at the beginning of the block of text. The pointer becomes anchored.
2. Press the F8 key. One end of the block is marked for selection.
3. Use the keyboard’s cursor keys to select the block of text.
4. Do something with the selected block of text.

How to Quickly Select Cells, Rows, Columns and Entire Tables in Microsoft Word

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated August 21, 2022

Applies to: Microsoft^® Word^® 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 365 (Windows)

There are many different ways of selecting in tables in Microsoft Word. Check out these Word tips, tricks and shortcuts to select an entire table, a single cell, an entire row or column or even multiple rows or columns in tables.

Recommended article: 10 Microsoft Word Shortcuts for Moving Around in Tables

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

1. Select an entire table using a mouse

To select an entire table, move your mouse over the table until an icon with 4 arrows appears in the upper-left corner of the table and then click the icon to select the entire table.

Below is the table selection icon which appears on the top left of tables:

2. Select an entire table using a keyboard and mouse

If your press Alt and double-click anywhere in a table, the entire table will be selected (Word also opens the Research pane).

3. Select an entire table using a keyboard

To select an entire table using a keyboard, position the cursor in the first cell of the table. Press Alt + Shift + End on your keyboard to select to the end of the first row and then press Alt + Shift + Page Down to select to the last cell.

4. Select a cell using a mouse

To select an individual cell, move the mouse to the left side of the cell until it turns into a black right arrow and then click to select the cell.

5. Select a cell using a keyboard

To use the keyboard to select a cell, position the cursor at the beginning of the cell and then press Shift + right arrow on your keyboard. Keep pressing Shift + right arrow until the entire cell is selected.

6. Select a row or rows using a mouse

To select a row in a table, move the cursor to the left of the row until it changes into a right arrow. Click to select the current row or drag up to down to select multiple rows.

Below is the right arrow that appears when you position your cursor to the left of rows and is used for selecting rows in tables:

7. Select rows using a mouse and keyboard

To select multiple contiguous rows, move the cursor to the left of the first row until it changes into a white right arrow and then click to select the row. Press Shift and click with the white right arrow on the last row you want to select.

To select multiple non-contiguous rows, move the cursor to the left of the first row until it changes into a white right arrow and then click to select the row. Press Ctrl and click with the white right arrow on subsequent rows.

8. Select a row or column using a keyboard

To select a row using a keyboard, position the cursor in the first cell of the row you want to select and then press Alt + Shift + End on your keyboard to select to the end of the row.

To select a column using a keyboard, position the cursor in the first cell of the column you want to select and then press Alt + Shift + Page Down on your keyboard to select to the end of the column.

9. Select a column or columns using a mouse

To select a column in a table, move the cursor to the top of the column until it changes into a down arrow. Click to select the current column or drag right or left to sele9.ct multiple columns.

Below is the down arrow that appears when you position your cursor at the top of a column and is used for selecting columns in tables:

10. Select columns using a mouse and keyboard

To select multiple contiguous columns, move the cursor to the top of the first column until it changes into a black down arrow and then click to select the column. Press Shift and click with the black down arrow on the last column you want to select.

To select multiple non-contiguous columns, move the cursor to the top of the first column until it changes into a black down arrow and then click to select the column. Press Ctrl and click with the black down arrow on subsequent columns.

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More resources

4 Ways to Create a Table in Word

14 Shortcuts to Quickly Select Text in Microsoft Word

How to Insert, Format and Update Cross-References in Word

Microsoft Word Tricks to Keep Text Together (Words, Lines or Paragraphs)

How to Format Microsoft Word Tables Using Table Styles (Ultimate Guide)

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Microsoft Word: Styles, Templates and Tables of Contents

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A table is a collection of information or data, usually represented in horizontal rows and vertical columns. The box at the junction of each column and row is a cell that contains data such as text, numeric information, or images. You can select the cell, row, column, or entire table and apply formatting to the selected region.

Note that you can sort data in a table, perform calculations on numbers in a Word table, insert some formulas and functions. You can use a cell address to refer to a cell in the formula.

Select table elements

To select table a single cell:

• Using the mouse: Click the left edge of the cell:

  

• Using the keyboard: Position the cursor on the cell and select its content by pressing Shift+arrow (left or right).

To select multiple cells:

To select a single table column:

• Using the mouse: Click the column’s top gridline or top border:

  

• Using the keyboard: Point to the top of the column. When the cursor changes to a downward-pointing arrow, click the column.

To select multiple columns:

To select a single table row:

• Using the mouse: Click to the left of the row:

  

• Using the keyboard: Point to the left edge of the row. When the cursor changes to an upward-pointing arrow, click to select the row.

To select multiple rows:

See also how to select the entire table.

Format table elements

After creating a table, you can format individual cells (spaces formed by the intersection of a row and a column) or entire rows and columns by aligning text in cells, resizing columns and rows, and adding borders, shading, or colors.

Merge and split cells

You can merge multiple cells into one cell that spans multiple columns or rows. For example, if you want to enter a heading for multiple table columns in the first row, you can merge cells in the first row (see example above).

To merge cells, select them and do one of the following:

• On the Table Layout tab, in the Merge group, click the Merge Cells button:

  

• Right-click the selection and select Merge Cells in the popup menu:

  

In addition to merging multiple cells to create one cell, you can split one cell to create multiple cells.

To split the cell, select it, then do one of the following:

• On the Table Layout tab, in the Merge group, click the Split Cells button:

  

• Right-click the selection and select Split Cells… in the popup menu:

  

  Note: The Split Cells… item in the popup menu is displayed if only one cell is selected or the cursor is positioned inside the cell. If you select multiple cells, you won’t see Split Cells… in the popup menu.

In the Split Cells dialog box, specify the number of columns and rows created in place of the split cell:

Note: If you select several cells, the Merge cells before split check box in the Split Cells dialog box is selected by default:

• The selected Merge cells before split check box to force Word to merge selected cells into one, then split that one cell into the specified number of rows and columns.
• The deselected Merge cells before split check box to force Word to split every cell into the specified number of rows and columns.

Resize a table and table elements

• Using the mouse:

  To resize individual rows and columns, do one of the following:

  • Hover your pointer over a row or column border until your pointer becomes two lines with two arrows:

    

    Click and hold as you drag the border to resize the row or column.

  • Drag the sliders in the Table Ruler to set to desired height and width. E.g.:

    

  See how to resize an entire table.

• Using the keyboard:
  • Select what you need to change:
    • Position the cursor in a cell in the row or the column, or
    • Select entire row or column, or multiple rows or columns.
  • 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 Row tab, under Size, select the Specify height check box, then:
        • In the Specify height field, type or select the value you need,
        • In the Row height is dropdown list, select one of the items:
          • At least to specify the minimal height,
          • Exactly to fix the row height:

        

        Note: To specify a height for other rows, click the Previous Row and Next Row buttons. Word highlights the appropriate row.

      • On the Column tab, under Size, 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:

        

        Note: To specify a width for other columns, click the Previous Column and Next Column buttons. Word highlights the appropriate column.

      • On the Cell tab, select the Preferred width check box to specify the width for the current column:

        

Note: See more about formatting a table.

Align text in a Word table cell

To align the text in one or more cells, select them, and then on the Table Layout tab, in the Alignment group, choose one of the nine proposed alignments:

Modify text Direction

To change the text direction, select a cell or several cells, and then on the Table Layout tab, in the Alignment group, click the Text Direction button multiple times to cycle through the available directions:

Change the cell margins

When you fill a table, you can change the cell spacing using the Paragraph options. Word offers the options to change the cell margins:

To customize cells margins, select a cell or several cells, then do one of the following:

• On the Table Layout tab, in the Alignment group, click the Cell Margins button:

  

  In the Table Options dialog box:

  • To specify cell margins, in the Default cell margins section, type or select the values for Top, Bottom, Left, and Right margins:

    

  • If you prefer to resize the table according to cell margins and specified spacing, leave the Automatically resize to fit contents check box selected.

    If you prefer to leave the table without changes, clear the Automatically resize to fit contents check box.

• Open the Table Properties dialog box.

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

  

  In the Cell Options dialog box:

  • Clear the Same as the whole table check box,
  • To specify cell margins, in the Default cell margins section, type or select the values for Top, Bottom, Left, and Right margins:

Change the space between cells

To increase or decrease the spacing between cells, select a cell or several cells, then do the following:

• On the Table Layout tab, in the Alignment group, click the Cells Margins button:

  

  In the Table Options dialog box:

  • To specify the spacing between cells, in the Default cell spacing section, select the Allow spacing between cells check box, then type or select the value for spacing:

    

  • If you prefer to resize the table according to cell margins and specified spacing, leave the Automatically resize to fit contents check box selected.

    If you prefer to leave the table without changes, clear the Automatically resize to fit contents check box.

For example, spacing between cells = 0.2 inches:

AutoFit features

After filling a table, editing the content, or inserting a text, it is possible to autoformat a table for the perfect look.

To use the Word AutoFit features, do the following:

   1.   Select a table.

   2.   On the Table Layout tab, in the Size group:

• To make all columns the same width, click the Distribute Columns button.
• To make each row the same height, click the Distribute Rows button.
• Click the AutoFit button, then choose one of the options:

  

• To fit the columns to the text (or page margins if cells are empty), select AutoFit Contents.
• To fit the table to the document content, select AutoFit Window.
• To keep Word from automatically adjusting the column size, select Fixed Column Width.

Tables in Word are useful in so many situations. In this post you’ll discover how to create tables, then manipulate and design them in the quickest and easiest way to provide that visual punch.

1.  What are tables in Word good for?

Tables are useful for 2 distinct reasons.

1.  Select the Insert tab.

2.  Click the Tables icon in the Tables group.

3.  Move your mouse pointer into the table grid until the required number of rows and columns are highlighted orange, then left-click.

An empty table is inserted into the document.

Two new tabs, Design and Layout are also added to the ribbon area, under the banner of Table Tools.

3. MOVING AROUND A Word TABLE

4. SELECTING A CELL, ROW, COLUMN OR THE ENTIRE TABLE

To select a cell:

2.  Left-click.

To select a row of a table:

2.  Left-click.

To select a column

2.  Left-click.

To select the entire table:

1.  Position your mouse pointer over  the 4-headed arrow icon situated at the top-left of the table.

2.  Left-click.

5. INSERTING AN EXTRA ROW OR COLUMN

To insert an extra row:

1.  Position the cursor in a cell.

2.  Select the Layout tab, under the Table Tools banner.

3.  Click Insert Above or Insert Below in the Rows and Columns group

Here is a quick way to insert new rows:

1.  Position the cursor to the left of the table, but in close proximity.

2.  A plus symbol will appear above or below the mouse pointer indicating where the new row will be added.

3.  Nudge the mouse pointer up or down to move the plus sign above or below.

4.  Left-click to insert the new row,

To insert an extra column:

1.  Position the cursor in a cell.

2.  Select the Layout tab, under the Table Tools banner.

3.  Click Insert Left or Insert Right in the Rows and Columns group

Here is a quick way to insert a new column:

1.  Position the cursor above a column, but in close proximity to the table.

2.  A plus symbol will appear to the left or right of the mouse pointer indicating where the new column will be added.

3.  Nudge the mouse pointer left or right to move the plus sign to the left or the right of the column.

4.  Left-click to insert the new column,

6. DELETING A ROW OR COLUMN

To delete the current row or column:

1.  Position the cursor in any cell of the row you want to delete.

2.  Select the Layout tab, under the Table Tools banner.

3.  Click the Delete icon in the Rows and Columns group.

4.  Choose Delete Row or Delete Column from the drop-down menu.

7. Quickly fORMATTING tables in Word

Word provides you with a number of pre-set table designs. This means that it formats the headings and the data, applies a variety of borders and colours the cells in a way that makes it look like a professionally produced table. As a beginner this simple technique will give you a good-looking table.

1.  Position the cursor in any cell in the table.

2.  Select the Design tab under the Table Tools banner.

In the Table Style Options group of the Design tab, tick the components that you have in your table. For example, if your table has column headings, tick Header Row. In doing this, the various parts of your table are formatted accordingly

8. SETTING THE BORDERS AND SHADING

To set the borders for tables in Word:

1.  Select the portion of the table that you wish to set the borders for. This may be the entire table, a row or rows, a column or columns or a selection of cells.

2.  Select the Design tab under the Table Tools banner.

3.  Select the Borders icon. A drop-down list appears. This list shows every combination of border that can be turned on or off. The icons with a shaded background are currently switched on. The rest are switched off.

4.  Click any icon to switch the border on or off. The border style that is applied is the default style (½ pt solid black line ) or the last style that was used.

5.  To apply customised borders, with different colours, styles and widths, click the Borders & Shading option at the bottom of the list to display the Borders and Shading dialog box.

Your selection will always have an outer border, and if you selected more than one cell, you will have some inside borders as well. The easiest way to use the dialog box is to start on the bottom-middle and work your way up and right.

1.  Select the colour and width (thickness)  that you would like for your border.

2.  Choose a style (e.g. dotted, dashed, double, solid etc.)

3.  Paint your borders. There are two ways to do this.

On the left-hand side of the dialog box, there are some pre-defined border combinations which you can use to save yourself some time. Depending on your selection of cells, the pre-defined options may differ. Here’s a run-down:

To shade the cells of tables in Word:

1.  Select the portion of the table that you wish to shade. This may be the entire table, a row or rows, a column or columns or a selection of cells.

2.  Select the Design tab under the Table Tools banner.

3.  Click the Shading icon.
The colours that you see displayed match the current them of the document. Themes were discussed earlier in the course.

4.  Click a colour in the palette.

While you can pick any colour, it is recommended to stick with the light colour shades, otherwise your tables will appear very loud and ugly, like they’re shouting in your face. Subtle is the order of the day. The exception to this is column headings or other cells that you wish to differentiate. Under these circumstances, you can use a dark colour, but use a light font with it.

If you cannot find the exact colour you need,

9. REPEATING table HEADINGS ON EVERY PAGE WHEN PRINTING

1.  Ensure that the table is a single table, with no manual page breaks in the middle, and one header at the top. The table header may occupy more than one row, it doesn’t affect the way this feature works.

2.  Position the cursor somewhere in the top row of the table.

3.  Select the Layout tab under the Table Tools banner.

4.  Click the Repeat Header Rows icon ion the Data group.

Now, it doesn’t matter how many rows tables in Word contain, if the table ever spills across into another page, the header row (which normally displays the column headings) will always appear at the top of the table.

10. All the key points again

If you’ve ever seen a spreadsheet, or used a program such as Excel, then you’re probably pretty familiar with tables. That’s all tables are, after all—simply a grid arranged into columns and rows. You can use them to organize and emphasize certain pieces of information. More than that, you can use tables to do complex page layout operations that almost rival expensive professional publishing programs like Adobe InDesign.

Inserting Tables

Before we identify the different parts of a table, let’s go ahead and insert one into our document. To do this, position the cursor at the point in the document where you want to put the table. Don’t worry if it’s not exactly right—you can always move or manipulate it later.

You’ll find tables under the Insert tab in the Tables group. The Tables button looks like this:

Click the Tables button.

You’ll see a bunch of boxes at the top.

The easiest way to insert a table is to drag your mouse over the rows and columns until you have the amount you want.

As you can see above, we dragged our mouse to make a table that has seven columns and three rows, or 7×3.  

As we drag the table appears on our document:

To insert this simple table, click the mouse.

We now have a basic table.

Let’s identify the parts.

Each box that you see in a table is called a «Cell.»  There are 21 cells in the table above. We have highlighted a cell in the snapshot below.

The «Rows» go from top to bottom. There are three rows. Rows go horizontally across the screen.

Columns go from left to right. There are seven columns above. Columns are vertical.  

So now that we’ve identified the parts of a table, let’s take a look at the other ways in which we can add them.

Using the Insert Table Dialogue

Once again, we’re going to move the cursor to the point in the document where we want the table to appear. Now go back to the Insert tab, click the Table button, and select «Insert Table» instead of dragging your mouse over the boxes (which really represent cells, as we learned a second ago.)

A dialogue launches in the center of your screen. It looks like this.

From here you can select the number of rows and columns. In this example, there are going to 5 columns, and 2 rows. Select your preferences in the AutoFit behavior section. You can set a fit column width, make the width of the cells and table fit to the content, or make the table size fit to the window.

Click OK. 

Drawing a Table

If you know your table is not going to be uniform (regularly sized columns and rows), you can «draw» a table. This is particularly helpful when using tables to create complex page layouts.

To do this, click the Table button and select Draw Table. Your mouse pointer will transform into a pencil tool and you’ll be able to draw individual cells anywhere in your document. You can even draw cells within cells.

Click and hold the left mouse button, drag the cell into the desired size and shape, and then release. It’s that simple.

Selecting parts of tables

To select part of a table, simply click inside the upper left cell that represents the first cell you want to select. Hold the left mouse button down and drag across the remaining cells you want to select.

Adding Text to a Table

Adding text to a table is as easy as clicking into a cell and then typing. You will be able to change any attributes of that text, too, and even apply a Quick Style.

Position Text within a Cell

Just like in an ordinary document, you can choose whether to center text within a cell, or whether to align it right or left, or toward the top or the bottom. Go to the Alignment group under the Table Layout tab. 

To reach the Table Layout tab, click the box above the left top corner of the table. This selects the table.

The Alignment group is pictured below.

Using the graphics on the left as guides, select how you want text positioned within cell in your table. 

NOTE: You can format the text position for just one cell, multiple cells (by selecting the cells), or the entire table (by selecting the table).

Converting Text into a Table

You can convert text into a table. This is especially handy if you’ve already written information that you think would be more effectively conveyed in a table.

To do this, you’ll have to carve up the text into columns and rows using commas and new paragraphs. That’s how you tell Word to separate the text into individual cells. Simply place a comma between the text you want to put into a column and place a paragraph where you want to begin a new row. An example of the text might look like this:

Now select the text, click the Tables button under the Insert tab. From the dropdown menu, choose «Convert Text To Table.»

You can now specify the number of columns, as well as how to separate text. You can separate text into cells by paragraphs, commas, tabs, etc.

We chose two columns and to separate text at commas.

Look at the example below to see the final result.

Word 2016 comes with a group of table templates for you to use and quickly customize to fit your needs. You can access them by clicking the Tables tool and choosing Quick Tables. Scroll through the templates and choose the one that best suits your needs. As with other kinds of tables, Word automatically inserts Quick Tables wherever the cursor is positioned in the document.

Once the Quick Table has been created, click the template text and start typing to replace it… You can also create your own Quick Tables by selecting a table that you’ve created and clicking the Save to Quick Table Gallery button at the bottom of the Quick Table menu.

Formatting Tables with the Table Tools

Whenever you create or select a table, the Table Tools will open automatically over the Design and Layout tabs in the tool bar. It allows you to easily apply table styles, borders, and shading attributes and more. Below is an example of the Design and Layout tools available for tables.

The Design tab (shown above) lets you customize the look and appearance of your table.

Let’s look at the Table Style Options group. But first, look at our table below:

In the Table Style Options group, we see that Header Row, First Column, and Banded Rows are checked.

Let’s learn what all these options mean so you can decide what you want checked – and what you don’t.

• A Header Row is the first row in a table that contains headings (labels) for all the columns, as shown our table above.

• When First Column is checked, it means the first column is also headers or labels. Same goes for the Last Column.

• You can also choose to have banded rows or columns. Banded Rows formats even and odd rows differently so they are easier to read. If you choose Banded Columns, it formats even and odd columns differently.

• Total Row means to create a row for mathematical totals.

In the Table Styles group, you can pick a new table style or apply shading to your table by clicking the Shading button.

In the Borders group, you can use Border Styles add borders to rows and columns to customize the look of your table.

Now, let’s click the Layout tab.

The Layout tab, when associated with the Table Tools, allows you to easily insert rows and columns, and format text and objects within cells.

Selecting Cells, Rows, and Columns

Selecting cells, rows, and columns in Word 2016 is easy.

To select a cell, click within the cell so the mouse cursor is blinking. 

Go to the table Format tab, then the Table group. Click Select>Select Cell

To select a row, click in the first cell in a row go to Select>Select Row.

To select a column, click the first cell in a column, then go to Select>Select Column.

The Border Painter Tool

The Border Painter tool was a feature added in Word 2013. It makes applying different widths and borders to your table easier than ever before. To find the tool, select your table and go to the Table Tools Design tab. 

To use the border painter, first apply formatting to some borders in your table, then click the Border Painter button. Click on any border to apply the formatting. You can also click and drag the mouse to apply it to a whole line.

Border Sampler

The Border Sampler works with the Border Painter tool. The Border Sampler is located at the bottom of the Border Styles Gallery. To access it, click the Border Styles button in the Borders group under the Table Tools Design tab. 

Simply click on Boarder Sampler. An eyedropper will appear. Click on a table border that you want to sample. Word then switches to the Border Sampler. You can apply the same formatting somewhere else in the table.

Adjusting the Width of Individual Columns

There are several ways to adjust the width of individual columns:

1.  Position your mouse pointer over the edge of the column and then drag it to the desired width.

Tables are very useful tools when creating and formatting documents. For example, with a table you can:

• Align Text, Numbers, and Graphics: Many people prefer to use tables for alignment instead of tab stops because text can wrap to multiple lines in a table.
• Create a Form: You can use tables to store lists of telephone numbers, clients, and employee rosters.
• Share Information: You can use tables to share information between programs. For example, you can copy and paste a table’s information into a Microsoft Excel worksheet or Access database.
• Create a Publication: Tables make it easier to create calendars, brochures, business cards, and many other publications.

Insert a Table

To create a table, you must first determine how many columns (which run up and down) and rows (which run left to right) you want to appear in your table. Cells are small, rectangular boxes where the rows and columns intersect. The number of columns and rows determines the number of cells in a table.

1. Click the Insert tab.
2. Click the Table button.
3. Use the grid to select how many columns and rows you’d like.

   

The table with the specified number of rows and columns is inserted.

4. Enter your content into your newly created table.

You can use the arrow keys to navigate from cell to cell as you type. You can also press the Tab key to move to the next cell.

Select Cells

You can select a single cell in a table, or you can select multiple cells, entire rows or columns, or the entire table.

Add a Row or Column

You can add more columns and rows to a table after you’ve inserted it. This way, you’re not trapped using a fixed structure if you need to add more data later.

1. Select a cell in a row or column adjacent to where you want the new row or column inserted.
2. Click the Layout tab in the Table Tools ribbon group.
3. Click one of the Insert buttons in the Rows & Columns group.

   

You can insert a row above or below the selected cell’s row, or a column to the left or right of the selected cell’s column.

Hover your mouse above the line between columns, or to the left of the line between rows, and click the + button that appears to quickly add a new column or row.

Delete a Row or Column

You can delete rows and columns that you don’t want, in case you made a table that was bigger than you needed.

1. Select a cell in a row or column you want to delete.
2. Click the Delete button on the Layout tab (in the Table Tools ribbon group).

Here, you have the option to delete the specific cell, the column or row the selected cell is in, or the entire table.

3. Select one of the options.

   

If you decide to delete only the selected cell, you can choose how to move the rest of the cells around to fill the gap. You can shift the rest of the row’s cells to the left or shift the rest of the column’s cells up.

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