Word select table cell

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

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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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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.

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: Selecting Individual Cells in a Table.

There are times when you will want to apply formatting to individual cells in a table, or you may need to perform some other action that requires selecting cells first. There are a couple of ways you can select a cell. If you are using the mouse, you can select a cell by moving the mouse pointer just to the left of the cell itself. The mouse pointer should point up and to the right. When you click on the mouse button, the entire cell should be selected.

Another way to select cells is to simply select the end-of-cell marker at the end of any text in the cell. This is especially easy if you are using the keyboard. All you need to do is make sure the insertion pointer is at the very end of your text (in the cell), and then hold down the Shift key as you press the Right Arrow key. The result is that the entire cell is selected.

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…

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

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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