Word table border padding

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.

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

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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More resources

4 Ways to Create a Table in Word

14 Shortcuts to Quickly Select Text in Microsoft Word

How to Create Headings in Word (Using Heading Styles)

How to Quickly Remove Hard Returns in Word Documents

10 Microsoft Word Tips, Tricks and Shortcuts for Selecting in Tables

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Avantix Learning |18 King Street East, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5C 1C4 | Contact us at info@avantixlearning.ca

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

/en/word/aligning-ordering-and-grouping-objects/content/

Introduction

A table is a grid of cells arranged in rows and columns. Tables can be used to organize any type of content, whether you’re working with text or numerical data. In Word, you can quickly insert a blank table or convert existing text to a table. You can also customize your table using different styles and layouts.

Optional: Download our practice document.

Watch the video below to learn more about creating tables.

To insert a blank table:

1. Place the insertion point where you want the table to appear.
2. Navigate to the Insert tab, then click the Table command.

   

3. This will open a drop-down menu that contains a grid. Hover over the grid to select the number of columns and rows you want.

   

4. Click the grid to confirm your selection, and a table will appear.
5. To enter text, place the insertion point in any cell, then begin typing.

   

To navigate between cells, use the Tab key or arrow keys on your keyboard. If the insertion point is in the last cell, pressing the Tab key will automatically create a new row.

To convert existing text to a table:

In the example below, each line of text contains part of a checklist, including chores and days of the week. The items are separated by tabs. Word can convert this information into a table, using the tabs to separate the data into columns.

1. Select the text you want to convert to a table. If you’re using our practice file, you can find this text on page 2 of the document.

   

2. Go to the Insert tab, then click the Table command.
3. Select Convert Text to Table from the drop-down menu.

   

4. A dialog box will appear. Choose one of the options under Separate text at. This is how Word knows what to put into each column.

   

5. Click OK. The text will appear in a table.

   

Modifying tables

You can easily change the appearance of your table once you’ve added one to your document. There are several options for customization, including adding rows or columns and changing the table style.

To add a row or column:

1. Hover outside the table where you want to add a row or column. Click the plus sign that appears.

   

2. A new row or column will be added to the table.

   

You can also right-click the table, then hover over Insert to see various row and column options.

To delete a row or column:

1. Place the insertion point in the row or column you want to delete.
2. Right-click, then select Delete Cells from the menu.

   

3. A dialog box will appear. Choose Delete entire row or Delete entire column, then click OK.

   

4. The row or column will be deleted.

To apply a table style:

Table styles let you change the look and feel of your table instantly. They control several design elements, including color, borders, and fonts.

1. Click anywhere in your table to select it, then click the Design tab on the far right of the Ribbon.

   

2. Locate the Table Styles group, then click the More drop-down arrow to see the full list of styles.

   

3. Select the table style you want.

   

4. The table style will appear.

   

To modify table style options:

Once you’ve chosen a table style, you can turn various options on or off to change its appearance. There are six options: Header Row, Total Row, Banded Rows, First Column, Last Column, and Banded Columns.

1. Click anywhere in your table, then navigate to the Design tab.
2. Locate the Table Style Options group, then check or uncheck the desired options.

   

3. The table style will be modified.

   

Depending on the Table Style you’ve chosen, certain Table Style Options may have a different effect. You might need to experiment to get the look you want.

To apply borders to a table:

1. Select the cells you want to apply a border to.

   

2. Use the commands on the Design tab to choose the desired Line Style, Line Weight, and Pen Color.

   

3. Click the drop-down arrow below the Borders command.
4. Choose a border type from the menu.

   

5. The border will be applied to the selected cells.

   

Modifying a table using the Layout tab

In Word, the Layout tab appears whenever you select your table. You can use the options on this tab to make a variety of modifications.

Click the buttons in the interactive below to learn more about Word’s table layout controls.

Challenge!

1. Open our practice document.
2. Scroll to page 3 and select all of the text below the dates July 8 — July 12.
3. Use the Convert Text to Table to insert the text into a 6-column table. Make sure to Separate text at Tabs.
4. Delete the Saturday column.
5. Insert a column to the left of the Friday column and type Thursday in the top cell.
6. Change the table style to any style that begins with Grid Table 5. Hint: Style names appear when you hover over them.
7. In the Table Style Options menu, uncheck Banded Rows and check Banded Columns.
8. Select the entire table. In the Borders drop-down menu, choose All Borders.
9. With the table still selected, increase the table row height to 0.3″ (0.8 cm).
10. Select the first row and change the cell alignment to Align Center.
11. When you’re finished, your table should look something like this:

    

/en/word/charts/content/

Borders can improve a table’s appearance, giving it a polished, professional look. Borders also make it easier to keep the information in different cells visually separate.

Add a Border

1. Select a cell, multiple cells, or the whole table.

Borders will only be added to the cell or cells you have selected.

2. Click the Design tab in the Table Tools ribbon group.

Before applying a border, you need to specify the border style. You can individually select a line style, weight, and color, or use an existing border style.

3. Click the Border Styles list arrow.

This menu shows a few borders included in the document theme, in a variety of colors and line styles.

4. Select a border style.

   

Now that you’ve selected a border style, choose which borders to apply that style to.

5. Click the Borders list arrow.

This menu shows which borders the style can be applied to. You can select All Borders or a subset.

6. Select the borders you want to add.

   

The selected border style is applied to the selected borders.

Select No Borders from the Borders menu to remove borders from the selected cells.

Add Cell Shading

Shading includes fill colors and patterns that you can apply to table cells.

1. Select the cell or cells you want to add shading to.
2. Click the Shading list arrow in the Table Tools Design tab.

The shading menu will show a spectrum of colors from the current document theme as well as a few standard colors. You could also select More Colors to select a custom color or select No Color to remove existing shading.

3. Select a color.

   

The color is added as a background to the selected cells.

To use a pattern instead of a solid color in your table, click the Borders group dialog box launcher, click the Shading tab, and select a pattern in the Style list.

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