Word table style indent

To set or change table options in Word or Outlook, right-click a table and choose Table Properties.

Note: If you want to set properties for a particular row, column, or cell, click in that row, column, or cell before making changes in the Table Properties dialog box.

In this article

• Table properties

• Row properties

• Column properties

• Cell properties

• Alt text

Table properties

Click the Table tab to apply settings to your entire table:

• Under Size, set the table’s overall width by selecting Preferred width and choosing a size. In the Measure in box, choose whether you want to measure the width in inches or a percentage of the page.

• Under Alignment, choose whether you want to align your table to the left, center, or right of page. If you select Left, you can select an indentation distance in the Indent from Left box.

• Under Text wrapping, select Around if you want nearby text on your page to wrap around your table; you can make text wrapping more precise by clicking Positioning, and then choosing options in the Table Positioning dialog box. If you don’t want text wrapping, select None.

• Click Borders and Shading to change the border style, line color, and line width of your table.

• Click Options to set more table properties, including top and bottom cell margins, cell spacing, and automatic resizing of cell contents.

Top of Page

Row properties

First, click in the row or select the rows you want to change, right-click, choose Table Properties, and then click the Row tab.

• Under Size, set the row’s height by selecting Preferred height and choosing a size; you can further refine the height by selecting an option in the Row height is box.

• Under Options, select options for breaking rows across pages or creating header rows.

• To display the currently selected row at the top of the tab and navigate between rows without leaving the Table Properties dialog box, click Previous Row or Next Row.

Top of Page

Column properties

First, click in the column or select the columns you want to change, right-click, choose Table Properties, and then click the Column tab.

• Under Size, set the column’s width by selecting Preferred width and choosing a size. In the Measure in box, choose whether you want to measure the width in inches or a percentage.

• To display the currently selected column or columns at the top of the tab and navigate between columns without leaving the Table Properties dialog box, click Previous Column or Next Column.

Top of Page

Cell properties

First, click in the cell that you want to change, right-click, choose Table Properties, and then click the Cell tab.

• Under Size, set the cell’s width by selecting Preferred width and choosing a size. In the Measure in box, choose whether you want to measure the width in inches or a percentage.

• Under Vertical alignment, choose an alignment option for the cell contents—Top (the default alignment), Center, or Bottom.

• Click Options to set more cell properties, including top and bottom cell margins and text wrapping and fit options.

Top of Page

Alt text

You can create alternative text (alt text) for your table to help people with screen readers understand the content of the table.

• In the Description box, enter an explanation of the table.

• In the Title box, enter a brief summary of the table.

  Note:  Unless you have a complex table, you will usually want to enter text in just the Description box. When you have complex content to describe, filling in the Title field is useful so that reading the full description is not necessary unless desired.

Top of Page

Usually, the table contains the following basic components:

• The table number (e.g., Table 1) and the title appear above the table body (see how to create a caption for tables).
• The table includes column headings, including a stub heading (heading for the leftmost, or stub, column). Some tables also include column spanners, decked heads, and table spanners. See how to format tables in a Word document.
• The table body contains all the rows and columns of a table (including the headings row). A cell is the point of intersection between a row and a column. See how to select and format table elements.
• All types of notes (general, specific, and probability) appear below the table if there are notes. Notes describe contents of the table that cannot be understood from the table title or body alone (e.g., definitions of abbreviations, copyright attribution, etc.).

See also how to create cross-references to a table.

Align the table on the page

By default, Word aligns the table to the Left. If you want to change an alignment of the table on the page, select it and do one of the following:

• On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, select the alignment you prefer:

  

• 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 Alignment section, select the option you prefer:

  

• Press the keyboard shortcuts:
  • Ctrl+L to align a table to the Left (by default),
  • Ctrl+E to Center the table,
  • Ctrl+R to align a table to the Right.

Add indent from left

The Indent from left controls the distance of the table from the left margin. To add the Indent from left, do one of the following:

• On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the Increase Indent button:

  

• Open the Properties dialog box. In the Table Properties dialog box, on the Table tab, in the Alignment section, type or choose the value you need in the Indent from left field:

  

  Note: The Indent from left field is active only for the Left alignment.

For example, the table with a left indent 0.5 inches:

Text Wrapping for a table

Word offers to customize the text wrapping style for a table, as well as for figures. To customize a text wrapping style, do the following:

   1.   Select a table.

   2.   Open the Table Properties dialog box. In the Table Properties dialog box, on the Table tab, in the Text wrapping section:

• Select None to disable text wrapping for the table
• Select the Around option to have text wrapping around the table. Then click the Positioning… button for more customization:

  

  In the Table Positioning dialog box:

  

Position a table

• In the Horizontal sections, specify:
  • Position to the Left, Right, Center, Inside, or Outside,
  • Relative to the Margin, Page, or Column.

  For example, with Position to the Right relative to Margin:

  

• In the Vertical section, specify:
  • Position to the Top, Bottom, Center, Inside, or Outside,
  • Relative to the Margin, Page, or Column.

  For example, with Position to the Top relative to Page:

  

Increase the space between text and table

• In the Distance from surrounding text section, enter custom values for the distance between the text and the table independently for:
  • Top (0 by default),
  • Bottom (0 by default),
  • Left (1.13 inches by default),
  • Right (1.13 inches by default).

  For example, with the 0.3-inch distance on all sides:

  

Note: See also how to change a distance within a table.

Text wrapping options

• In the Options section:
  • The Move with text option moves the table along with the text in which it is located.

    Select the Move with Text option if the text is directly related to the table data. The table is vertically aligned to the related paragraph around it. If the table data applies to the whole document, keep the Move with Text option unselected.

  • Allow overlap allows to layer table on top of each other.

Position a large table

Control where a table is split

When working with a long table, or when a table needs to be placed at the bottom of the page, splitting up a table into two separate tables is necessary. By default, if a page break occurs within a large row, Microsoft Word allows a page break to split the line between two pages (see How to prevent a table break between pages).

To insert a table break at a specific location, position the cursor on the cell on the row, or select the row that should appear on the next page, then do one of the following:

• Press Ctrl+Enter.
• On the Table Layout tab, in the Merge group, click the Split Table button:

Be careful! Word applies the chosen style to the new table. If you Undo the table splitting, the formatting may not be Undone correctly.

Add an Alternative text (Alt Text)

Most requirements recommend adding alternative text for visual objects, including tables (see how to turn off automatically creating the Alternative text).

To add an alternative text for a table, do the following:

   1.   Select a table.

   2.   Do 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.

   3.   In the Table Properties dialog box, on the Alt Text tab:

• In the Title field, type a title, if necessary.
• In the Description field, fill the description for the table.
• Click the OK button.

By default, when you create a table in Word, it is aligned with the left margin. You may want to make your tables stand out a bit by indenting them, but this cannot be done using the same formatting tools you would use to indent a paragraph.

We’ll show you a couple of ways you can easily indent a table in Word. First, you can use the table handle in the upper-left corner of the table. Click and hold the handle and then drag it to the right to move the entire table.

If you want to be more precise how far you indent the table, there is another way to do it. Right-click on the table handle in the upper-left corner of the table and select “Table Properties” from the popup menu.

On the Table Properties dialog box, make sure the Table tab is active. Enter an amount in the “Indent from left” edit box to indicate how far you want to indent the entire table. For example, we entered 0.5 inches to indent our table a half an inch.

NOTE: By default, the measurement units are in inches, but you can change that to centimeters, millimeters, points, or picas.

Our entire table is indented half an inch from the left margin.

You can also use the Table tab on the Table Properties dialog box to center or right-align the entire table.

READ NEXT

• › 8 Microsoft Word Tips for Professional Looking Documents
• › How to Indent in Microsoft Excel
• › How to Draw a Custom Table in Microsoft Word
• › Windows 11 Has a New Photo Gallery in the File Explorer
• › How to Get a Refund on the PlayStation Store
• › Discord Direct Message Won’t Go Away? Here’s the Fix
• › Save Hundreds on Elegoo’s New PHECDA Laser Engraver Through Kickstarter
• › Android’s Nearby Share Has (Unofficially) Arrived on Mac

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.

Subscribe to get more articles like this one

Did you find this article helpful? If you would like to receive new articles, JOIN our email list.

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

Related courses

Microsoft Word: Intermediate / Advanced

Microsoft Excel: Intermediate / Advanced

Microsoft PowerPoint: Intermediate / Advanced

Microsoft Word: Long Documents Master Class

Microsoft Word: Styles, Templates and Tables of Contents

Microsoft Word: Designing Dynamic Word Documents Using Fields

VIEW MORE COURSES >

Our instructor-led courses are delivered in virtual classroom format or at our downtown Toronto location at 18 King Street East, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (some in-person classroom courses may also be delivered at an alternate downtown Toronto location). Contact us at info@avantixlearning.ca if you’d like to arrange custom instructor-led virtual classroom or onsite training on a date that’s convenient for you.

Copyright 2023 Avantix^® Learning

Microsoft, the Microsoft logo, Microsoft Office and related Microsoft applications and logos are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in Canada, US and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of the registered owners.

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