How to Build and Format Tables That Read Well in Word

In Tutorial 6 of Word Basics you built a small schedule table and gave it a style. Real documents bring bigger tables: a roster that runs over three pages, a price list someone typed with tabs, a sign-up sheet pasted from an email. Without a few settings, page 2 has no column headings, a row splits in half, and the names are in no order at all.

In this tutorial you will fix the volunteer roster at the back of the 12-page Tutoring Handbook: repeat its header row, tidy its column widths, sort it by name, style it so it stays readable in black and white, and make it work for screen readers.

The two table tabs

Click anywhere in a table and two extra tabs appear at the right end of the ribbon: Table Design, for the look (styles, shading, borders), and Layout (called Table Layout in newer builds), for the structure (rows, columns, sizes, sorting). This Layout tab belongs to the table and is different from the page Layout tab you used for section breaks.

Most commands act on the cells you have selected, so select first. Click the four-way arrow at the top-left corner of the table to select all of it, or use Layout› then Table› then Select to pick a cell, column, row or the whole table.

Merge and split cells

Merging joins selected cells into one. Select two or more neighboring cells and choose Layout› then Merge› then Merge Cells. Split Cells does the opposite: it asks how many columns and rows to divide the selected cell into. Split Table breaks the table into two tables above the row you are in.

Merging is tempting for a title that spans the whole table, or to group rows such as all the Tuesday tutors under one big "Tuesday" cell. Use it sparingly:

• Screen readers read a table cell by cell and announce the column heading for each one. Merged and split cells break that grid, so a listener can lose track of which column they are in.
• Sorting doesn't work on a table with vertically merged cells. Word shows an error instead.
• Repeat Header Rows and column widths get unpredictable when the header row is merged.

If a title must stay above the table, type it as a normal paragraph, a heading or a caption (Tutorial 2 of this level covers captions). To undo a merge, click the merged cell and use Split Cells with the original number of columns and rows.

Repeat the header row on every page

When a table runs onto a second page, readers on page 2 see a list of names and numbers with no column headings. Word can repeat the header row automatically:

1. Click in the first row of the table (or select the first two rows if your header takes two).
2. Choose Layout› then Data› then Repeat Header Rows.

The header now appears at the top of every page the table reaches, and it stays one row: edit the first row and every copy changes. The same setting is in Layout› then Table› then Properties on the Row tab as Repeat as header row at the top of each page. Repeated header rows also tell screen readers which row holds the column headings.

Keep rows in one piece. By default a tall row, such as one with a long note, can start at the bottom of one page and finish on the next. Select the table, open Layout› then Table› then Properties, go to the Row tab and untick Allow row to break across pages. Each row then moves to the next page whole.

Control column widths and alignment

A pasted or quickly built table often has a wide column for a two-letter code and a narrow one that wraps every name onto two lines. Fix the widths before you style anything.

A good order for the roster: AutoFit Contents to see what each column really needs, then AutoFit Window so it fills the page width, then widen the Notes column by dragging so short columns stay compact.

Alignment inside cells. The nine buttons in Layout› then Alignment combine left, center or right with top, center or bottom. Keep text left-aligned and line up numbers on the right so digits sit under each other. Center vertically in rows of mixed heights. Text Direction rotates text, which is rarely worth the harder reading.

Cell margins. Layout› then Alignment› then Cell Margins sets the space between the text and the cell border for the whole table. A little more left and right space makes a dense roster easier to read than any border or color.

Sort the rows

Click anywhere in the table and choose Layout› then Data› then Sort. Word moves whole rows, so each name keeps its own phone number and day.

1. At the bottom of the dialog, under My list has, choose Header row. The header stays on top, and the column names appear in the Sort by list.
2. In Sort by, choose Day, and check that Type is Text. For numbers choose Number, and for dates Date, so 10 comes after 9 and dates sort in calendar order.
3. In Then by, choose Name, so tutors on the same day are in alphabetical order.
4. Choose Ascending (A to Z, smallest first) or Descending, and click OK.

Word sorts by the first word in each cell. A Name column that reads Daniel Kim sorts by first name. To sort by last name, type names as Kim, Daniel, or give last names their own column.

Style the table with restraint

Table Design› then Table Styles applies colors, borders and fonts in one click. Point at a style to preview it. Then use Table Design› then Table Style Options to decide which parts get special formatting:

For a table that will be printed, often in black and white, choose a light style with a clear header and soft banding. Avoid very dark cells under black text and styles that color every column. One accent color is enough.

For small touches, use the Borders group on the Table Design tab: Borders adds or removes lines on the selected cells (for example, No Border for a borderless layout table), and Line Style, Line Weight and Pen Color set how new lines look. Shading, in the Table Styles group, fills selected cells. If you remove all borders, turn on Layout› then Table› then View Gridlines to see the cell edges while you work. They don't print.

Convert, total and describe the table

Text to table. Text typed with tabs or commas between items turns into a table with Insert› then Tables› then Table› then Convert Text to Table: choose what separates the columns (Tabs, Commas or another character) and Word counts the columns for you. Table to text goes the other way with Layout› then Data› then Convert to Text, which is handy when you need to paste the roster into an email.

A quick total (optional). Word tables can do simple math. Click in an empty cell below a column of numbers and choose Layout› then Data› then Formula. Word usually suggests =SUM(ABOVE); click OK. The result is a field, so it doesn't recalculate on its own: after changing a number, select the total and press F9. For anything more than a sum, use Excel.

Alt text for tables. Right-click the table, choose Table Properties and open the Alt Text tab. Type a short Title and a Description that says what the table holds, for example Volunteer roster: name, day, subject, phone, start date and hours for 46 tutors, sorted by day and then by name.

Common mistakes

Practice