In Publisher, using text boxes to lay out your content isn't always the best choice.
For some publications, you might want to use tables instead, which will let you organize
your content in rows and columns, rather than blocks of text.
To insert a table, all you have to do is go to Insert, Table, then move your mouse over
the grid for the number of columns and rows you want. The table I need is going to be
pretty big - three columns by seven rows. Now click, and you can start entering your data.
But first, why don't we reposition the table so it fits better on the page? Just place
your cursor on the edge, then drag and drop it to the new location. To adjust the size,
use the sizing handles on the sides or the corners.
Now we can zoom in for a closer look… and start entering some of our text.
You can click any cell to select it… or use the arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate.
Right now, I'm using the down arrow to make my way down this column.
Adding more columns or rows to a table is easy. I'd like to try inserting one right
below Blueberry, so I'm going to right-click and go to Insert. My options include inserting
a column to the left, or right of where my cursor is, or a row above, or below. If we
click Below, a row appears under Blueberry, where my cursor was just a minute ago.
Alternatively, if you want to delete a row
or column, all you have to do is select one of your cells, right-click and then Delete it.
Let's fast forward to the finished table, with all of the pricing in place. I've added
some formatting to the text, and adjusted the cells by clicking and dragging these dotted
lines. Now that the data's complete, I thought we'd take a look at the tools that appear
any time you have your table selected, starting with the Design tab.
Here, you can format your table by choosing a table style. As you can see from the preview,
these are all designed to match your color scheme. For the full list, click the drop-down
arrow. I'm looking for something with a little more color.
You may have noticed that this table style has a border around each row, but not in between
the cells. To add or change the border anywhere on your table, just make sure it's selected,
then go to the Borders group. You can choose a line weight, and a color using these two
commands. Now open the Borders drop-down menu, and choose where you want the border to go.
I want mine on the Inside or in between these cells. There we go!
You can make further adjustments to things like the size and layout of your table by
going to the Layout tab. The first thing I'd like to do is adjust the cell margins, which,
by default, are very thin. To change that, click the Cell Margins command, and make your
choice from the menu.
Next I'm going to combine these two cells into one cell by first selecting them, then
clicking the Merge Cells command.
The last thing I'd like to do is select this whole column and change the text alignment
using these icons in the Alignment group. I think centered looks the best.
As you can see, the Layout tab gives you lots options for customizing your table, so it
works for you, and the information you want to display.