depending on what you're working on
positioning your text using commas
spaces or tabs can be time-consuming and
limiting in terms of what you can do
this schedule for example isn't very
easy to read
that's where tables come in handy for
organizing your text in rows and columns
instead of paragraphs to insert a new
blank table all you have to do is go to
insert table then move your mouse over
the squares for the number of columns
and rows you want the table I need for
my schedule is going to be pretty big
seven columns and 5 rows now click and
the table appears in your document but I
don't have to start from scratch in this
case I can convert the text I already
have into a table in just a couple steps
start by selecting your text then go to
insert table now convert text to table
and choose one of the options here for
separating your text this is how word
knows what to put in each column my text
isn't separated by paragraphs commas or
other characters but by tabs finally
click OK and everything appears in a
table adding more columns or rows to a
table is easy I'd like to try inserting
a row below the one that starts with
Christine so I'm going to place my
cursor here then 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 I click below a row appears under
Christine where my cursor was
alternatively if you want to delete a
row or column all you have to do is
select it right click then delete cells
I've changed my mind about this row so
I'm going to go ahead and delete the
entire thing so this is looking good
much easier to read I think I'm ready to
add some formatting to improve the look
overall notice the design tab and the
Layout tab appear on the ribbon whenever
you have your cursor in your table here
under design are your
table Styles which you can mouse over
for a preview for the full list just
click the drop-down arrow I'm looking
for something colorful once you've
chosen a style you can customize the way
it's laid out using the table style
options here for example you can decide
whether or not to display special
formatting for the first column or the
header row these will all have a
different effect depending on the table
style you're using so you might need to
experiment to get the look you want you
may have noticed that this table has a
border around the outside and in between
the cells to add or change the border
anywhere on your table just select the
cells then go to draw borders you can
select a line style line weight and
color for your border now go to the
borders drop-down menu and choose where
you want the border to go I want mine
around the outside of these cells there
we go you can make further modifications
to things like the size and layout of
your table by going to the Layout tab
again place your cursor anywhere in your
table now go to layout the first thing
I'd like to do is make the table a
little bigger in fact I can drag the
bottom border to the size I want or
adjust the measurements here then click
distribute rows to make the rows even
again now I'm going to select the entire
table to change the text alignment using
these icons in the alignment group
I think centered looks the best last I'd
like to combine these three cells into
one by selecting them and then clicking
merge cells you can even play with the
direction of the text by clicking text
direction but I think I prefer it the
way it is as you can see the Layout tab
gives you many options for customizing
your table so it works for you and the
information you want to display
like what you just saw rate it at a
comment subscribe to our Channel the
freedom to learn
what you want when you want
absolutely free
GCF learn free.org