Use 'Table in MS Word' effectively

Software tips -> Use 'Table in MS Word' effectively

Those who MS Word are sure to use the 'Tables' in their documents. But when using these tables in MS Word, we usually come across many problems. In this tutorial we will see these common issues and problems faced while using tables in MS Word and how to use Tables effectively. To create a Table in MS Word: In Word 97 select 'Table->Insert Table'. In Word 2000 /2002 select 'Table->Insert->Table' or use the 'Insert Table' button in the Tool bar. You can also draw a table yourself. Choose 'Table -> draw Table' option from the menu. The cursor will now turn into a pencil shape. You can use this pencil cursor to draw the table. If you make a mistake while drawing you can use the 'Eraser' tool to erase. Once you have finished drawing the table press the 'Escape' key to bring the arrow cursor back. There is another method of creating a table. Just copy the lines below and paste it into your word document and press enter. +– – – – – – – – – +– – – – – – – –+– – – – – – – – – –+– – – – – –+ You will get one row with four columns. So you can use the '+' sign wherever a column starts or ends. To bring the Table lower from the top of the document: When you create a new document and then insert the table, you will realise that you have to type some text above the table (at the top of the document) but you will find it difficult to bring the table below. Just bring the cursor to the first cell in the table (Top left corner cell) and press 'Enter' key. Now the table will automatically move down to the next line. To show the Headings of a Table on all pages. If you create a table that is very long and expands to more than one page, the headings of the table is shown only on the first page. The consecutive pages will not show the heading of the table. If you can show the table headings on all pages it will be nicer. To show the headings on all pages, In Word 97 -> Select the row or rows that are the headings of the table and then choose 'Table->Headings' option from the menu. In Word 2000/2002 -> Select the row or rows that are the headings of the table and then select 'Table-Table Properties' from the menu. In the new dialog box, select the 'Row' tab and then select 'Repeat as header row at top of each page' and click 'OK'. In Word 2000 -> For Word 2000 users there is another method to achieve the same. Select the row or rows that are the headings of the table and then select 'Table->Heading Rows Repeat'. To show text vertically Generally the text inside the cells are shown horizontally. If you want the text to appear vertically then select that cell and select 'Text Direction' command choose the degree. To give caption to the tables on top or bottom If you have many tables in your document then instead of manually typing 'Table 1', 'Table 2' as captions of these tables you can automate this process and instruct Word to insert captions. You may wonder whether there is any use of doing this. Definitely there is advantage. If you delete a table, or insert a new table then the table numbers will be automatically adjusted. To make text appear around the table: At times you may want to bring the table in the center of text. To see text, on top,bottom,left and right side of the table will sure appear attractive. This is possible in Word 2000 or later but not available in Word 97. From the drawing tool bar click the text box and draw a square in the center of the text where you want the table to be inserted. Now insert the table inside the square. Then right click on the text box and select 'Format Text Box' option. In the 'Colours and Lines' tab click the 'Line' dropdown box and select 'No Line' from the list. Now select 'Layout' tab and in the 'Wrapping style' section select 'Square' or 'Tight' then click on 'OK'.