Creating & Using Tables in Microsoft Word 2000 Created by and for: Internet and Technology Training Services Office of Information Technology
What is a Table? A table is a structure that is divided into columns and rows, separated by gridlines, that is used to present certain types of information, such as numeric data, instead of a paragraph. Table... a collection of data formatted in rows and columns Gridlines... the on-screen guidelines that represent the borders of the columns and rows of the table Column... the vertical division of a table Row... the horizontal division of a table Cell... the intersection of a column and a row There are two ways of putting a table into your document: drawing and insertion. 1. Drawing a Table A. In the Standard Toolbar, click on the Tables and Borders Icon to bring up the Tables and Borders toolbar at the right. B. Click on the first tool to draw a table. C. Drag the outline of the table in your document. Then using the same Pencil, draw in the columns and rows you want your table to have. D. Use the Eraser tool to drag over and eliminate lines you don t want. E. Click outside the table, then click inside a cell to enter information. 2. Entering data into a table Use the Table Drawing tool to draw a table similar to the one shown at right. Make it about 4 inches wide and 4 inches high. A. To move from cell to cell, use the Tab key. B. To change the direction of the text, click on the several times to obtain the desired reading. C. To align the information horizontally in a cell, use the regular icons. D. To align the text vertically in the cell, use the alignment buttons on the Tables and Borders toolbar. Office of Information Technology, Miami-Dade County Public Schools ljz0101 Page 3
3. Performing calculations in a table A. You can enter formulas into a table that will calculate values for you and put the results in another cell. To do this, the formula must have a frame of reference (much like a spreadsheet). Traditionally the columns are referred to first and are given letters of the alphabet; the rows are referred to by numbers. For example, the cell that contains the word Monday would be referred to as cell B3. (See the figure at right) Formula: is a table entry that performs a specific operation such as adding, dividing, etc. Active cell: is the cell that contains the insertion point (where the computer is paying attention). Function: is a pre-defined formula that performs a special calculation, such as the SUM function that totals a specified range of cells. E.g. the total of a column of figures. B. Syntax for formulas: all formulas must begin with an equal sign (=). They also use the standard mathematical operators as listed at the right. C. Entering a formula into a cell 1. Click in the cell that is to contain the results of the formula. E.g. E3 2. From the Table menu, select Formula... to bring up the Formula window (seen at right). 3. Delete the formula that comes up by default and type in the formula you want. In this case, take the value in cell C3 and multiply it by the value in cell D3 to get the amount earned for that day.(=c3*d3) 4. Click on the Number Format: drop-down arrow and choose the format for currency. 5. Click OK and the results of the formula will appear in cell E3 where the insertion point is (active cell). 6. Enter a similar formula into all the cells in column E for the rest of the days of the week. 7. To total the amount due, you need to add up all the cells in column E and put the result in the last cell (E10). 8. Click in the last cell, select Formula... from the Table menu, and take the default function. Dont forget to change the Number Format. Page 4 Internet and Technology Training Services
4. Changing column widths and row heights A. Click and Drag: You can change the column width by placing the cursor directly over the line you wich to move. When it changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and hold and drag the line to a new position. Formatting Tables B. Cell Height and Width: 1. Move the cursor over the top of the first cloumn until it turns into an arrow. Click to select the entire column. 2. From the Table menu, select Table Properties and click on the Column Tab.. 3. Use the arrows or type in the desired width of the column. Click OK. 4. Click anywhere in the top row. 5. From the Table menu, choose Select Row. From the Table menu select Table Properties and choose the Row tab.. 6. In the Row 1: drop-down box, choose At least, and then set the desired height. 7. Click on the Next Row button and set the height for that row, etc. Office of Information Technology, Miami-Dade County Public Schools ljz0101 Page 5
5. Selecting cells A. Columns: Hover over the column until the little black arrow appears, then click. This action selects the entire column. B. Rows: Hover to the left of the row just outside the border of the table. When the I-bar cursor turns to a right-pointing arrow, click the mouse. This action selects the entire row. C. One Cell: Hover just inside the left edge of the cell. The Cursor will turn into a right-facing arrow. When it does, click the mouse and the cell will highlight. 6. Formatting Text in Tables. A. Style: Once you have the cells selected, you can make them bold, or italic, etc. as you wish. If you use the Font window under the Format menu, you can also use ALL CAPS, SMALL CAPS, strikethrough, and a number of other formats. B. Size: Once you select cells, you can change the font size by using the drop-down list on the Formatting Toolbar. C. Line Spacing: Once you select cells, you can change the line spacing by choosing Paragraph from the Format menu. You can also add space before and after the paragraph so that the text moves away from the borders of the cell. D. Tabs: Yes, you can use tabs within a cell. Simply click in the cell and then click on the ruler line where you want the tab to occur. (Make sure you choose the tab type first...at the left end of the ruler line). NOTE: since using the tab key is how you move to the next cell, you must hold the Ctrl key down to use the Tab key within a cell. NOTE: If you select the decimal tab, Word will automatically align any number in that cell to this tab setting. E. Horizontal Alignment: To align the text horizontally, use the regular alignment keys on the Formatting Toolbar. F. Vertical Alignment: To align the text vertically, use the buttons on the Tables and Borders Toolbar. Page 6 Internet and Technology Training Services
7. Using Borders and Shading with Tables By default, all table cells have ½-point-thick border lines. You can change them or eliminate them or change the style of them using the Tables and Borders Toolbar. A. Changing the borders: 1. Highlight the cell or cells you wish to change. 2. To specify a border line style and point size, click on the to the right of in the Tables and Borders toolbar. 3. Click on the to the right of to display the Borders palette. This palette contains all 10 options for borders. It also tears off. Simply grab the gray bar at the top; it will turn blue; then drag it to a new location on the screen and let go. 4. You can change the weight of the border line by clicking the to the right of the and choosing from the drop-down list. You can they apply that weight to the cell by clicking on the appropriate Borders selection again. B. Changing/adding Shading : 1. Select the cell(s) you want. 2. Click on the arrow of the icon to display the Shading Color choices. (See far right.) 3. The selected cell(s) will take on the shading/color you have chosen. (See example at right.) 8. Table AutoFormat You can use any of Microsoft s 40 preset formats for your table. From the Table menu choose AutoFormat... to bring up the window at right. 1. Bring up AutoFormat... 2. Choose the Formats and select from the checkboxed items.the Preview will show you what your table will look like. 3. Click OK. Office of Information Technology, Miami-Dade County Public Schools ljz0101 Page 7
9. Inserting a Table You can insert a table into your document that will stretch from one margin to the other by clicking on the Insert Table button on the Standard Toolbar, dragging to the size table you want, and letting go of the mouse button. A. The height of the cells will depend on the font size you have selected. B. The width or the cells will be equal and spread evenly from margin to margin. C. All of the other tools for changing the width, height, column size, row size, cell splitting, cell merging, borders, shading, etc. treated earlier in this publication apply to these inserted tables as well. 10. Uses of tables Tables help us organize and clarify bundles of information that would not be clear if we put them in paragraph form. 1. Lists 6. Distance charts 2. Financial data e.g. mortgage rates 7. Basis of forms 3. Comparisons e.g performance scores 8. Seating charts/layouts 4. Rates e.g. bus schedules 9. Got any ideas??? 5. Student grades 11. Transforming Text to Tables and Tables to Text Text to Tables 1. Type the text separated by tabs (making sure you have the same number of tabs in each line. 2. Highlight the text. 3. Pull down the Tables menu to Convert Text to Table. The computer will ask you the number of columns and rows and how the text is delimited. Choose TABS. 4. Click OK and your new table will appear. Tables to Text 1. Select the entire table 2. Pull down the Tables menu to Convert Table to Text. 3. The computer will ask how you want the text separated. Make your selection. 4. Click OK, and the text will appear. 12. Sorting 1. Select the entire table 2. Pull down the Tables menu to Sort. 3. Tell the computer whether the table has a Header Row. 4. Make the appropriate selections and click OK. Page 8 Internet and Technology Training Services
13. Repeating Headings When your table extends more than one page, you will need to have the headings repeat on the second page. E.g. when doing a job description or a yearly planning document. To make the headings repeat: 1. Select the rows you consider the heading rows. (They must be together.) 2. Pull down the Table menu to Heading rows repeat. Alternative: You can make the heading row(s) repeat by checking the box under the Options section on the Row tab of the Table Properties dialog. 14. Controlling the flow of text 1. The Widow and Orphan Control and Keep Lines Together commands have no effect in tables. 2. The Table Properties dialog has a box you can check under the Options section of the Row tab. However, if you check Allow row to break across pages you can get some undesirable effects since the row can break anywhere and not necessarily after paragraphs. 3. The Keep with next command works, but only between rows. It is best applied to the header rows and one or two following rows. 4. The Page break before command works quite well. It is used to get the page break you want and the repeated heading row(s). NOTE: if you use the ordinary page break, it will split the table. 15. Merging cells To merge cells either horizontally or vertically, select the cells and then choose Merge Cells from the Table menu. You cannot create L-shaped cells. Merging cells makes a table more complex and more easily corrupted. Use it only when absolutely necessary. 16. Wrapping text around a table 1. In Word 2000+, you can wrap text around a table by setting the Text Wrapping to Around in the Table Properties dialog. Word does this by putting the table into a frame. The frame is not visible in Word 2000, but it is visible in Word 97. 2. This wrapping feature also means that you can have two independent tables aligned next to each other on the page even in the Normal view. 3. In word 2000, text-wrapped tables cannot span multiple pages. 4. In Word 2002, text-wrapped tables can span multiple pages, but this is not a good idea. 17. Additional Help For even more advanced help with tables, see Microsoft s MVP pages on the web. Microsoft has published articles by its Most Valuable Professionals. See the articles on Tables contributed by Suzanne S. Barnhill and Dave Rado at http://www.mvps.org/word/faqs/tblsfldsfms/ TableBasicsContent.htm for more information. Office of Information Technology, Miami-Dade County Public Schools ljz0101 Page 9
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