Need to adjust the width of a bunch of table columns according to what is in the columns? Word provides a tool to do this, called AutoFit. Here are a couple of ways you can shorten the table-formatting time you need to spend. When you get a document from another person, you can spend a lot of time formatting their tables, as well. Want to change the borders that Word adds to your tables? You have complete control over the way your borders appear, using the tools described in this tip.įormatting tables can be very time consuming.
#Microsoft word table of contents formatting align how to
Here's how to align such numbers properly within the table. This can be a challenge in some situations, such as if your negative numbers use parentheses around them. When you use a table to present numeric information, you may want to have Word align the numbers in the table. Need to align numbers around their decimal point within a table? It's easy to do by using the three simple steps provided in this tip.Īligning Positive and Negative Whole Numbers in a Column How you go about such adjustments depends on the version of Word you are using. When working with tables, you can adjust the height of individual rows. This tip explains how to pull up and use the proper controls so you can adjust the width of each column in the table. If you want to resize the width of your table columns, you can do it using a mouse, but you can get more precise widths by using the ribbon controls. Want to add a border diagonally, through the middle of a table cell? It's easy if you follow the formatting steps presented in this tip. It all depends on a single setting in the Borders and Shading dialog box, as described here. I could have altered the built-in Block Text Style, but that Style appears to have a specific use I didn't want to mess with.Word allows you to quickly add borders to cells in a table, but you may not know that you can also add borders to the text within the cells. It's a paragraph-level Style that indents the text 0.5" on the left and right, puts 12 points of space between paragraphs, and continues in the same Style when I press Enter (so that I can continue a multi-paragraph case quote without interruption). Styles you create based on specific needs you have - For example, I have a Style I created specifically for case law quotes called Block Quotes.You can add more Styles to that area if you choose. They're usually things like Title, Subtitle, Emphasis, etc. Recommended Styles in the Quick Styles area - By default, 20 or so Styles (depending on templates, etc.) are easily available on the Home tab.List Styles - If you're creating hierarchical lists (numbers or bullets) in your documents, those are going to be based on List Styles, either built-in or ones you've created.They're hierarchical, meaning that Heading 1 is a level above Heading 2, etc., in the document outline. Heading Styles - If you're using headings and want both structure ( e.g., to use an automated Table of Contents or the Navigation Pane) and formatting, you've got nine levels of headings you can choose from.Normal - This is the default text Style unless you consciously change it.Ninety percent (or more) of the time, you're going to be using one of the following Styles or groups of Styles: