4.2 Table Formatting

Table Formatting

Modifying Column Width and Row Height

To ensure data is readable and professional, you must know how to adjust column widths and row heights. Word processors provide three primary methods for these adjustments:

1. Dragging Borders (Manual Adjustment):

   • To adjust a column width, hover your mouse cursor over the vertical border of the column. The cursor will change into a double vertical line with left and right arrows (the column resize pointer). Click and drag left or right to change the width.
   • To adjust a row height, hover over the horizontal border of the row. The cursor will change into a double horizontal line with up and down arrows. Click and drag up or down.
   • Hold down the Alt key while dragging to display precise measurements on the ruler.

2. Precise Numeric Entry: For official or highly structured documents, manual dragging is often insufficient.

   • Click inside the cell, row, or column you wish to adjust.
   • Go to the Table Tools Layout tab.
   • In the Cell Size group, enter exact numerical measurements in the Height and Width spinners.
   • Alternatively, right-click the table, select Table Properties..., and navigate to the Row or Column tabs to input exact dimensions.

3. Auto-Fitting Controls: Auto-fit automatically adjusts column widths based on the contents or page constraints:

   • AutoFit Contents: Adjusts the column width so that it is just wide enough to fit the longest line of text or largest object in that column.
   • AutoFit Window: Automatically stretches the entire table across the page to match the current margins of the document.
   • Fixed Column Width: Locks the column widths. Text will wrap onto new lines rather than expanding the column width.

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Paragraph Alignment within Cells

Formatting text inside a table cell involves both horizontal and vertical alignment. This creates a two-dimensional grid of alignment choices.

Horizontal Alignment

This determines how text sits relative to the left and right margins of the cell. It can be accessed on the Home tab under the Paragraph group:

• Align Left: Aligns text with the left cell border (default for text).
• Center: Centers text between the left and right borders of the cell (common for column headers).
• Align Right: Aligns text with the right border (standard for financial or numeric data to align decimal points).
• Justify: Spreads text evenly between left and right borders, adjusting space between words.

Vertical Alignment

This determines how text sits relative to the top and bottom margins of the cell. It can be accessed on the Table Tools Layout tab in the Alignment group:

• Align Top: Positions the text at the very top of the cell.
• Center Vertically: Centers the text equidistant from the top and bottom cell margins.
• Align Bottom: Positions the text at the absolute bottom of the cell.

Combined Alignment Matrix

Word processors combine these horizontal and vertical options into nine alignment quadrants on the Layout tab:

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Modifying Table Borders and Shading

Borders and shading define the visual layout of your table, helping readers scan information quickly.

Borders (Style, Color, and Width)

By default, word processors insert tables with thin, solid black gridlines. You can change these borders via the Table Tools Design tab:

• Border Style: Choose from solid lines, dashed lines, double lines, or dotted lines.
• Border Width (Weight): Measured in points (pt), ranging from thin (1/4 pt) to thick (6 pt).
• Border Color: Apply a customized theme color to match the document's design.
• Applying Borders: Use the Borders dropdown menu (Design tab) to apply your chosen style, width, and color to specific areas (e.g., Bottom Border, All Borders, Outside Borders, or No Border). The Border Painter tool allows you to paint these settings directly onto individual lines by clicking and dragging.

Cell Shading (Background Fill)

Shading adds a background color behind the text in selected cells.

• Select the cells you wish to shade.
• Go to the Table Tools Design tab.
• Click the Shading dropdown arrow.
• Select a color from the palette, or choose More Colors... for a custom HSL (Hue, Saturation, Lightness) or RGB (Red, Green, Blue) value.
• To remove shading, select No Color.

Exam Tip: When applying dark shading colors to cells, always format the text inside those cells with a light color (such as white) to maintain high contrast and ensure readability.

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Table Properties

The Table Properties dialog box is the central hub for configuring a table's behavior in relation to the document. You can open it by right-clicking anywhere in the table and selecting Table Properties....

Key settings available here include:

• Table Alignment: Aligns the entire table relative to the page margins (Left, Center, or Right).
• Text Wrapping: Determines how document body text behaves around the table:
  • None: Body text stays above and below the table.
  • Around: Body text flows around the left and right sides of the table.
• Repeat Header Rows: Found under the Row tab. If a table spans multiple pages, checking this ensures the top row (headers) automatically repeats at the top of each new page.
• Allow Row to Break Across Pages: Checking this allows a single row of text to split across a page break. Unchecking it forces the entire row to move to the next page if it doesn't fit on the current page.