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Think of a table as a mini-spreadsheet within your Word document. It consists of rows and columns, with cells at the intersections of each row and column. Each cell can contain text or graphics, and you can format the table in any way you wish. Each cell can contain one or more paragraphs of text, and text automatically wraps within its cell. Whenever text wraps to a new line, Word automatically increases the height of the row, if necessary, to accommodate the new line of text.
Creating a table using the Insert Table button
The Insert Table button, which resides on the Standard toolbar, is the fastest way to create a simple table. When you click this button, a drop-down grid appears, as shown in Figure 1. Drag the mouse down and across the grid until the correct number of columns and rows are selected and release the button to create the table at the insertion point. (Naturally, place your insertion point where you want the table inserted first.)
Figure 1: Using the Insert Table button.
Using the Insert Table menu command
If you prefer the dialog-box approach to creating a table, use Table --> Insert Table. The advantages of using this command over the Insert Table button are that you can pick an arbitrary number of rows and columns and you can access the Table AutoFormat features.
Follow these steps to create a formatted table using the Table --> Insert Table command:
1. Position the insertion point where you want to insert the new table.
2. Choose Table --> Insert Table.
The Insert Table dialog box appears.
3. Adjust the number of rows and columns you want to create in the Number of Columns and Number of Rows fields.
4. If you want to apply an AutoFormat to the table, click the AutoFormat button.
The Table AutoFormat dialog box comes up, which lets you choose from more than a few predefined table formats. Pick the format you want to apply and click OK to return to the Insert Table dialog box.
5. Click OK to insert the table.
Drawing a table
The Draw Table command lets you draw complicated tables onscreen using a simple set of drawing tools. This command is ideal for creating tables that are not a simple grid of rows and columns, but rather a complex conglomeration in which some cells span more than one row and others span more than one column.
Here's the procedure for creating a table using the Draw Table tool:
1. Choose Table --> Draw Table or click the Tables and Borders button on the Standard toolbar.
Word goes into Print Layout View (if you aren't already there) and brings up the Tables and Borders toolbar.
2. Draw the overall shape of the table by dragging the mouse to create a rectangular boundary for the table.
When you release the mouse button, a table with a single cell is created.
3. Carve the table up into smaller cells.
For example, to split the table into two rows, point the mouse somewhere along the left edge of the table, and then press the mouse button and drag a line across the table to the right edge. When you release the mouse, the table splits into two rows.
 | You can continue to carve up the table into smaller and smaller cells. For each slice, point the mouse at one edge of where you want the new cell to begin and drag the mouse to the other edge. |
4. If you want to change the line size or style drawn for a particular segment, use the Line Style and Line Weight drop-down controls on the Tables and Borders toolbar.
You can change the style of a line you've already drawn by tracing over the line with a new style.
5. If you make a mistake while drawing the table cells, click the Erase button (the one that looks like an eraser) button and erase the mistaken line segment.
Click the Draw Table button if you want to draw additional segments after using the Erase tool.
6. When you're done, click the Tables and Borders button again to dismiss the Tables and Borders toolbar.
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