Word 97/2000: Tables and Styles

• Overview
• Creating a Table
• Adding Text and Moving Around in Tables
• Moving and Copying Cells, Rows, and Columns
• Formatting the Table
• Sorting
• Styles

Overview

This document covers advanced formatting features of Word 97 such as tables, sorting, styles, and templates.

Word 97 vs. 2000: What's Different?

Word 97 and Word 2000 are similar versions of the same program, but have a few important differences.

In this document, information unique to Word 2000 appears in a shaded box.

Creating a Table

Word tables can make it easy to arrange text and numbers in columns. A table is a grid-like structure consisting of a series of boxes called "cells," which are arranged in rows and columns. Each cell can contain text, numbers, and even graphics. Text wraps within a cell, and rows expand to accommodate cell contents. You can edit and move information around within the table, and you can format the columns and rows and even the individual cells. Word's tables also work if you save your document as a Web pages, and can easily be imported by most HTML (Web page) editors.

To create a table from scratch, you can use either the Table menu, the Table button on the Standard toolbar, or the Draw Table tool. You can also convert existing text into a table if tabs, paragraph marks, commas, or another character separates the columns

Creating Tables from the Table Menu:

Click where you want the table to appear in the document. From the Table menu, select Insert Table. Specify the number of rows and columns. You can also specify the column width by typing a number in the Column width box; note that if you select the Auto option, Word creates a table running from the left to the right margin, with equally sized columns. After making your selections, click OK .

Creating a Table with the Insert Table Button

Click where you want the table to appear in the document. From the standard toolbar, click the Insert Table button.

Word 2000: The Insert Table button is on the Tables and Borders toolbar. You can turn on this toolbar by selecting the View menu, Toolbars , and then Tables and Borders .

When you click the Insert Table button, specify the number of columns and rows in your table by dragging your mouse over the drop-down grid that appears. Below the grid, Word shows you the numerical size of the table. When you release the mouse button, Word inserts the table.
 

Drawing a Table

To turn on the Draw Table tool, select Draw from the Table menu, or click the Tables and Borders button on the standard toolbar. The tables and borders toolbar appears , and the mouse pointer becomes a pencil, the Draw Table tool. You can click and drag the pencil to form the table borders and the lines between cells.To turn off the Draw Table tool again, click the Draw Table button on the left side of the toolbar.

Creating a Table from Existing Text

To convert existing text to a table, select the desired text and choose Convert Text to Table from the Table menu. A dialog box opens, asking how many columns you want the table to have and where to separate the columns (at the tabs, paragraph marks, or commas). Make your selections, and click OK . To convert an existing table to text, select the desired table and choose Convert Table to Text from the Table menu.

Tip for Adding Rows to a Table

To add a row to your table, you can click in the last cell and press Tab. Word inserts a new row for you.

Adding Text and Moving Around in Tables

Type text in each cell just as you do in other parts of your document. To move from one cell to the next, press the Tab key. When you get to the end of a row, press Tab to move to the first cell in the next row. (To insert a tab character into a cell, press Ctrl+Tab . ) You can also move to a cell by clicking in it with the mouse, or by using the arrow keys on your keyboard. In addition, you can use the following keyboard shortcuts:
 

To move cursor to ...	Press ...
Next cell	Tab or right-arrow key
Preceding cell	Shift+Tab or left-arrow key
First cell in a row	Alt+Home
Last cell in a row	Alt+End
Top cell in a column	Alt+Page Up
Bottom cell in a column	Alt+Page Down

Selecting Parts of a Table

You can format, move, or otherwise edit the contents of a cell after selecting it. To select a cell, click and drag over its contents. In your selection, you can also choose to include the end-of-cell or end-of-row markers, which you can see by clicking the Show Paragraphs button on the standard toolbar.
 
 

If you select the end-of-cell/row marker, you can then move, format or otherwise edit the cell or row itself, and not just its current contents.
You can select parts of a table by clicking when you see the different table selection bars.
Click to select a cell when see the cell selection bar , which appears, usually as a small black arrow, when you move the arrow pointer to the left side of a cell.
Click to select a row when you see the row selection bar , which appears as a right-pointing arrow when you move the arrow pointer to the left side of a row.
Click to select a column when you see the column selection bar , which appears as a downward pointing arrow when you move the arrow pointer to the top of a column.

Word 2000: to select the entire table, you can click the table's selection handle at the top left corner of the table.

 

The following table lists options for selecting different parts of a table.
 

To Select:	Press these keys:	Or select this option from the Table Menu:
Cell	Click when the cell selection bar appears, or drag over the contents of the cell (including the end-of-cell marker).	Select Cell
Row	Click when the row's selection bar appears, or double-click when a cell's selection bar appears.	Select Row
Column	Click when the column's selection bar appears, or hold down the Alt key and click anywhere in the column.	Select Column
Entire Table	With the Num Lock off, hold down the Alt key and press 5 on the numeric keypad. Word 2000 users: see shaded box above for another option.	Select Table
Block of Rows and Columns	Click in the first cell. Hold down the Shift key and click in the last cell. Or click and drag over the columns and rows.

Moving and Copying Cells, Rows, and Columns

You can easily move and copy cells, rows, and columns the same way you move and copy any other text in your document; simply highlight your selection and then click and drag, or cut and paste. If you highlight the cell marker along with the contents of a cell, then when you insert it into another cell, it replaces that cell's contents. If you do not highlight the cell marker, then the cell's contents are added to what is already in the new cell. When you move a row, if you include the end-of-row marker in your selection, the row is inserted above the row where you drag or paste it. If you do not include the end-of-row marker, the contents of the original row are cut, leaving a blank row, and when you drag and drop or paste the contents in a different row, they replace anything that was there previously.

Formatting the Table

You can use the Format menu and the formatting toolbar to format your text in a table, just as you do text in the rest of your document. For example, select Paragraph from the Format menu or use the ruler to change indentation, horizontal alignment, and spacing within cells and rows. Add borders to your table by selecting Borders and Shading from the Format menu, or by using any of the borders options on the Tables and Borders toolbar. See the handout Word 97/2000: Basic Formatting for details on these formatting options.

The Tables and Borders toolbar provides several additional options for formatting the table. Turn on the toolbar by selecting it from the View Toolbars menu, or by clicking the Table and Borders button on the standard toolbar.

On the toolbar in Word 97, select from the three alignment buttons to align text or graphics at the top, center, or bottom of cells. (As always, you can also use the alignment buttons on the formatting toolbar to align the contents of cells at the left, right, center, or to justify text.)

Word 2000: Click the arrow to the right of the cell alignment button to see other alignment options.

 

The Change Text Direction button changes the orientation of the text within cells.

The Table AutoFormat button brings up a dialog box that allows you to select from several pre-formatted options to add borders and styles to your table. You can also open this dialog box when you first create your table by clicking AutoFormat in the Insert Table dialog box, or by choosing Table AutoFormat from the Table menu.

Changing Column Width and Row Height

With the Mouse:

Note that if you plan to change row height, you need to be in Page Layout or Print Layout view. Move your pointer arrow over the gridline separating a row or column. When the arrow becomes double-headed, click and drag the line to adjust the column width or row height.

Adjusting Columns From the Table Menu:

Select the column that you want to adjust. In Word 97, select Cell Height and Width from the Table menu, and click on the Column tab.

Word 2000: Select the column, and then select Table Properties from the Table menu. You'll make changes on the Column tab in the Table Properties window.

Type in the exact width for the selected column, and specify the space between columns. Use the Previous Column and Next Column buttons to adjust other columns.

Adjusting Rows from the Table Menu:

In Word 97, select the row you want to adjust. Select Cell Height and Width from the Table menu, and click on the Row tab.

Word 2000: Select the row, and select Table Properties from the Table menu. You'll make changes on the Row tab in the Table Properties window.

Use the drop-down menu to select the row height. To fit the row to the size of the contents, select Auto . To specify the minimum size of the row, select At Least and specify a measurement in the At box. To make the row a specific size, select Exactly and specify a measurement in the At box; keep in mind that any text that does not fit in the row also does not print. In Word 97, you can also set the indent from left and the alignment for the row.

Word 2000: To indent, either use the Increase/Decrease Indent buttons on the formatting toolbar, or select the Format menu, and then Paragraph . Make adjustments as necessary on the Indents and Spacing tab. To change the alignment of text in the table, select an option from the Cell Alignment button on the Tables and Borders toolbar.

If necessary, click the Previous Row and Next Row buttons to adjust other rows.

Adjusting Rows and Columns Automatically:

AutoFit automatically adjusts the width of your cells and table to accommodate the contents in the smallest space. To use AutoFit, select the row(s), column(s), or table that you want adjusted. Then, in Word 97, go to the Table menu, select Cell Height and Width , and click on the Column tab. Click the AutoFit button.

Word 2000: Select AutoFit from the Table menu, and then select an option. Note that the AutoFit to Window option adjusts columns as necessary to make the table extend from the left to the right margin.

 

To make a block of rows or columns the same height or width, first select the rows or columns. Then select Distribute Rows Evenly or Distribute Columns Evenly from the Tables menu, or click the buttons on the Tables and Borders toolbar.

When One Page Is Not Enough: Multi-page Tables

In the Row Height and Width dialog box, you can specify whether you want rows to break across pages, or if you want the entire table on the same page. If the table goes on to an additional page or more, you can create a heading row that repeats at the top of the table on each page. Starting with the first row, select the row or rows you want to use as a table heading. Then, in Word 97, select Headings from the Table menu so that a check appears beside it.

Word 2000: Select the row or rows, and then from the Table menu, select Heading Rows Repeat .

Word will treat the highlighted row(s) of your table as the heading. Note that the heading feature does not work when you insert the page break manually.

Splitting a Table in Two

You can manually split one table into two tables by placing your cursor in the row following where you want the split to occur, and selecting Split Table from the Table menu.

Merging and Splitting Cells

Word provides several options for dividing cells and joining adjacent cells together.

To split a cell:

1. Select the cell or cells you want to split.

Click the Split Cells button on the toolbar, or select Split Cells from the Table menu.
2. In the Split Cell dialog box, type the number of columns or rows you want the cell(s) divided into.
3. If you have multiple cells selected, check or uncheck the box indicating whether you want the cells merged before they are split.
4. Click OK .

To merge cells:

1. Select the cells you want to merge.
2. Click the Merge Cells button on the toolbar, or select Merge Cells from the Table menu.

Splitting and Merging with the Draw Table Tools:

• To split a cell, click the Draw Table button on the Tables and Borders toolbar, and click and drag the pencil where you want the split to occur, just as you do when creating the table. Click the button again to turn off the drawing tool.
• To merge cells, click the Eraser button, and click and drag the eraser over the gridlines between the cells. Click the Eraser button again to turn off the eraser tool.

Deleting Cells, Rows, or Columns

1. In Word 97, select the cells, rows, or columns you want to delete, or select the entire table.

Word 2000: Simply click in a table cell. (If you plan to delete a row or column, make sure the cell is in that row or column.)

2. From the Table menu, select Delete and then the option you want: cell, rows, columns, or the table.
3. If you are deleting a cell, a dialog box opens asking where to shift the existing cells. Select right or down, or choose to delete an entire column or row. Then click OK.

Inserting Cells, Rows, and Columns

Word 97

1. Select the cell, row, or column to the right or below the spot where you want to make the insertion, being sure to include the end-of-cell or row marker.
2. Select Insert from the Table menu, and then the option you want: cells, rows, or columns; to create a table within a table, select Table.


Another method is to click the insert cell/row/column button on the standard toolbar (the button changes depending upon what you selected.)

3. If you are inserting or deleting cells, a dialog box asks where to shift the existing cells. Select right or down, or choose to insert an entire column (to the left) or row (above). Then click OK .

 

Word 2000 If you are inserting a row or column , simply click in a cell next to the spot where you want to make the insertion. If you are instead inserting a cell , click in the cell to the right or below the spot where you want to make the insertion. Select either the arrow next to the Insert Table button on the Tables and Borders toolbar, or select Insert from the Table menu. Select an option from the list that appears; you'll be able to specify where you want the row or column to appear. If you insert a cell, a dialog box appears in which you can specify whether the new cell is to appear to the right or below the cell in which the cursor now appears, or change your mind and choose to insert an entire row (above) or column (to the left).

Sorting

You can sort information in Word whether your "data" is in a table or just in paragraphs. The sort order is determined beginning with the first character of each sort item--e.g., the first letter of the author's last name in a bibliographic entry. Numerals and punctuation marks come before alphabetical characters. Sorting requires a good deal of a computer's memory, so you may need to sort a very long list in different batches.

Sorting Text in Tables

When sorting information in tables, Word keeps the information in each row together. You can choose a column on which to base your sort, and also sort by multiple criteria. For example, you might sort a list of addresses first by city and then by name. Follow these steps to complete the sort:

1. Save your document.
2. In Word 97, select the rows or table you wish to sort.

Word 2000: simply click in a cell of the table.

3. Go to the Table menu and choose Sort .
4. If your table has a header row, the Header row option should be selected already, and each heading should also be listed in the Sort By drop-down menu. Note that the header row will not be included in the sort.
5. Use the Sort by drop-down menu to select the column by which you want to sort.
6. To sort by an additional criterion, select an option from the list under Then by .
7. Word can sort three data types: text (alphabetical sort), date, or number. For each sort criterion, be sure the data Type is correct.
8. To begin the sort, click OK .

Sorting Tables Using the Tables and Borders toolbar

Note: This sorting method does not sort the first row of a table. The first row is treated as a header row.

1. Save your document.
2. Place your cursor in the column on which you want to base the sort.

Click the Ascending Order or the Descending Order button on the Tables and Borders toolbar.
3. Save your document again.

Sorting Text in Paragraphs

When sorting text that is not in a table, Word interprets paragraph marks (hard breaks) as the separator between items or "records," in a list. To sort a list of names, numbers, bibliography entries, numbered paragraphs, or other text, follow these steps

1. Save your document.
2. Highlight the text you wish to sort. If you do not select any text, Word sorts all of the paragraphs in the document.
3. Go to the Table menu and choose Sort .
4. In the Sort dialog box, select Ascending or Descending order. In the Type box, define the sort for text, dates, or numbers.
5. Click OK .
6. Save your document again.

Styles

"Style" is the combination of formatting attributes defined for a given character or paragraph. A "style" has several different types of formatting built into it, and using styles can help you to format your document quickly and consistently. For example, this document has one paragraph format for the main headings, another paragraph format for the subheadings, and another for the body text. The defined styles "heading," "subheading," and "body" were applied to the appropriate paragraphs to format them. When you change a style's attributes, every paragraph with that style changes automatically, which can save you a lot of time when you reformat long documents.

 Styles are stored in a "template," which is a preset collection of page, paragraph, and character formatting styles attached to your document. The Normal template, Word's default, has several styles built in, which you can use to format your document or alter to fit your document's design. You can also create your own styles.
To see what styles are in use in different sections of your document, switch to Normal view, go to the Tools menu, and select Options . Click the View tab. Change the Style Area Width to . 7" . You can now see the style names on the left side of the Word window.

Applying Styles

 

The style box on the far left of the Formatting toolbar lists the styles immediately available to your document. To apply a style, first select the text or paragraph that you want formatted. Then select the appropriate style from the style drop-down menu.

 

If the style you want does not appear in the style drop-down menu, select Style from the Format menu to see a list of all styles. The List drop-down menu controls which styles display: "Styles in Use" are styles which appear in the current document; "User-Defined Styles" are styles created by the user; and the "All Styles" option shows all styles available in Word, both built-in and user-defined. To apply a style, select it from the Styles list, and click Apply .

Character Styles

Character formatting is typically applied to a few words or characters, and includes things like font, font size, underlining, bold, italic, and color. In the style box on the formatting toolbar, the symbol " a " indicates a character style.
Tip: If you have trouble switching from a special character style to your normal character style, select Default Paragraph Font from the list of styles.

Paragraph Styles

Paragraph styles can include character formatting but also include things like indentation and line spacing for a paragraph. In the style box on the formatting toolbar, the paragraph symbol ( ¶ ) indicates a paragraph style. To apply a paragraph style, you can either select a block of text or simply click in the paragraph; then choose a paragraph style. The style applies to the entire paragraph, not just to the selected characters.

Creating Styles

Using the formatting toolbar is the fastest and easiest way to create paragraph styles, but the styles dialog box provides more options. 

Creating a Style by Example Using the Formatting Toolbar

1. Format the selected paragraph to look as it should.

 
2. Click in the Styles box on the formatting toolbar to highlight the style type. 
3. Type the name of the new style and press Enter. The new style will now appear in the Styles menu.

Creating a Style Using the New Style Dialog Box

 

From the Format menu, select Style. Select New .In the Name box, type a name for the style. In the Style type box, use the drop-down menu to select character or paragraph style. Use the Based on box to specify a "parent" style for the new style. Any changes made to a parent style are passed on to the new style. For example, if the chapter heading style is based on Normal, then when we change the font for Normal from Times to Palatino, then the font for chapter heading will also change to Palatino. Creating the parent relations among styles can be both useful and dangerous, since there may be times that you want to change the font for Normal but not for the other styles. If you want to define a style so that it is not based on another style, select (no style) from the Based on drop-down menu (at the top of the list). Click the Format button.

Select the element you want to modify (Font, for example). Make any changes in the window that opens, and click OK . As needed, repeat steps 6-8 to modify additional style attributes. Optional : specify a different style for paragraphs that follow the new style. For example, you can specify that your new "heading" paragraph style is always followed by "body text. " To do this, under Style for following paragraph , either select a style from the drop-down menu or type the style name. When you type a paragraph in the new style and press Enter, the next paragraph has the style you specify here. Make any other changes in the New Style dialog box (as discussed below), and click OK . To apply the style to the paragraph in which the cursor appeared when you started creating the style, click Apply . To close the window instead without applying the style, click Close.

Modifying Styles

Modifying an existing style is much the same as creating a new style using the Format menu. Select Style from the Format menu, select the style that you want to edit, and click Modify . Make any changes to the style's formatting attributes, as you did when creating a new style (see above). You can rename the style by typing the new name in the Name box.

Creating Keyboard Shortcuts for your Styles

In the Modify Style dialog box (see "Modifying Styles," above), click the Shortcut Key button. Click in the Press New Shortcut Key box, and press the combination of keys that you would like to use as a keyboard shortcut, (such as the Ctrl key together with a letter or number). If a command is already assigned to that shortcut, it appears below the box under "Currently Assigned To," and you can decide if you want to override that setup. Once you have found a keyboard shortcut, click Assign . Now to apply the style when you are editing your document, all you have to do is press keyboard shortcut. You can also create and add style buttons to your toolbars. For information about customizing toolbars, see the document Word 97/2000: Increasing Efficiency.

Making Your Styles Available to Other Documents

If you want to use the new style in other documents that use the current template, select Add to Template in the New Style or Modify Style dialog box. You can also create a new template with just the current document's styles in it. To do this, go to the File menu, and click Save As . In the Save Files as Type drop-down menu, select Document Template (.dot). Then name the template and choose Save . All future documents with that template type will have access to those same styles.

Using Templates

When you open a new document, Word attaches the Normal template to it by default. To use a different template, open a new document by selecting New from the File menu, and select the template you want before clicking OK .

You can also attach a template to an existing document. To do this, open the document. Then select Templates and Add-Ins from the Tools menu. Click the Attach button. In the Attach Template dialog box, select the template you want, and then click Open . Check the box marked automatically update document styles . Then click OK . Word automatically formats the document using the new template.