Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Creating Tables with Specific Column Widths.

Creating Tables with Specific Column Widths

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 16, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365

Word allows you to easily create tables, but getting your column widths "just so" can be challenging, at times. For instance, what if you want a twelve-column table with the first two columns a certain width, and the rest of the columns sharing the remaining horizontal space? Here's an easy way to get the desired result:

Create a one-row, three-column table. This one-row table should fill the whole width of your document, from margin to margin.
Use the mouse to adjust the width of the first two columns, making them as wide as you need.
Place the insertion point in the third column of the table.
Display the Layout tab of the ribbon. (This tab is only visible if you perform step 3.)
Click the Split Cells tool in the Merge group. Word displays the Split Cells dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Split Cells dialog box.

Using the Number of Columns control, specify that you want the cell split into 10 columns.
Click OK.

Your row is now just as you wanted. To create more rows just like it, select the row and then choose to insert additional rows above the selected row. After you insert the first row, just press F4 repeatedly until you have created the number of desired rows.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (5921) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Creating Tables with Specific Column Widths.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Turning Off Proofing for Superscripts

When you add superscripts to words in your document, you may not want those superscripts to be spell-checked. Here's how ...

Discover More

Noting the Current Style

One of the drawbacks of the ribbon interface used in Word is that it can be difficult to easily see what style is applied ...

Discover More

Hiding Graphics when Filtering

Excel allows you to set up graphics so that they are associated with cells and even stay with the cells when the cells ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Rounded Table Edges

Tables can be a great addition to many documents, as they allow you to arrange and present information in a clear and ...

Discover More

Tables within Tables

Inserting a table in a document is easy. Did you know that you can also insert a table within another table? Word allows ...

Discover More

Drawing a Table

There are several ways you can create tables in a document, but one of the most unique (and perhaps most fun) is to ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is three more than 2?

2023-12-18 10:03:03

Andrew

Another neat way for an existing table is to select any contiguous columns of the table and then EITHER:
• From the context menu (right clicking) select "Distribute Columns Evenly"
• Or, sometimes when the context menu is grayed-out, you can click on "Distribute Columns" from the Layout Menu on the ribbon.

And this works for evenly spacing rows too - using "Distribute Rows Evenly" or "Distribute Rows."

These methods are really great to use especially when dealing with "structured" tables (i.e., tables with merged cells). And because table spacing can get all borked in any number of ways - just remember to select the entire rows or columns of interest.

Andy.

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.