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: Splitting a Table.

Splitting a Table

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 28, 2023)

Word provides a powerful table editor that allows you to create and modify data in tabular format. If you are working with large tables, there may be times when you need to split a table in half. To do this, follow these steps:

Position the insertion point anywhere in the row you want as the first row in the table that is split-off the larger table.
Display the Layout tab of the ribbon. (This tab is only visible if your insertion point is within a table.)
Click the Split Table tool, within the Merge group.

The result is that Word inserts a Normal-formatted paragraph prior to the table row in which your insertion point was placed. The two resulting tables can now be treated independently.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (276) 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: Splitting a Table.

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

Printing and Exiting Word in a Macro

When you print a document, Word remains busy in the background until the printing is done. If you try to end the program ...

Discover More

Squeezing Everything In

Do you have just a line or two of text that "spills over" onto another printed page? Here are some ways you can compress ...

Discover More

Friendly and Informative Error Handling

When creating macros, it is helpful to know what is going on within the macro itself in case an error crops up. Here's ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Selecting Individual Cells in a Table

Many times, before applying formatting or doing another operation, you need to select an individual cell in a table. ...

Discover More

Centering a Table

Left-justified tables are great for many document designs, but you may want instead to center a table between the margins ...

Discover More

Table Won't Flow to Second Page

Have you ever created a table that never seems to flow to a second page, even when it should? This could be caused by any ...

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 3 + 1?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

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.