Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 30, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016
Word makes it very easy to add tables to your documents. Once added, you may need to adjust the width of the columns in your table to fit your needs. There are a myriad of ways you can do this, as has been covered in other issues of WordTips. One of the quickest ways you can adjust the width of columns is to use the AutoFit feature of Word. This feature is particularly useful if you have a small amount of information in each cell of your table. To use the feature, follow these steps:
The effect on your table depends on whether it contains information or not. If the table is empty, the columns are evenly resized so they fit within the page margins. If there is information in any of the columns, the column width is set so that information fits on a line (if possible).
If your table contains information, you can use the mouse to quickly do an AutoFit. You do that by simply double-clicking the mouse on the left border of the table. The column widths adjust automatically, the same as if you went through the steps detailed above.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (5971) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: AutoFitting Tables.
Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!
If you've adjusted the height of your table and the rows within the table, you might want to later return all those rows ...
Discover MoreWhen you have a long table that extends over multiple pages, Word allows you to specify one or more rows to be repeated ...
Discover MoreGot a lot of tables you need to format all at once? While you could make your changes manually, a much quicker way is to ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2019-01-18 09:47:15
Dave M Texas
Is there a way to have the default behavior be to Autofit Contents? It is rare that I paste a table and do not need to then change the layout to Autofit Contents. It would be wonderful if I could set this as the default behavior.
2018-10-29 19:20:58
Is there an automatic way to make all tables resize to fit window? Maybe something in Options? I have a lot of large tables and it's a bit annoying to manually update all of them to fit on the page.
2018-02-13 14:45:11
Sherry Evans
MS Word 2007 shows no "Layout" tab. I want to autofit table column width.
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2023 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments