Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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: Adjusting Table Row Height.
Word allows you to independently adjust the height of every row in a table. For many table uses, you can rely on Word to select an automatic row height. There may be other times when you want to take charge and specify your own row height. You can do so by following these steps:
Figure 1. The Row tab of the Table Properties dialog box.
You can also adjust row height by using the mouse, as described in other issues of WordTips.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (5981) 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: Adjusting Table Row Height.
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!
Insert a table into your document and it normally appears aligned with the left margin. Word allows you to indent the ...
Discover MoreIf you've adjusted the height of your table and the rows within the table, you might want to later return all those rows ...
Discover MoreThose familiar with styles are used to setting vertical spacing before or after paragraphs. You can get just the look you ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2019-11-15 16:27:35
Kathy
@Pat Hughes:
I find there are usually extra line (or paragraph) breaks hiding somewhere in the row that won't go any smaller.
The easiest way to check is to click on the Pilcrow symbol "¶" [located on the Home tab, in the upper right corner of the "Paragraph" section]
Once you can see all the formatting marks, you'll spot the culprit(s).
Delete any extra line or paragraph breaks and the row's height will automatically shrink to whatever you've set it to.
2019-09-09 15:03:19
Pat Hughes
This did not work. For some reason I can change the column size but not the row size. I'm able to change the cell margins also. I just can't change the rows. The rows are not all the same size. I thought maybe the person in made the table used a style to make all rows the same so I can't change them. But they are all different.
2017-01-11 10:15:09
I have followed your tips for resizing the height of cells in a table in Word 2016. However, I want to make my cells smaller, and it seems that it will only allow them to be made bigger. Is there a way to make them smaller? Auto-height doesn't work either. I'm trying to fit lots of cells on one sheet of paper, so I need them tighter/smaller.
Thanks!!!
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2020 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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: 
Comments