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.

Adjusting Table Row Height

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 15, 2016)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016

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:

Select the table row (or rows) whose height you want to specify.
Display the Layout tab of the ribbon (under Table Tools).
In the Cell Size group, adjust the Height setting, as desired.
For more height options, click the Table Properties icon at the bottom-right of the Cell Size group. Word displays the Table Properties dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Row tab of the Table Properties dialog box.

On the Row tab, specify a height and how you want that measurement interpreted (At Least or Exactly).
Click on OK.

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.

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...

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What is nine more than 7?

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

Becky

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!!!

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