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: Distributing Table Rows Evenly.

Distributing Table Rows Evenly

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 6, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365

When it is time to format a table, you may find that your overall table depth (height) is set the way you want it, but the rows within the table are not "just right." For instance, you may want the rows to be the same height as each other without disturbing the overall height of the table.

Simply follow these directions:

Select the rows that you want to affect.
Choose the Layout tab on the ribbon.
Click the Distribute Rows tool, in the Cell Size group.

Word changes the row heights of the selected rows to reflect your selection. You'll want to play with this tool a bit to make sure it does exactly what you want. The reason is because row height can be affected by the characteristics of the data within your table. For instance, if one (or more) cells in a row are formatted using a large font, that can affect how Word sets the row height.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6030) 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: Distributing Table Rows Evenly.

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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