Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, 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: How to Stop a Table Row from Splitting Over Two Pages.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 8, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365
For some documents, it is par for the course to have tables extend from one page to another. As your tables get larger, Word automatically breaks tables so the most information can get on each page. This may mean that a row of your table may start on one page and end on the following page. Obviously, this is not acceptable for some tables. You may have the need to make sure that entire rows of your table stay together.
To make sure that Word doesn't break a particular row of your table, follow these steps:
Figure 1. The Row tab of the Table Properties dialog box.
If you are not sure about where a table may break (or even if it will), but you want to make sure that no row of the table is divided, you simply need to select the entire table in step 1 rather than selecting a single row.
Remember that these steps won't stop a table from splitting across two pages; it only stops individual rows from splitting across pages.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6037) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: How to Stop a Table Row from Splitting Over Two Pages.
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!
If you make structural changes to your table by adding new columns here and there, you could easily end up with a table ...
Discover MoreIf you want to resize the width of your table columns, you can do it using a mouse, but you can get more precise widths ...
Discover MoreIt's easy to adjust the width of table columns using the mouse, but what if you don't want to use the mouse? Adjusting ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
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 © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, 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:
Comments