Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 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: Squaring Table Cells.

Squaring Table Cells

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 30, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365

Tables can be very handy for organizing information in a document. Word provides the tools you need to create, edit, and format tables. In formatting a table, you may wonder about the best way to "square" all the cells in the table so that they are the same height and width. The answer depends on which version of Word you are using.

Follow these steps:

Insert the table as you normally would, making sure it has the desired number of rows and columns.
Select the entire table.
Make sure that the paragraphs in the table are formatted so there is no space before or after. (Display the Home tab of the ribbon, click the small icon at the lower-right corner of the Paragraph group, and set Before and After to zero.)
Display the Layout tab of the ribbon.
In the Cell Size group, specify identical sizes in the Height and Width boxes.
Click the small icon at the lower-right of the Cell Size group. Word displays the Table tab of the Table Properties dialog box.
Click the Options button. Word displays the Table Options dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Table Options dialog box.

Make sure all four cell margins are set to the same value.
Clear the Automatically Resize to Fit Contents check box.
Close all the open dialog boxes.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6113) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Squaring Table Cells.

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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