Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Applying Consistent Shading to a Table.

Applying Consistent Shading to a Table

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 15, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

If you need to work with documents from other Word users, you may have a need to change the formatting that is applied to tables within those documents. For instance, you may need all tables to have 10% shading applied. Applying the shading over and over again can be tedious, however.

There are a couple of things you can do to speed up your formatting task. If you don't have many tables to process, then you will appreciate these steps:

Select a table cell that doesn't have any shading.
Make sure the Design tab of the ribbon is displayed.
Click the Shading tool in the Table Styles group. Word displays a drop-down palette of choices.
Click the color and percentage you want used for the cell. The formatting is applied.
Select the other cells in the table that you want to shade.
Press F4. Word applies the last action (the shading) to the selected cells.
Repeat steps 5 and 6 for any other tables you want to format.

If you have many, many tables you want to format, you might want to create a macro to do the shading for you. The following simple macro steps through each table in a document and applies the 10% shading.

Sub TableShading()
    For Each aTable In ActiveDocument.Tables
    aTable.Shading.Texture = wdTexture10Percent
    Next aTable
End Sub

There are other approaches you can take, as well. (Word is nothing, if not flexible.) For instance, you could create a table style that could be applied to your tables, or you could create an AutoFormat for your tables.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6270) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Applying Consistent Shading to a Table.

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...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Merging and Printing

When you merge information into a document, Word provides two different ways you can create your output. Here's an ...

Discover More

Field Calculations in Locked Forms

When adding form fields to a document, you may want some of the fields to be automatically calculated from other fields. ...

Discover More

Can't Save Edited Document

Each day of using Word is filled with opening documents, editing them, and then saving those changes to disk. It can be ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Fitting Text Into Cells

Need a way to make sure your text fits within the space available in a table cell? Word has a handy setting that will ...

Discover More

Heading Changes for Multi-page Tables

When you have a long table that extends over multiple pages, Word allows you to specify one or more rows to be repeated ...

Discover More

Squaring Table Cells

Inserting a table is fast and easy in Word. You may want to make sure that the cells in the table are as square as ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is seven less than 9?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

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.