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: Unwanted Numbering on Pasted Tables.

Unwanted Numbering on Pasted Tables

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 28, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


Sue is running into problems pasting tables into her documents. Often the pasted information (whether from another document or a Web site) will have tiny Roman numerals appear at one side or the other of the rows.

These numerals are actually characters which, in the font being used by Word, appear as the numerals. They may not appear as numerals in the source table, but automatically display in Word when pasted. They are in the source material (what you are copying from) but are not visible because the source material uses different formatting or character mapping than what Word uses.

There are only a few things you can try to get better results when pasting. The first is not use a standard paste operation. Instead, use Paste Special by following these steps:

  1. Display the Home tab of the ribbon.
  2. Click on the drop-down arrow under the Paste tool, in the Clipboard group.
  3. Select the Unformatted text option.
  4. Click on OK. Word pastes the text.

The table is inserted, but as regular text. Columns are separated by tab characters. You can convert the text back to table format by following these steps:

  1. Select the text you just pasted.
  2. Display the Insert tab of the ribbon.
  3. Click the Tables tool (in the Tables group). Word displays a drop-down series of options.
  4. Select Convert Text to Tables. Word displays the Convert Text to Table dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  5. Figure 1. The Convert Text to Table dialog box.

  6. Select Tabs as the Separate Text At character.
  7. Confirm that the correct number of columns has been auto selected at the top of the dialog box.
  8. Click OK to perform the conversion.

If pasting in this manner doesn't do the trick, then there is very little you can do—the source information includes the characters, and you can't instruct Word to ignore those characters when pasting. If the table you are pasting is large enough, you may want to use Find and Replace to get rid of the extraneous characters.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8763) 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: Unwanted Numbering on Pasted Tables.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Importing AutoCorrect Entries

The AutoCorrect feature in Word is quite handy, but getting a lot of entries into the feature can be tedious. This tip ...

Discover More

Word Won't Maximize

Sometimes, for whatever reason, your computer might not display Word or other programs properly. There are a few things ...

Discover More

Typing in Boxes

Do you have bothersome boxes appear around the text in your document? Here's how you can get rid of them and make your ...

Discover More

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 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Seeing the Height of a Row

Want to see the exact height of a row? This tip provides a quick and precise way that you can see that height.

Discover More

Blank Lines Before Tables

Adding a blank line before your table is easy, but Word's behavior as you attempt to make the insert can depend on where ...

Discover More

Turning Off Automatic Resizing of Tables by Default

You can format your tables to either keep cell sizes static or to automatically resize based on cell contents. By ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is 4 - 3?

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.

Videos
Subscribe

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

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.