Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 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: Moving Rows and Columns with the Mouse.
As long as you have the Allow Text to be Dragged and Dropped option turned on (in the Word Options dialog box, click on Advanced and then look in the Editing Options section), Word allows you to use the mouse for many routine editing tasks. One such task involves moving rows or columns within a table.
To move a row or column using the mouse, follow these steps:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9655) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Moving Rows and Columns with the Mouse.
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Need to add or delete columns and rows from a table? It's easy to do using the tools provided in Word.
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2019-06-22 14:08:51
Jon Garvey
I have used your website so many times to figure out word issues that perplexed me. I hope you live forever!
2018-10-18 09:46:15
Martin
Nothing like adding a comment a year and a half later after the question was asked but here goes.
Doug, not sure if I understand your question exactly but if you want to change the width of a cell in the middle of a table without changing the width of the cells above and below it, for example, highlight the cell of interest and then drag either the left or right border of that cell to get the width you are looking for.
This only works for cell width not height for some reason. Also if you have merged cells I have found that it is easier to split the table so that there are no merged cells in the table section of interest. Make your changes and then delete the paragraph markers that were created when the table was split to put it all back together again.
2017-03-20 18:38:32
Doug Coulson
Thanks for your tips Allen, but what I am trying to achieve (in Word table, 2016) is to move an INDIVIDUAL row or column WITHOUT moving the other rows or columns. I can distribute rows/columns evenly, bit if I want to adjust them individually this is where I get lost!
Would appreciate your comment.
2014-12-11 15:48:58
Bill
Works for moving columns but not for rows. The autofit function is lost and my columns are all made the same width.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 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: 
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