Getting Rid of Trailing Spaces in Table Cells

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 13, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365

Randy works with tables regularly in his documents. It is not uncommon for cells in a table to have trailing spaces. Randy wonders if there is a way to find and delete any trailing spaces in a table.

Perhaps the easiest way to get rid of trailing spaces in table cells is to follow these steps:

Select the cells within the table that you want to affect.
Press Ctrl+E. Word centers all the text in the table cells and, at the same time, removes any trailing spaces.
Press Ctrl+L. Word now aligns all your text at the left of the cell.

This process sounds simple, but there are a couple of caveats to keep in mind. First of all, you cannot select the entire table in step 1. If you do so, then Ctrl+E (step 2) centers the table, not the contents of the cells within the table. If you want to get rid of trailing spaces in all cells, then make sure you select just the cells and not the end-of-row markers that appear to the right of the rightmost column in the table.

Another caveat is to understand that if you are using styles for the text within the table, these steps can mess up those styles because you are applying explicit formatting (centering and then left justifying) over the top of whatever the style may specify for the text. So, if you are using styles, you may want to press Ctrl+Q instead of Ctrl+L in step 3. This returns the paragraph formatting within the table to whatever is appropriate for the styles that are applied to the text in the table.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9994) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365.

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

Editing Custom Dictionaries

Custom dictionaries can be great, but they take quite a bit of time to create. Word provides a way you can edit your ...

Discover More

Refreshing PivotTable Data

If you modify the data on which a PivotTable is based, you'll need to refresh the table so it reflects the modified data. ...

Discover More

Formatting Partial Results of a Search

The Find and Replace capabilities of Word are, simply, quite astounding. This is particularly true when using wildcard ...

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 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Using Outline Numbering in a Table

Can you put a numbered outline in a table? Yes, you can. But Word is rather prickly when it comes to using the keyboard ...

Discover More

Clearing the Contents of a Table

Want to get rid of information within a table, but not the table itself? Here's a guide to understanding the effects that ...

Discover More

Table Numbers are Skipped

What do you do if you add numbered captions to an element of your document (such as tables) and Word skips a number? ...

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 7?

2024-01-13 10:51:19

Ann Olmsted

Thank you! I've been looking for a simple way to remove those trailing spaces quickly for a very long time.

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.