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: Centering a Table.

Centering a Table

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 14, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


4

By default, Word automatically left-justifies a table in your document. If you want to quickly center the table between the page margins, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click on the table. Word displays a Context menu.
  2. Choose Table Properties from the Context menu. Word displays the Table Properties dialog box.
  3. Make sure the Table tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Table tab of the Table Properties dialog box.

  5. Click on Center.
  6. Click on Close.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10076) 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: Centering 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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Using Different Colors with Tracked Changes

When changes are made in a document with Track Changes turned on, each author's changes are normally shown in a different ...

Discover More

Moving Captions with Pictures

Put a caption with a picture and you'd probably like the two elements to behave like they belong together. If you are ...

Discover More

Picking a Contiguous Range of Table Cells

Creating a table in Word is a relatively simple task. When you want to format or edit information in the table, often the ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Creating and Using Standardized Tables

If you have a common table layout that you want to use again and again, you'd benefit by having an easy way to save that ...

Discover More

Resizing Your Table

Need to make your table a different size? It's easy to do, using the same general technique you use when resizing a ...

Discover More

Formatting Lots of Tables

Do you need a quick way to format your tables? Believe it or not, there are several tools you can use from Word's arsenal ...

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 7 - 3?

2024-08-13 17:57:12

Buff Miner

Staight to the point. Thanks!


2023-09-28 09:35:13

Ly

great, this help a lot!


2021-08-18 02:51:45

DJ

Thank you. It works!

"5. Click on Close."

Should say "5. Click on OK."


2021-08-14 09:19:18

Miguel

Hi there. I`ve got a simple question: How to instruct Word to automatically center tables between the page margins by default? Thanks a lot for your attention!


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.