Changing the Direction of Table Contents

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 20, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365

David received some Word tables that were mistakenly created with the table direction as right-to-left. As soon as he changes to left-to-right, all of the columns get reversed—the first column on the left becomes the last column on the right, etc. David is looking for a way to change table direction and affect only the text within the table, not the layout or formatting of the table itself.

When working with tables, it is tempting to select the entire table and then apply some sort of formatting to it. (Yes, text direction can be broadly viewed as "formatting.") However, this may result in unwanted results, such as David is experiencing.

In this situation it is helpful to remember that text direction can be handled on a much more granular level. For instance, you could change text direction for individual cells within the table. It may be best, in this case, to select a table column and then change text direction just for that column. Then, choose the next column and do the same. Continue through all the column, one by one, and change the direction of the text in the columns individually. This should give you the results you desire.

If that doesn't work, then select your table, copy it, and paste it into a different program, such as Excel. Make sure you paste it as text, not as a Word object. Then, make any adjustments in Excel and reverse the process to copy the text from Excel back into the Word document. Format it as a table, once in Word, and you should be good to go.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10177) 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

Doubling Your Money

Make your money last longer by using your head when printing labels. Here's a great example of how you can double the ...

Discover More

Handling Negative Numbers in a Complex Custom Format

Custom formats are great for defining how a specific value in a cell should look. They aren't that great at doing complex ...

Discover More

Duplicating Drawing Objects

Need to duplicate a drawing object? It's easy to do if you use the same editing techniques you are already familiar with.

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)

Creating a Split Page

In WordPerfect terminology, a split page allows you to put information side-by-side on opposite halves of the page. If ...

Discover More

Changing Spacing Between Table Cells

Need to adjust the space between individual cells in a table? Word gives you a good deal of control over this spacing, as ...

Discover More

Locking Table Contents

When you get information in your document "just right," you may want to make sure that others cannot change it. Here's a ...

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 5 - 4?

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.