Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 10, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365
Harold has a document that includes a rather simple table. The text in the table cells appears too close to the cell borders, so he wonders about the best way to provide more space between the text and those borders.
There are two ways to do this, depending on whether you want to increase spacing for all cells in the table or just for selected cells. Let's take a look, first, at how to do it for the entire table:
Figure 1. The Table Properties dialog box.
Figure 2. The Table Options dialog box.
At this point, the spacing within your table should be updated to reflect the settings you made in step 5. You should also note that, depending on your version of Word, you can click the Cell Margins tool in the Alignment group on the Table Layout tab of the ribbon. That will get you directly to the Table Options dialog box (step 4).
If you want to affect just some cells within the table, then you can follow these steps:
Figure 3. The Cell tab of the Table Properties dialog box.
Figure 4. The Cell Options dialog box.
The result is that the cell (or cells) you selected are adjusted to reflect the margins you set in step 7.
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