Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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: Indenting a Table.

Indenting a Table

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated July 14, 2020)

After you have inserted a table in your document, you cannot use the regular formatting tools to indent the table. This is because in most instances, tables do not behave the same way as paragraphs.

There are a couple of ways you can indent tables. One is to drag a table to an indented position in your document. All you need to do is use to the mouse to move the indent marker for the table. This is the marker right above the leftmost edge of your table. When you move this marker, Word moves the entire table in the direction you move the marker.

Another, more precise method of indenting your table is accomplished by following these steps:

Position the insertion pointer somewhere within the table you want to indent.
Make sure the Layout tab of the ribbon is displayed. (This tab is available only if the insertion point is inside a table, as you should have done in step 1.)
Click the Properties tool within the Table group. Word displays the Table Properties dialog box.
Make sure the Table tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Table tab of the Table Properties dialog box.

Using the Indent From Left control, specify how much of an indent to use for the table.
Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11434) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Indenting 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. Learn more about Allen...

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What is two less than 7?

2016-04-16 17:04:25

edwin g. antonio

How to break pages by paragraphs and not by lines when working on multipages documents?

2016-04-16 14:51:42

MWil

I've always used the paragraph formatting tools to indent and shift the position of a table in my document and at two clicks it is much quicker than opening the Table Properties Tabs.

Simply highlight the entire table and then use the paragraph positioning and indent tools to move its position. (But if your table already extends from margin to margin it has no room to move so you won't see it change when you use those tools).

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