Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007 and 2010. 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: Keep Your Headings in View.
If you work with long tables, particularly ones that involve many columns, you know it can be confusing to remember what each column is for. To overcome this problem, divide the current document window into panes. Each pane will give you a view of different parts of your document. In the top pane, display the headings for your columns. You may want to make the pane smaller so there is more room to work in the other pane. In the bottom pane, do your table work. In this way you will always be able to see your column headings.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11641) applies to Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Keep Your Headings in View.
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!
If you need to quickly display the Column tab of the Table Properties dialog box, here are some handy tricks you can use. ...
Discover MoreIf you want to have Word highlight rows in a table that contain a certain character, you need to resort to using a macro. ...
Discover MoreIn WordPerfect terminology, a split page allows you to put information side-by-side on opposite halves of the page. If ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2015-09-03 13:09:36
Lisa Bowman
I have noticed a behavior in 2013 where if one has a table that spans several pages and has specified repeating of heading row(s), and if one has selected to break rows across pages, for those rows broken over several whole pages, the heading rows are not repeated on only those pages, and then when the row ends, the headings show up again intact. The question is, I understand maximizing content, but why doesn't Word 'break' the table with enough space to continue with the heading rows even on rows that span several pages. Any help would be sincerely appreciated. Thanks!
2012-04-30 08:12:01
Calvin Wilson
I have used the split panes approach in the past.
When I scroll the bottom pane (the table) left and right, the table columns are misaligned. This is a problem with wide tables.
Is there a way to lock the scroll of the panels so that the columns stay aligned when scrolling the table left/right in the bottom pane?
I seem to recall that in an EARLY version of Word (6 I think) that the top and bottom panes scrolled left/right together.
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007 and 2010. 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: 
Comments