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: Resizing Your Table.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 14, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021
One of the nifty shortcuts provided in Word is the ability to resize your table using the mouse. This is done in much of the same way as you would resize graphics. All you need to do is position the mouse pointer over the table. Word displays a small hollow square at the lower-right corner of the table. Click your mouse on this square and drag it to represent the size you want your table to be. When you release the mouse button, the table is resized.
You should note that this technique does not change the number or columns or rows in your table. Instead, it simply adjusts the height of each row and width of each column so that the overall table size matches what you indicated you wanted.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (12503) 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: Resizing Your Table.
Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!
Tables are a great way to organize the information in a document. If your table gets quite long, you may not want to ...
Discover MoreLeft-justified tables are great for many document designs, but you may want instead to center a table between the margins ...
Discover MoreTables, in Word, can either be inline with the rest of your text or the text can wrap around the table. If you have ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
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, 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:
Comments