You usually have list of items in your documents. Putting the list in a table gives it a more professional look and also makes it stand out from the rest of the text.
If you have a list in an existing document and wish to put it in a table, there is no need to draw a table from scratch and type out the whole list in it once again – the task could be quite tedious and time-taking if the list is long. Follow the steps below to easily convert a list in an existing Word 2010 document into a table.
1. Suppose you have the following list in your document which you would like to convert into a table:
3. If your list is like Figure 1, type a comma immediately before each entry of second column. After you have finished, your list will look like Figure 4. Proceed to step 6.
4. If your list is like Figure 2 with multiple tabs (represented by horizontal arrows), you need to reduce the number of tabs in each row to one by deleting the second and third tabs (arrows). To delete a tab, place cursor to the left of the tab (arrow) and press the Delete key. After you finish, your list will look like Figure 5. Proceed to step 6.
5. If your list is like Figure 3, proceed to the next step.
6. Click Insert tab on the Ribbon.
7. Click the Table button and select ‘Convert Text to Table’. This will bring up the ‘Convert Text to Table’ dialog box.
8. If you want the columns of the table to tightly fit the list entries, select ‘Autofit to Contents’ in the ‘Autofit Behaviour’ section, otherwise leave the default option ‘Fixed Column Width’ checked.
9. In the ‘Separate Text At’ section, click ‘Commas’ in case your list was like Figure 1 or ‘Tabs’ in case your list was like Figure 2 or 3.
10. Click OK button and close the dialog box. Also click the Show/Hide button to hide the non-printing characters. You will now have a table like Figure 6, with the right border of the table hugging the right margin of document.
Adjusting Column Widths & Table Placement
11. Place the mouse pointer over the right border of the table. Its shape will change into a pair of small vertical lines with two small horizontal arrows pointing left and right.
12. Press the left mouse button. A dotted vertical line will appear at the mouse pointer.
13. Drag the pointer leftwards and reduce the width of the column as desired.
14. An alternative of steps 11-12 is to double click the mouse after placing the mouse pointer over the right border. The border will jump left to hug the widest entry in column 2.
15. If your table is not centred between the margins, place the mouse pointer over the table. A small square with arrow headed + symbol will appear above the top left corner of the table. This is the Table Selector.
16. Move the mouse pointer over the Table Selector and click it. The entire table will be selected and the Mini Toolbar will appear. Click the ‘Centre’ button on the Mini Toolbar. The table will be centred.
17. If you wish to place the table elsewhere, just drag the Table Selector and the table will move with it. Drop the table at the desired place.
18. You will find entries in second column left aligned. To centre them, select the second column and click ‘Centre’ on the Mini Toolbar.
Formatting Table
19. Place the cursor anywhere in the table. The ‘Table Tools’ will appear above the Ribbon showing two tabs – ‘Design’ and ‘Layout’. Click the ‘Design’ tab, if it is not already selected.
20. In the ‘Table Styles’ group, click the ‘More…’ button (it is the button with an inverted triangle and a small horizontal line on top of it). The gallery of table styles will drop down.
21. Hover the mouse pointer over the styles and you will see a preview of your table in different styles. Click your desired style and your table is ready. With ‘Medium Grid 3 – accent 2’ style, the table will look like this.
If you have a list in an existing document and wish to put it in a table, there is no need to draw a table from scratch and type out the whole list in it once again – the task could be quite tedious and time-taking if the list is long. Follow the steps below to easily convert a list in an existing Word 2010 document into a table.
1. Suppose you have the following list in your document which you would like to convert into a table:
Student Marks Obtained2. Click the Show/Hide button in the ‘Paragraph’ group of ‘Home’ tab. Your list will look like one of the three figures below.
John 76
Katherine 52
Martha 91
Robert 99
Raghavan 98
Harrison 47
Leonardo 83
Henry 66
Neil 74
Merlin 31
3. If your list is like Figure 1, type a comma immediately before each entry of second column. After you have finished, your list will look like Figure 4. Proceed to step 6.
4. If your list is like Figure 2 with multiple tabs (represented by horizontal arrows), you need to reduce the number of tabs in each row to one by deleting the second and third tabs (arrows). To delete a tab, place cursor to the left of the tab (arrow) and press the Delete key. After you finish, your list will look like Figure 5. Proceed to step 6.
5. If your list is like Figure 3, proceed to the next step.
6. Click Insert tab on the Ribbon.
7. Click the Table button and select ‘Convert Text to Table’. This will bring up the ‘Convert Text to Table’ dialog box.
8. If you want the columns of the table to tightly fit the list entries, select ‘Autofit to Contents’ in the ‘Autofit Behaviour’ section, otherwise leave the default option ‘Fixed Column Width’ checked.
9. In the ‘Separate Text At’ section, click ‘Commas’ in case your list was like Figure 1 or ‘Tabs’ in case your list was like Figure 2 or 3.
10. Click OK button and close the dialog box. Also click the Show/Hide button to hide the non-printing characters. You will now have a table like Figure 6, with the right border of the table hugging the right margin of document.
Adjusting Column Widths & Table Placement
11. Place the mouse pointer over the right border of the table. Its shape will change into a pair of small vertical lines with two small horizontal arrows pointing left and right.
12. Press the left mouse button. A dotted vertical line will appear at the mouse pointer.
13. Drag the pointer leftwards and reduce the width of the column as desired.
14. An alternative of steps 11-12 is to double click the mouse after placing the mouse pointer over the right border. The border will jump left to hug the widest entry in column 2.
15. If your table is not centred between the margins, place the mouse pointer over the table. A small square with arrow headed + symbol will appear above the top left corner of the table. This is the Table Selector.
16. Move the mouse pointer over the Table Selector and click it. The entire table will be selected and the Mini Toolbar will appear. Click the ‘Centre’ button on the Mini Toolbar. The table will be centred.
17. If you wish to place the table elsewhere, just drag the Table Selector and the table will move with it. Drop the table at the desired place.
18. You will find entries in second column left aligned. To centre them, select the second column and click ‘Centre’ on the Mini Toolbar.
Formatting Table
19. Place the cursor anywhere in the table. The ‘Table Tools’ will appear above the Ribbon showing two tabs – ‘Design’ and ‘Layout’. Click the ‘Design’ tab, if it is not already selected.
20. In the ‘Table Styles’ group, click the ‘More…’ button (it is the button with an inverted triangle and a small horizontal line on top of it). The gallery of table styles will drop down.
21. Hover the mouse pointer over the styles and you will see a preview of your table in different styles. Click your desired style and your table is ready. With ‘Medium Grid 3 – accent 2’ style, the table will look like this.
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