CREATE, MODIFY, DELETE TABLE - MS Word 2010 Tutorial

Tables are required in documents for presenting data and other information in an organized and easily comprehensible manner.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to create, modify and delete a table in MS Word.

Task

Start a new MS Word document and do the following:

1. Create an 5x8 table (i.e. a table with 5 columns and 8 rows) and enter numbers from 1 to 40 as shown below:
   
   
   

1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30
31	32	33	34	35
36	37	38	39	40

2. Delete the last row and last column of the table to make it a 4x7 table.
3. Insert a new row below the third row.
4. Insert a new column to the left of the second column.
5. Split the table into a 5x3 table and a 5x5 table.
6. Delete the 5x3 table.

Step-by-step Instructions

Start a new document by clicking the MS Word icon on the Windows Task Bar or the Windows start menu.

Task-1: Creating a Table

1. Click ‘Insert’ tab.
2. Click the ‘Table’ button.
3. A drop-down menu will open showing a table grid and a few other options (see Figure 1).
4. To create an 8x5 table, two alternative methods are available:

Method-1

1. Move the mouse pointer horizontally to the 5th column and then move it vertically downward to the 8th row on the grid  . MS Word will show a live preview of the 5x8 table in your document.
2. Click the grid. MS Word will insert an 5x8 table in your document.

Figure 1

Method-2

1. Choose ‘Insert Table’ option from the Table drop-down menu. The ‘Insert table’ dialog box will open (see Figure 2).
2. In the ‘Table Size’ section of the dialog box, enter 8 in the ‘Number of rows’ box and 5 in the ‘Number of columns’ box.
3. Click ‘OK’ to close the dialog box. MS Word will insert an 5x8 table in your document.

   

   Figure 2

Task-2: Deleting Rows and Columns

1. Place the cursor in the last row of the table.
2. Click the ‘Table Tools Layout’ tab (see Figure 3).
3. Click the ‘Delete’ button.
4. From the drop-down menu, select ‘Delete Rows’. MS Word will delete the last row.
5. Place the cursor anywhere in the last column of the table.
6. Click the ‘Table Tools Layout’ tab.
7. Click the ‘Delete’ button.
8. From the drop-down menu, select ‘Delete Columns’. MS Word will delete the last column. You are now left with a 4x7 table.

Figure 3

TIP!

• If you wish to delete more than one row, select the rows to be deleted, then follow steps 2, 3, 4.
• Similarly, to delete more than one column, select the columns and then follow steps 6, 7, 8.

Task-3: Inserting a New Row in a Table

1. Place the cursor anywhere in the third row.
2. Click the ‘Table Tools Layout’ tab.
3. In the ‘Rows & Columns’ group, click ‘Insert Below’ button. MS Word will insert a new row below the third row and highlight it.

TIP!

• If you need to insert more than one row in a table, place the cursor in the row below which you want the new rows to appear, then follow the method explained above and in the last step click the ‘Insert Below’ button as many times as the number of rows to be inserted.
• Alternatively, position the cursor in the row just below the row where the new rows are required and select as many rows as the number of new rows needed, then click the ‘Insert Below’ button on the ‘Table Tools Layout’ tab.

Task-4: Inserting a New Column in a Table

1. Place the cursor anywhere in the second column.
2. Click the ‘Table Tools Layout’ tab.
3. In the ‘Rows & Columns’ group, click ‘Insert Left’ button. MS Word will insert a new column to the left of the second column and highlight it.

TIP!

• If you need to insert more than one column in a table, place the cursor in the column before which you want the new columns to appear, then follow the method explained above and in the last step click the ‘Insert Left’ button as many times as the number of columns to be inserted.
• Alternatively, position the cursor in the column before which the new columns are required and select as many columns to the right as the number of new columns needed, then click the ‘Insert Left’ button on the ‘Table Tools Layout’ tab.

Task-5: Splitting a Table

You are required to split the 5x8 table into 5x3 and 5x5 tables, which means that the 4th row of the 5x8 table will become the first row of the 5x5 table. Hence the table will have to split at the 4th row.

1. Place the cursor in the 4th row.
2. Click the ‘Table Tools Layout’ tab.
3. In the ‘Merge’ group, click ‘Split Table’. The table will split into two.

Task-6: Deleting a Table
 

Method-1

1. Place the cursor anywhere in the 5x3 table.
2. Click ‘Table Tools Layout’ tab.
3. Click the ‘Delete’ button. A drop-down menu will open.
4. Select ‘Delete Table’ from the menu. The table will be deleted.

Method-2

1. Hover the mouse pointer over the table to be deleted. A tiny box with a four headed arrow will appear above the top left corner of the table. This is the ‘Table Selector’.
2. Click the ‘Table Selector’. The entire table will be selected.
3. Press the ‘Delete’ key on your keyboard. The table will be deleted.

Recap

• To create a table, click the ‘Table’ command on ‘Insert’ tab.
• To delete a row or a column, click the ‘Delete’ button on ‘Table Tools Layout’ tab and choose ‘Delete Rows’ or ‘Delete Columns’.
• To insert a new row or a column, click the relevant ‘Insert’ button on ‘Table Tools Layout’ tab.
• To split a table, place the cursor in the row where table is to be split and click ‘Split table’ button on ‘Table Tools Layout’ tab
• To delete a table, click the the ‘Delete’ button on ‘Table Tools Layout’ tab and choose ‘Delete Table’ option

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