Paradigm: iStock/Ridofranz

Inserting a table in Microsoft Word is a elementary task, simply the default won't always exist exactly what y'all want. For instance, the default alignment is beginning from the left margin. What if y'all want the table centered or even flush to the right margin? The good news is that realigning a table is easy. In this article, I'll show you several ways to align a table the way you want.

I'm using Microsoft 365 on a Windows 10 64-bit arrangement, simply you can apply earlier versions, and you can align tables in Word Online. Yous can work with your own file or download the demonstration .docx and .doctor files.

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The default table

When yous insert a table or catechumen text into a table, Word positions it between the left and right margins (Figure A) – you tin hands alter this. And, in that location are several means you lot tin can marshal a table beyond the horizontal aeroplane between the left and correct margins.

Effigy A

The showtime thing you might desire to alter is the width. At that place'south non plenty text to fill the cells, and information technology looks odd. In addition, the readability is depression. Your eyes try to accept in the entire table at in one case instead of reading the content. Fortunately, changing the width is piece of cake.

  1. Click the table to select it. Doing then volition display two handles (Effigy B): one in the pinnacle-left corner and one in the lesser-right corner.
  2. Hover the mouse over the 1 at the lesser-right corner and your mouse volition plow into a double-pointer.
  3. Simply drag up and to the left to decrease the width of the tabular array and the width of each cell. Figure C shows the results.

Figure B

Figure C

The resized tabular array is a ameliorate fit, and you could easily stop hither, if you don't want information technology aligned differently.

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Alignment options

When yous have a table that doesn't spread from the left to the correct margin, you might want to align it. You can utilize specific alignments or indent the table.

You take 3 alignments: left, center and right. The default table is aligned to the left margin. You can easily check that by selecting the entire table (non a cell) and viewing the alignment options in the Paragraph group on the Home tab. Figure C (above) shows the Align Left option selected. To align the tabular array, select the tabular array and click one of the other options: Middle or Left Align. Using these three options y'all can quickly and easily marshal your table to the left, center, or correct of the page.

You can too use the Tabular array Properties option to marshal a table. To access these options, right-click anywhere in the table and choose Table Backdrop from the resulting submenu. On the Table tab, choose an option from the Alignment section, and click OK. As yous can run into in Effigy D, there are lots of properties, but we're concerned with only those in the Alignment department. You might want to return subsequently and review all the other options.

Effigy D

The last alignment choice is Indent From Left. This allows you to hands indent the table from the left margin. It'southward the selection to use if you lot demand to be precise in that placement. You can do the same thing by dragging the tabular array and using the ruler to snap the tabular array into position (Figure E). Or use the Increase Indent option in the Paragraph group to move the table a half inch at a time.

Figure Eastward

Adjustment the content within each cell is but equally easy using the Table Properties. On the Tabular array tab, click the Options push button to open the Tabular array Options shown in Figure F. The Default Cell Margins section lets y'all modify the size of all iv margins. By default, the Automatically Resize To Fit Contents option is selected. To center or correct marshal content in the jail cell, utilize the alignment options in the Paragraph grouping. Nevertheless, you must select the text rather than the entire table; otherwise, clicking an choice will marshal the table and not the content within the cells. Effigy G shows the result of selecting the content (non the tabular array) and clicking Right Align.

Figure F

Use these options to change cell margins.

Figure G

Use the alignment options to align content inside the cell.

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Word Online

Adjustment is a chip unlike in Give-and-take Online, but yet unproblematic. With the table selected, correct-click it and choose Paragraph Options. Use the Alignment dropdown in the Full general section. Using the Align options on the bill of fare will marshal the text inside the cells, not the tabular array. And then far, everything we've washed has been articulate cut, merely you might have noticed that the text is positioned as a paragraph. The text doesn't flow around the table.

Wrapping text

If you want text to wrap around the table, you demand to change another default option. Get dorsum to the Table Properties dialog. Below the alignment options, yous'll see the text wrapping options. The default is no wrapping. Only click the Around option (Figure H) and click OK. Every bit you lot can see, this selection pulls up the text beneath and wraps it around the table. I clicked Backspace twice to pull the text up to align it with the height of the table. Pulling the text up this manner may crusade the paragraph to adopt some of the table'southward properties. Just click Normal to set that.

Figure H

Stay tuned

Adjustment Word tables equally a whole is a unproblematic chore, and at that place are a number of ways to become the alignment y'all want. If y'all repeat this task often, you might desire to alter the default alignment; in a time to come article, I'll show yous how to do so.