After you create a new empty table, the next step is to put something in it?and that can be anything you want: text, graphics, you name it.
When Word creates a new table, it positions the insertion point in the table's first cell. Typing in a table is similar to typing anywhere else in a document, with a few significant exceptions. Unless you selected AutoFit to Contents when you created the table, when you reach the right edge of a cell, Word wraps text back to the left edge, as if you were at the end of a line. Also, some keystrokes behave differently within a table. In particular, pressing Tab within a table cell moves you to the next cell; if you need a conventional tab, press Ctrl+Tab instead.
Within a cell, you can enter paragraph marks or line breaks the same way you normally do: Press Enter to add a paragraph mark, or Shift+Enter to add a line break. These breaks add lines to the row the cell is in and to all other cells in the same row, as shown in Figure 12.10. (To view paragraph marks and line breaks within cells, click the Paragraph button on the Standard toolbar.)
To move within a table, click the cell to which you want to go. Word also offers many keyboard shortcuts. For example, Tab moves you to the next cell; Shift+Tab moves you back. A complete list of keyboard navigation shortcuts appears in Table 12.2.
This Key | Moves the Insertion Point |
---|---|
Up arrow | Up one line within a cell. If at the top of a cell, moves up one cell. If already at the top of the table, moves one line above the table. |
Tab | To the next cell. |
Shift+Tab | To the preceding cell. |
Down arrow | Down one line within a cell. If at the bottom of a cell, moves down one cell. If already at the bottom of the table, moves one line below the table. |
Left arrow | Left one character within a cell. If at the beginning of a cell, moves to the end of the preceding cell. |
Right arrow | Right one character within a cell. If at the end of a cell, moves to the start of the next cell. |
Home | To the beginning of the current line in the current cell. |
End | To the end of the current line in the current cell. |
Alt+Home | To the beginning of the first cell in the current row. |
Alt+End | To the end of the last cell in the current row. |
Alt+Page Up | To the beginning of the first cell in the current column. |
Alt+Page Down | To the beginning of the last cell in the current column. |
TIP
If you are building a list of names in table format, Word capitalizes them automatically for you, by default. If you do not want this to happen, toggle this AutoCorrect setting off. Choose Tools, AutoCorrect Options; display the AutoCorrect tab; and clear the Capitalize First Letter of Table Cells check box.