How to Style a Table in Microsoft Word

The Table Styles feature is used to format a table with predesigned headings, borders, shading, and so forth. There are a wide variety of styles to choose from that will enhance the design and readability of the table’s content.

Once a Table Style has been selected, the Table Styles Options group can be used to format different parts of the table in unique ways to distinguish them and improve readability. For example, to distinguish a table title in Row 1, in the Table Style Options group, check Header Row. To distinguish text in Column A, check First Column. To distinguish a bottom row that includes a total line, check Total Row.

To automatically format a table:

1.       Click anywhere in the table.

2.       From the Table Tools, Design tab, Table Styles group, click the More list arrow button to the right to expand the gallery.

3.       Point to each style, and pause to read the ScreenTip (identifying the style name) and to look at the Live Preview of the table.

Note: the design gallery changes dramatically depending upon which options are checked in the Table Style Options group.