Project 4: Report
Tables & Borders Bar

Did you want: Working with Words: Word 2007,2010,2013,2016 or español

The Tables and Borders bar makes creating and formatting complex tables a breeze.

Table - example of complex rows and columns You can draw a table of the size you want, even with an uneven number of rows or columns. This method is much easier for complicated tables than using the Table button and then merging and resizing.

The toolbar contains buttons for most formatting choices for tables. There's quite a lot you can do!

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JegsWorks > Lessons > Word97-2003

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Glossary

Toolbar Buttons

Toolbar - Tables and Borders - labeled

The Tables and Borders toolbar contains buttons for commands to help you create and format a table. The toolbar can be docked at any edge of the window, but the default is free-floating. The Tables and Borders button toggles this toolbar open and hides it.

Below you will find explanations of all the features of the Tables and Borders toolbar.

Choose all the formatting for your lines before you draw them. You cannot select a line to change its formatting. You must draw over it.

	Draw Table	Turns your pointer to a pencil shape with which you can draw the outside of a table by dragging from top left corner to bottom right corner. You drag across the table to add lines that create rows and columns or to split a cell into several rows or columns. This allows you to create very complex tables easily. You must click the button again to toggle it off, returning your pointer to it's previous shape. When drawing lines, be sure you see your line appear before you release the mouse or you might wind up with a line that is too short. Your lines will be straight and either vertical or horizontal. No angles are allowed with this tool!
	Eraser	Changes the pointer to an eraser shape with which you can erase a line in a table by clicking it or by dragging down the line to erase across several cells. This button also is a toggle button. Click it to return the pointer to the normal shape.
Line Style		Style of line drawn with the pencil. The arrow displays a list of line styles, like double or dashed or solid. Choose style before drawing.
	Line Width	Width of line drawn with the pencil. The arrow opens a list of widths for your border lines. Choose width before drawing
	Line Color	Color of line drawn with the pencil. Choose the line color first and then draw.
	Borders	Applies the border type shown. The arrow opens a palette of borders. The diagonals are only available for a table cell. You can also use the Borders button on the Formatting bar.
	Shading	Colors the background with the solid color shown under the bucket. The arrow opens a palette of other colors. To use a pattern or color percentage you must use the Borders and Shading… dialog from the Format menu. For a table, you cannot use the button on the Drawing toolbar that looks just like this. That button applies only to drawing objects. Confusing!
	Merge Cells	Combines the selected cells in a table into one cell. The contents of each former cell is placed in a separate paragraph within the new cell.
	Split Cells	Divides a cell into several new cells. Clicking this button opens the Split Cells dialog where you must set the number of rows and columns. The paragraphs in the cell being split are split between the new cells if you are creating columns.
	Alignment (Vertical)	Align a cell's contents at the top, middle, or bottom of the cell. You can combine a vertical alignment with a horizontal alignment- Left, Center, Right, or Justify using the Formatting bar buttons. Aligns a cell's contents horizontally and vertically inside the cell.
	Distribute Evenly	Make the selected rows or columns of equal size within the current space.
	Change Text Direction	Changes the direction of text in a cell. Image on the button changes to show the direction that will be applied if you click it.
	Table AutoFormat	Opens a dialog with pre-designed table formats for you to choose. You can pick what parts of the formatting you want by using the checkboxes. There does not seem to be a way to save your own formatting combinations to use here.
	Sort Ascending and Descending	Sort alphabetically based on any column. Ascending means normal alphabetic order- a, b, c…. Descending is reverse alphabetic order- z, y, x….
	AutoSum	Totals the values in a column or row. To do other calculations, you must use the Formula command on the Table menu.