Inserting Tables:

To insert a table, you have to select the “Insert” tab on the ribbon, and click “Table”.
The first option allows us to select the number of columns and rows, with a maximum of 10 columns and up to 8 rows.
When the mouse pointer moves about, we have a live preview that is displayed in our document.
Click the mouse when you’ve found the correct setting.

This will automatically select the newly inserted table in our document.
You will notice at the top of the ribbon that the tools for the layout of our table are displayed.
These “Table tools” consist of two additional tabs.
The first is the “Design” tab, which is selected by default, and the second one is “Layout”.

A second way to insert a table is by making use of the “Quick tables” option.
Click on the “Table” button in the ribbon, and select the “Quick Tables” option .
This opens a submenu from which we can select a table format by clicking on it.

In this case also, the tools for formatting the layout of our table will be displayed in two additional tabs.
All the formatting options of these “Quick tables” are already set, so the only thing you have to do is to customize the text according to your needs.

A third way to insert a table is by drawing one.
Click on the “Table” button in the ribbon, and select the “Draw Table” option.
This changes the cursor to a pencil, so you can then click and drag it in your document.
Release the mouse button when you have the proper size for the table.

Click and drag the mouse pointer in the table to draw the lines of the cells.

With the help of the “Eraser” in the ribbon, you can remove lines from your table.
In this way, you can create or modify any table, and hence this becomes personalised.

Converting text to a table

Sometimes, a situation may arise where you might have to place all the information you have typed in a document, into a table.
Select all the information you want placed in the table.

Click the “Table” button in the “Insert” tab on the ribbon, and select “Convert Text to Table” from the menu.
This opens the “Convert Text to Table” dialog box.

Word is smart enough to know how many columns we need. It relies mostly on the number of tabs in our document.

Should it be that you want more or lesser columns, specify the number, manually, in the “Number of columns” text box.

The number of rows is also already entered and it can not be changed, but changing it later is a piece of cake.

In the “AutoFit Behaviour” section, we have the option to select a fixed column width, which is preset. You can select either “AutoFit to contents or “AutoFit to Window.”

In the last section, “Separate Text At”, we specify the basis on which Word should draw the boundaries between cells.
Since my data separated by tabs, I select the “Tab” option.

This can also be a paragraph, a comma, or any other character.
In this case, select the “Other” radio button and enter the character in the adjacent box.
Click OK when you’re done.

Even now, the “Table Tools”, along with the two associated contextual tabs are displayed in the ribbon.

Converting Table to Text

To convert a table back to text, place the cursor in the table, and click the “Convert to text” button, which is be found in the “Layout” contextual tab.

In the dialog box that appears, you can enter the character that is to be used as a separator for the text and click OK.

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