Format table colums cells to show $XX,XXX format

[Confused report writer]

I am going crazy! I could have sworn I used to be able to do this but now I
can't figure it out!

I want two columns in my Word table to be formatted so that all numbers show
as whole dollars (with , for thousands). I want this format to hold in these
columns, even if I add a row to the table.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

You're perhaps confusing Word with Excel. There is no way to do this in Word
except with fields (and the appropriate switches), and fields are not
replicated when you add a row.

 

[Confused report writer]

Ok, you say I can't do it except for "fields". How do I do it with fields?
Can I use the paint brush to copy the fields when I add a row?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Well, the field has to be doing something. Since it appears you don't know
what a field is, it is unfortunate that the most basic Help topic Word
offers is "Insert a field," which assumes you already know what one is and
why you want it. But that would be a place to start. In the Field dialog you
can scan the available fields to see if there is one that would work for
you, but aside from formula (=) fields, there aren't many that would be used
for money amounts in tables. And no, you can Copy/Paste fields, but they are
content, not formatting, so the Format Painter wouldn't work.