Word tables: let us make rows same width

J

Joe Lewis

Imagine a table with two rows of three cells each. The cells in row 1 need to
be different widths than those in row 2. If the rows are not quite the same
width, there's no way to make them the same width. You can split the rows
into two tables, use Table Properties to set them to the same "preferred"
width, but this does not always set them to an exact width. Frustrating!

----------------
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http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...-2afd5ef3b49c&dg=microsoft.public.word.tables
 
T

Tony Jollans

The exact behaviour of Preferred Widths is a bit difficult to get used to in
non-standard situations. However, to precisely set cell widths you can ..

(a) use the old Column Width dialog.
To get this go to Tools > Customize > Commands (tab)
Select "All Commands" under Categories
Scroll down to find TableColumnWidth
Click and Drag it to your favourite toolbar

(b) Press and hold Alt while dragging the cell edge.

--
Enjoy,
Tony


Joe Lewis said:
Imagine a table with two rows of three cells each. The cells in row 1 need to
be different widths than those in row 2. If the rows are not quite the same
width, there's no way to make them the same width. You can split the rows
into two tables, use Table Properties to set them to the same "preferred"
width, but this does not always set them to an exact width. Frustrating!

----------------
This post is a suggestion for Microsoft, and Microsoft responds to the
suggestions with the most votes. To vote for this suggestion, click the "I
Agree" button in the message pane. If you do not see the button, follow this
link to open the suggestion in the Microsoft Web-based Newsreader and then
click "I Agree" in the message pane.
Click to expand...
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx?mid=7466fab8-31
1e-489a-a5b3-2afd5ef3b49c&dg=microsoft.public.word.tables
 
J

Joe Lewis

No Jezebel, not in every case. I can have two tables, one slightly wider than
the other. Table Properties assures me that the preferred width for both is
100%, on the same page. But they're not the same width. I can try to drag one
to be the same width as the other, but it's often impossible--yes, impossible
for me--to do so. I wish my problem were nonsense; it ought to be; but it
isn't.
 
J

Joe Lewis

I can join the tables, then use Table|Autofit|Distribute Columns Evenly to
ensure that both tables are the same width. But this leaves me with all
columns of the same width, and that's not what I want. I want to manage the
table width independently of the cell width, as if I were using HTML. It
seems like a reasonable request: I just want to be able to align two rows so
they're the same width, without affecting the columns.
 
J

Jezebel

Perhaps you didn't read my answer carefully. Don't drag: go to the Table >
Properties dialog and *SET* the width.
 
J

Joe Lewis

I find I can set the width for two tables to 100% or even to 5.75 inches, and
if they start a slightly different width, setting the width in Table
Properties doesn't fix it. Maybe there's something wrong with what I do, or
my version of W2003, but that's my experience.
 
S

Stefan Blom

T

Tony Jollans

Sorry, Joe, but you've lost me. You cannot manage table width independently
of cell width - if you change the table width the width of at least one cell
must also change.

Is there some problem with either or both of the methods I have given you
for precisely setting cell widths?
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

I think the issue is that Joe wants a table in which either of two columns
consumes exactly half of a set width. In another row with three columns,
each column would be allocated exactly one third of the same total width.
 
J

Joe Lewis

I'm extremely grateful for all the attention my post has received, but I
don't seem to have explained myself clearly. Imagine two rows. The top row
has only one cell and is a tiny bit wider than the other row. My problem is
getting the two rows to be exactly the same width.

I have tried splitting the rows into two tables and using Table Properties
to set them to the same "preferred width"; I can state my preference, but
Word seems to have a different control that overrides my preference. I wish I
could display that control and edit it, but I can't.

I can also keep rows together in one table and then use
Table|Autofit|Distribute Columns Evenly. But this still does not allow me to
make my own decision about the width of the table.

Stefan Blom was kind enough to give me the link to the MVP note about the
shortcomings of Table Properties
(http://word.mvps.org/faqs/tblsfldsfms/TablePropPrbs.htm). This lets me
control the cell width, but there seems to be no command to control the table
width or row width.

You're probably wondering how I can get into this fix in the first place.
Well, I do a lot of copying rows from one document to another, then combining
them into tables. That's how I wind up with a table with one row too wide or
too narrow. I'm accustomed to isolating my row and having Table Properties
tell me that a row is 99.7% or 101.4% wide. And if I try to adjust it to
100%, it just doesn't seem to work.

I can get close enough so that nobody else will notice, but it's frustrating
and wastes a lot of time.

Again, I'm very grateful for the attention and helpful suggestions, most of
which I find I have tried.

Maybe my documents are so corrupted that Word can no longer handle them,
though it cheerfully opens and saves them day after day. (I got so frustrated
with my footnote numbering problem that I paid Microsoft the $35 to look into
it for me, though I doubt they'll give me a usable answer. But that belongs
 
T

Tony Jollans

I appreciate it can be a bit fiddly but if nothing you've got so far helps
the only other thing I can say is that sometimes adjusting measurements in
small increments can fail (not just in tables) and it may be worth trying to
make a bigger adjustment away from what you want before making an (almost)
equally big adjustment back.
 
S

Stefan Blom

I'm glad you got it sorted!

FWIW, http://word.mvps.org/faqs/tblsfldsfms/FitTableToPage.htm also
describes how to fit a table to the width of the page; that method
preserves the relative sizes of column widths, too.

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP


in message
I think the solution is to us Table|Autofit|Fit to Window. There's a great
article at http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=536.
I'm going to try it. Thanks to everyone for their helpful suggestions!
Click to expand...
http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...-2afd5ef3b49c&dg=microsoft.public.word.tables
 

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