Skip to content
a pile of Microsoft word logo tiles stacked on a blue solid background
Digital Accessibility

Word

Tables in Word

To create a table, select the Insert tab, choose Table and select the number of rows and columns you would like. Selecting the table in the document will reveal a new tab, Table Design, where you can manage table headers and styles:

  • To specify the first row as headers, select Header Row in the Table Design ribbon.
  • To specify the first column as headers, select First Column in the Table Design ribbon.
  • Modify colors using the Table Styles gallery to ensure strong color contrast.

screenshot of the table design ribbon in word highlighting the button to add table headers

Remember, tables are meant for data. To manage the layout of the document, use columns and other features available in the Layout ribbon.

Repeat Table Headers

When a table spans across pages in a Word document, authors can choose to repeat the table's headers on subsequent pages. To repeat headers:

  1. Select the table or the table's header row.
  2. Select the Layout tab.
  3. Select Repeat Header Rows.

 

screenshot of the table design ribbon in word highlighting the button to repeat table headers

When exported to PDF, the resulting document will contain separate tables on each page with the appropriate headers. If Repeat Header Rows is not used, tables on subsequent pages will not have table headers.


Digital Accessibility
Digital Accessibility | Barre Hall