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If you use Microsoft Word, you are probably familiar with tables. Tables allow you to present information in an easy-to-understand format – in rows and columns. This can be useful when preparing reports, listing features, or viewing data in Word.
You may know how to add tables in Word using the popular Insert Table feature, among other things. But have you ever tried drawing your own custom tables?
This article will show you how to use the Spreadsheet feature in Microsoft Word to quickly draw tables and customize the tables you draw.
What is Draw Table in Microsoft Word?
As the name suggests, the “Draw Table” function in Word allows you to draw and design your own tables by hand using the mouse and a pen tool.
Draw Table is one of the five methods of creating tables in Word. Others include Insert Table, Convert Text to Table, Insert Excel Table, and Quick Tables.
With Draw Table, you can customize your tables in many more ways. For example, you can place a table exactly where you want it and quickly manage its proportions as you draw it.
If, on the other hand, you have the Insert table Option expands your table to fit the page. Then you need to adjust the proportions using the table formatting tool.
You can also use Draw Table to draw diagonal lines and cells within cells. Below is an example of what you can do with Draw Table.
The Draw Table feature isn’t currently available in the Microsoft Word mobile app, but here’s how to use it in Microsoft Office 365.
How to use the table drawing feature in microsoft word
How to draw a simple 10 × 5 table in Microsoft Word with the “Draw table” function.
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Start the Microsoft Word desktop app on your PC and open the document in which you want to insert a table.
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Press the insertion Tab in the ribbon area and select table from the menu options.
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Scroll down and click Draw table. This will activate the pen tool that you will use to draw your table.
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Now click and drag an inch up and down to create a single cell outline for your table.
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With your pen, draw a vertical line dividing this cell into two equal parts to create a 2 × 1 table.
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Click outside the table to turn off the pen tool. Now place your mouse pointer in the middle and click on that + Button. This will add more columns to the right. Do this until you have a 10 × 1 table.
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Hover your pointer over the top left tip of the table to see the same thing + Button from earlier. Click on it until you have four additional lines.
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You have now created a 10 × 5 table using the Draw table Specialty. Notice that the cells are the same proportions.
And just like other tables, you can format and customize this table to your liking.
Basic formatting and adjustments for drawn tables
You can format and customize the tables drawn with Draw Table in a number of ways. Here are some of the basics.
1. Insert rows, columns and cells
Once you start drawing a 2 × 1 table, you can expand it to any size of your choice by clicking the + button on the edges or using the Paste function. Just select the table, right click on it, scroll down and choose insertion.
With this method you can insert columns to the left and right, rows and cells above and below.
2. Distribute rows and columns evenly
If you’ve hand drawn your own spreadsheet, there is a good chance some cells are disproportionate. To fix this, select the table and right click on it. Choose Distribute rows evenly or Distribute columns evenly.
This will make all cells in your table the same size. You can still grab the pen tool if you want to add unusually shaped cells.
3. Restriction of processing
If you’ve put hard work into creating your tables, you don’t want this to be wasted. You can prevent other authors from making certain changes to your tables during a review.
To do this, select the table or part of it for which you want to restrict editing. Now click on review, then click Restrict editing to your right.
Define your settings in the Restrict editing area and click on Yes, start enforcing protection.
4. Watermark on your table
Watermarking your spreadsheet is another way to brand it and prevent unauthorized copying and distribution. If your spreadsheet contains sensitive information, be sure to add a watermark.
Place your cursor where you want the watermark to be, then click Insert> WordArt. Choose your preferred style and enter the watermark text in the Your text here Crate.
Drag and drop the box anywhere in the table.
5. Color code for your table
You can color-code your spreadsheet to highlight certain important information. This is great for easy reference when working with large tables with lots of data.
To color a single cell, place your mouse pointer in the cell and click as soon as the black pointer arrow appears. click on the shading Tool and choose a color to apply to your selection.
You can also assign a single color to an entire row or column by highlighting the row or column. This also makes your table visually appealing. With Draw Table, the sky is the limit. You can cut, copy, paste, delete, distribute, auto adjust, paste text directly, insert captions and even add comments.
You can also click the Table properties From here you can make additional changes to the table, rows, columns, cells, and alt text.
Tabulate your Microsoft Word documents with more flexibility
DIY or not, drawing your own tables by hand gives you a degree of control and influence over the look and feel of your tables. You can create almost any type of table you can think of in Microsoft Word and use Draw Table to customize it accordingly. So go ahead and be creative.
You can also use Draw Table in combination with other methods of adding tables in Microsoft Word for greater variety and customization. Using tables a lot in your work can help you improve your table game.
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