Quickly add rows or columns to a table in Word document
When working on a Word document, adding rows and columns to tables is a common task that can help you organize and present information more effectively. This guide provides detailed steps on how to quickly and efficiently add rows or columns to a table in Word.
Add rows above / below of selection to a table
Add columns to the left or right of selection to a table
Add rows above / below of selection to a table
To add rows above or below a selected row to accommodate additional data, this section will guide you through two straightforward methods to add rows to your tables: using the Layout tab and using the right-click context menu. Both approaches are efficient and can be chosen based on what feels more intuitive to you.
Step 1: Select rows you want to insert new rows above or below
- Click on any cell in a row or entire row where you want a new row to be added.
- To insert multiple new rows, select the number of rows you plan to add. For instance, if you want to insert three new rows, you should select three rows first in your table.
Step 2: Apply the Insert Above / Insert Below feature
- Method 1: With the rows selected, go to the Layout tab, choose Insert Above or Insert Below in the Rows & Columns group. See screenshot:
- Method 2: Right-click the selection, and then choose Insert > Insert Rows Above / Insert Rows Below, see screenshot:
Result:
This will insert the same number of rows you selected either above or below of your selection. See screenshots:
- Insert rows above the selection
- Insert rows after the selection
- Formatting Rules:
When adding new rows above the selected area, the formatting will match the first row of the selection. Conversely, when adding rows below, the formatting will mirror that of the last row in the selected rows. - Shortcut for Adding Rows:
To quickly add a new row at the bottom of the table, you can use the Tab key. Simply press Tab key when you're in the last cell of the last row, and a new row will be automatically created.
Add columns to the left or right of selection to a table
This section provides a detailed overview of how to add columns to the left or right of an existing selection in a Word table. We'll cover two primary methods: using the Layout tab and using the right-click context menu.
Step 1: Select columns you want to insert new columns to the left ot right
- Click on any cell in a column or entire column where you want a new column to be added.
- To insert multiple new columns, select the number of columns you plan to add. For instance, if you want to insert two new columns, you should select two columns first in your table.
Step 2: Apply the Insert Left / Insert Right feature
- Method 1: With the columns selected, go to the Layout tab, choose Insert Left or Insert Right in the Rows & Columns group. See screenshot:
- Method 2: Right-click the selection, and then choose Insert > Insert Columns to the Left / Insert Columns to the Right, see screenshot:
Result:
This will insert the same number of columns you selected either to the left or right of your selection. See screenshots:
- Insert columns to the left of the selection
- Insert columns to the right of the selection
Add multiple rows to a table with VBA code
When you need to add many more rows to a Word table than it currently has, manual methods can be tedious. In this article, I'll show you how to use VBA code to add rows efficiently and quickly.
Step 1: Select a row you want to insert new rows above or below
Click on any cell in a row or entire row where you want multiple rows to be added.
Step 2: Open the VBA module editor and copy the code
- Press Alt + F11 keys to open the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window.
- In the opened window, click Insert > Module to create a new blank module.
- Then, copy and paste any one of the below codes into the blank module.
VBA code: Add multiple rows above the selected rowSub Addrowsabove() 'Updateby Extendoffice Dim lngIndex As Long Dim lngRowsToAdd As Long Dim lngPosit As Long Dim oTbl As Word.Table If Selection.Information(wdWithInTable) Then lngRowsToAdd = InputBox("How many rows?", "Kutools for Word", 1) Set oTbl = Selection.Tables(1) lngPosit = Selection.Rows(1).Range.Information(wdEndOfRangeRowNumber) For lngIndex = 1 To lngRowsToAdd oTbl.Rows.Add oTbl.Rows(lngPosit) Next lngIndex End If End Sub
VBA code: Add multiple rows below the selected rowSub Addrowsbelow() 'Updateby Extendoffice Dim lngIndex As Long Dim lngRowsToAdd As Long Dim lngRowPosition As Long Dim oTbl As Word.Table If Selection.Information(wdWithInTable) Then lngRowsToAdd = InputBox("How many rows?", "Kutools for Word", 1) Set oTbl = Selection.Tables(1) lngRowPosition = Selection.Rows(1).Index For lngIndex = 1 To lngRowsToAdd oTbl.Rows.Add oTbl.Rows(lngRowPosition + lngIndex) Next lngIndex End If End Sub
Step 3: Execute the code
Then press F5 key to run the code. In the popping up dialog box, please type the row numbers you want to insert, and click the OK button.
Result:
The code will add the specified number of rows to your table at the designated position at once, either above or below.
Delete rows or columns
If you want to delete row or columns from a table in a word document, here, I will talk about some easy tricks.
Step 1: Select the entire row or column in a table
- Select the entire row you want to delete by moving your cursor to the left margin of the table, just outside the first cell of the row. The cursor will change to a right-pointing arrow. Click when the arrow appears to select the entire row.
- To select a column, move your mouse pointer above the first cell of the desired column until the pointer changes to a down arrow symbol. Then, click to select the entire column.
Step 2: Press Backspace key
Press Backspace key on board to immediately remove the selected row or column.
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