Chnage Col Width in Middle of Table

[Bill]

Hi All,

Assuming there is enough width available on the page is there anyway to
change the width of a column in the middle of a table without squashing up
the others to the right, i.e. it just moves them all across as is?

Ta.
Bill.

 

[Jean-Guy Marcil]

Hi All,

Assuming there is enough width available on the page is there anyway to
change the width of a column in the middle of a table without squashing up
the others to the right, i.e. it just moves them all across as is?

Instead of grabbing the column right border in the table itself (which will,
as you noted, "squash up" the others to the right), grab the column left
border marker on the ruler.This will move the the columns that are to the
right instead of reducing the width of the column immediately to the right of
the border you wish to move.

 

[StevenM]

To: Jean-Guy Marcil,

Either I didn't understand Bill's question, or I didn't understand your
answer. Eitherway, I've always wanted to know this: if a table takes up (for
example) only 3/4ths of a page and you want to expland one of the columns
(left of the most right column), is there anyway to expand this column so
that the whole table expands rather than have the columns to the right squash
up?

Just in case I'm not being clear: If a table takes up less than the width of
a page, is there anyway to expand a column (left of the most right column) so
that the other columns do not become any smaller, but rather the whole table
becomes larger?

I tried moving the left boarder of a column, and it didn't have this effect
(unless, of course, it is the right most column), the table remained the same
size and the other columns became smaller.

Steven Craig Miller

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

There are several different ways of changing column width that have varying
effects on adjacent columns. Confusingly, these are different depending on
whether you are dragging the actual cell boundaries or the column markers on
the ruler. For a complete rundown, see the appropriate section of
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/TblsFldsFms/TableBasics.htm

FWIW, I never can remember any of them and usually just try Ctrl and Shift
alternately till I find the one that works. <g>

 

[Jean-Guy Marcil]

To: Jean-Guy Marcil,

Either I didn't understand Bill's question, or I didn't understand your
answer. Eitherway, I've always wanted to know this: if a table takes up (for
example) only 3/4ths of a page and you want to expland one of the columns
(left of the most right column), is there anyway to expand this column so
that the whole table expands rather than have the columns to the right squash
up?

Just in case I'm not being clear: If a table takes up less than the width of
a page, is there anyway to expand a column (left of the most right column) so
that the other columns do not become any smaller, but rather the whole table
becomes larger?

I tried moving the left boarder of a column, and it didn't have this effect
(unless, of course, it is the right most column), the table remained the same
size and the other columns became smaller.

This is exactly what I thought I had addressed in my previous reply:

"Instead of grabbing the column right border in the table itself (which will,
as you noted, "squash up" the others to the right), grab the column left
border marker on the ruler."

But of course, I must be dislexic in some ways... I often confuse rigth and
left when I write instructions.. which is quite annoying. Of course, in the
quoted text above above, I meant: "grab the column *right* border marker"...
Sorry about the confusion!
However, it is not as bad as it seems because a column left border is
another column right border, except for the first column, of course!

So, again, if you grab the column border marker on the ruler and slide the
marker to the right, all the colums to the right of that marker will keep
their width and shift to the right. This means the right-most table border
will move, making the table wider. You cannot do this if you slide the marker
to the left because the left-most border will not move. In that case you get
the same result as if you had grabbed the column left border in the table
itself (the drawn line on the page...).

 

[StevenM]

To: Jean-Guy Marcil & Suzanne S. Barnhill,

J-GM writes: << This is exactly what I thought I had addressed in my
previous reply: >>

The fault is all mine, it seems that I need to read your answer twice before
I can understand it. But it has finally sunk in. Thanks! I've always wanted
to be able to do just that! And with Suzanne Barnhill's suggestion, I've now
got two ways to do it!

Again, thanks!

Steven Craig Miller

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Yeah, sometimes we're just hard of listening, aren't we? But we get there in
the end. <g>