Converting text to table

[Karin]

I've inherited a Word document which has columns of text separated with
spaces, no tabs. Number of spaces between columns differs depending on how
much text is there. Is there any way I can easily convert this to a table
other than copy/paste?

 

[Sumeet Chopra]

I don't know whether it will helpful or but you can try the converting text
into tables from table menu and convert option

 

[Karin]

I tried that and it doesn't work because of all the spaces between the
columns. I may just try Alt+Dragging to select text vertically and then
copy/paste it into a new table.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Start by replacing the spaces with tabs; then you will be able to convert it
to a table easily, separating at tabs. To do this, using wildcards:

1. Ctrl+H to open the Find and Replace dialog.

2. Click More to expand the dialog.

3. Check the box for "Use wildcards."

4. In the "Find what" box, type " {2,}" (without the quotation marks). Note
that there is a space before the first brace.

5. In the "Replace with" box, type "^t" (without the quotation marks).

6. Replace all.

The wildcard expression " {2,}" finds every instance of two or more spaces,
and ^t (as you probably know) is the code for a tab character.

 

[Karin]

That's a huge help. Thank you!

Start by replacing the spaces with tabs; then you will be able to convert it
to a table easily, separating at tabs. To do this, using wildcards:

1. Ctrl+H to open the Find and Replace dialog.

2. Click More to expand the dialog.

3. Check the box for "Use wildcards."

4. In the "Find what" box, type " {2,}" (without the quotation marks). Note
that there is a space before the first brace.

5. In the "Replace with" box, type "^t" (without the quotation marks).

6. Replace all.

The wildcard expression " {2,}" finds every instance of two or more spaces,
and ^t (as you probably know) is the code for a tab character.