Creating columns - Word 2007

[Merlin12]

I'm mostly proficient in WordPerfect, but trying to come up to speed in Word
2007 (some limited past experience with Word 2002-2003). I'm trying to
create a document with 4 columns that will allow me to enter information in
the first column, move to the second, third and fourth in order then back to
column 1. In WordPerfect this is known as "parallel" columns as opposed to
"newspaper" type columns.

I can't seem to get this to work in Word and finally had to resort to using
a 4-column table which operates much the same way but doesn't allow for
spacing between cells that columns would. Also it requires formating if the
borders are to be removed.

Does Word have this feature in columns? While I don't use it often it is
definitely occasional use and would be nice to have.

Thanks for any wisdom on this subject.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

You've correctly figured out that a table is the way to do this in Word. You
can add cell padding as needed. I don't know what the default is in Word
2007, but in early versions the default space between table columns is
0.15"; this can be adjusted with the "cell margins" setting in Table
Properties. As a setting for the entire table, this is the way to go, but
you can also add indents (left and right) to the paragraphs in the columns
as needed.

 

[Jay Freedman]

The default inter-cell spacing is 0.15". It can be changed -- on the
Table Layout ribbon, in the Alignment group, click the Cell Margins
button and set the left and right cell margins (each of which gets
half of the total space). Another little trick: You can instantly turn
off table borders by clicking in the table and pressing Ctrl+Alt+U.
However, there's a better way...

In Word 2007, unlike previous versions, you can create a table style
to hold all the formatting you want. (Word 2003 has table styles, but
they're relatively limited.) After inserting or clicking in any table,
go to the Table Tools > Design tab on the ribbon. Right-click any of
the table styles and select New Style. In that dialog:

- Enter a name for this style.

- For the "Style based on", choose the one nearest to what you want,
probably Table Normal.

- Select "New documents based on this template" to store the
definition in Normal.dotm (assuming that's the current template).

- Click the Format button and choose Table Properties.

- On the Cell tab of the properties dialog, click the Options button.
Uncheck the "Same as whole table" box (this is misleading, but it's
the only way to enable the needed settings), and then set the cell
margins you want. Click OK in the Options dialog and the Table
Properties dialog.

- Again click the Format button and this time select Borders and
Shading. Select "None" to turn off the borders and click OK.

- Choose any other table formatting you want for your purposes.

- Click OK in the New Style dialog.

Your new style should appear as the first one in the table styles
gallery. Right-click it and select Set as Default. When prompted,
select "All documents based on this template".

Now every table you insert will automatically have the formatting you
put into the style.

A last hint: while you're working in borderless tables, it helps to go
to the Table Tools > Layout ribbon and click the View Gridlines button
so you can see where the cell boundaries are. Click it again to turn
them off.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
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