Cutting & pasting tables loses its formatting

[AFJAG]

I have a document containing tables created in Word 2003. The first row has
a dark gray background the successive rows have alternating light gray and
white backgrounds. In Word 2003 I could cut and paste the table and it would
retain its formatting.

I recently switched to Word 2007. Opening this document the tables appear
proper, but if I were to cut a table to paste it to a different section of
the document, the background colors disappear, the formatting is gone.

If I were to copy and paste the document it works, but this is a hassle and
it seems as through there should be an easier way. Any suggestions would be
most appreciated.

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

I'm not seeing that behavior here. When I cut/paste a table from one part of
the document to another, the formatting/shading/borders/etc. are all
replicated exactly as they were in the original location.

Is this happening in all documents, or just one? If just one, then it sounds
like document corruption of some kind. If all... then exactly how are you
pasting? Are you just pressing Ctrl+V in a new part of the document? Pasting
over an existing table? Something else?

 

[AFJAG]

Thanks for the reply. This happens in all documents that is using the
specifically formatted table. As for the cutting and pasting, I am selecting
the table either by highlighting the above and below the table or by clicking
on the upper left hand box and cutting with ctrl-x then pasting with ctrl-v.
The formatting then disappears upon pasting.

Another interesting thing is that whenever I pull the document up on a Word
2003 computer and add another row in the middle of the document, it will not
continue the alternating white and gray rows (the new row will be the same
color as the row above or below so for instance there would be two white rows
consecutively instead of re-coloring all the rows to keep the alternating
background colors.

If I use Word 2007 pre-formatted tables, the cutting and pasting works
properly. The only problem for this is I the text for each column is
formatted differently, so I will have to redesign the table format for 2007.
I don't know if this will work properly with 2003 though, which could create
a problem from using 2007 on my home computer and the office computer being
2003.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

In Word Options - Advanced, Cut, copy and paste settings, under Pasting
within the same document (and the other pasting settings, if relevant to
your situation), is the default set to Keep Source or to Match Destination?
(Frankly, I don't see this setting as causing the problem you're seeing,
since it doesn't have that effect here, but it's one of the few settings I
can see that *might* be causing it). Also, under Use smart cut and paste,
click Settings, and se if "Adjust table formatting and alignment on paste"
is enabled (it is enabled here).

When inserting a new row into an existing table that has the alternating
style, I would expect the behavior you're seeing. As a general rule, I don't
bother adding shading, etc. to tables until the table is basically done (has
as many rows and columns as it's going to have). I then apply the desired
formatting. Otherwise, when adding new rows, select two existing rows before
inserting the new row. If you're using one of the prefab alternating styles,
the newly inserted rows should use the selected rows as a template for the
ones you're inserting, which will give you the alternating rows.

For adding to the bottom of an alternating shading table, rather than using
Insert - Row below, put the insertion point at the end of the last cell in
the lower right, and press the Tab key. This will add a new row of the
correct shading (assuming you're using a prefab table style).