Tough formatting problem in tables

[Scott S]

I inherited a Word document with a table that has numerous cells shaded with
the color black. However, some of the black cells have an unshaded (i.e.,
white) band across the bottom of the cell. The white portion appears AFTER
the end-of-cell symbol (when you show formatting) -- therefore it can NOT be
selected (e.g., to change a background color).

Anybody know how the white band got there and (more importantly) how to
remove it?

 

[Jay Freedman]

I inherited a Word document with a table that has numerous cells shaded with
the color black. However, some of the black cells have an unshaded (i.e.,
white) band across the bottom of the cell. The white portion appears AFTER
the end-of-cell symbol (when you show formatting) -- therefore it can NOT be
selected (e.g., to change a background color).

Anybody know how the white band got there and (more importantly) how to
remove it?

Typically that means the "Apply To" box in the Borders & Shading dialog was set
to Paragraph instead of Cell when those cells were shaded. It's easy to
concentrate on the details on the left side of the dialog and not notice that
the Apply To setting is wrong.

To fix it, select the cell, go to Format > Borders & Shading, select the color,
_and set the Apply To box to Cell_.