Procedure 8.1. To create a table:

1. In the Normal View pane, select the slide on which you wish to create a table, or create a new slide by choosing Home > Slides > New Slide.

2. If you created a new slide, choose an appropriate slide layout using the Layout pop-up menu in the Home > Slides group.

   Because you want to leave enough room on the slide for the table, you’ll probably want to choose a slide master such as Blank, Title and Content, or Title Only. PowerPoint attempts to place tables so that they will fit properly on the slide, so, for example, if you choose the Two Content layout, adding a table will create a small table in one of the content boxes on the slide.

3. If your layout has a content box, click its table icon (Figure 8.2).

   

   Figure 8.2. On slide layouts with content boxes, click the table icon to create your table.

   The Insert Table dialog appears (Figure 8.3).

   

   Figure 8.3. Specify the number of rows and columns you want your table to have.

   Choose the number of rows and columns for the table, then click OK. The table appears on your slide.

   or

   If your layout does not have a content box, choose Insert > Tables > Table.

   The Table button is a pop-up menu that allows you to select the number of rows and columns by dragging (Figure 8.4). Drag to the table size you want, then release the mouse button.

   

   Figure 8.4. With the Table pop-up menu in the Ribbon, you can size your table by dragging.

   The table appears on the slide (Figure 8.5). To increase the number of rows and/or columns, see “Inserting Rows and Columns,” later in this chapter.

   

   Figure 8.5. This table has a default style applied to it by the overall presentation design.

   ✓ Tip

   • When you’re inserting a table into a content box, the table becomes the width of the box. On a layout without a content box, the table is about 60% of the slide width.

Procedure 8.2. To select the entire table:

• Click once anywhere in the table.

  Eight selection handles appear at the edges of the table; use them to resize the table, as described later in the chapter (Figure 8.6).

  

  Figure 8.6. Use the selection handles to resize the table.

Procedure 8.3. To select a single cell and its contents:

• Move the mouse pointer near the left edge of a cell until the cursor changes to an arrow pointing to the upper right, then click (Figure 8.7).

  

  Figure 8.7. The highlighted cell is selected.

Procedure 8.4. To select just a cell’s contents:

• Hold down the Control key, position the mouse pointer in the cell and to the left of its contents, and click.

Procedure 8.5. To place a text insertion point in a cell:

• Click inside a cell. A text insertion point appears inside the cell (Figure 8.8).

  

  Figure 8.8. When you click in a cell, the text insertion point appears.

  When the insertion point appears in a table cell, you can move the cursor between table cells by pressing Tab.

Procedure 8.6. To select a contiguous group of cells:

• Click in the first cell, and drag to the last cell you want to select.

  or

  Click the first cell, hold down the Shift key, then click the last cell.

  The selected cells will be highlighted in blue (Figure 8.9). You can use these techniques to select any rectangular group of cells, be it a row, column, or any other area of the table.

  

  Figure 8.9. The highlighted row (highlighted in blue, though you can’t see that in this black-and-white picture) is selected.

  You can also use the Table Tools > Layout > Table > Select to select a row or a column (Figure 8.10). Click in a cell, then make a choice from the pop-up menu under the Select button. You can also use this to select the entire table.

  

  Figure 8.10. Use the Select pop-up menu to select the whole table, a row, or a column.

Procedure 8.7. To move or copy the contents of one cell into another:

1. To move a cell’s contents, select the contents of a single cell, hold down the mouse button for a moment, then drag the contents to another cell.

   or

   To copy the cell’s contents, select the contents of a single cell, hold down the mouse button for a moment, press the Control key, then drag the contents to another cell.

   As you drag, you’ll see the cursor change. The cursor looks different, depending on whether you are moving or copying cell contents (Figure 8.11).

   

   Figure 8.11. The cursor changes depending on whether you are moving (left) or copying (right) cell contents.

2. When you reach the destination cell, release the mouse button.

   The contents of the first cell will be moved or copied into the second cell.

   ✓ Tips

   • The cell contents you are dragging will be appended to the contents of the destination cell, if any.

   • If you select multiple cells (like a row or a column) and drag, the contents of all the cells will be moved to the destination cells. If you select multiple cells and Control-drag, the contents of all the cells will be copied into the destination cells.

Procedure 8.8. To resize an entire table:

1. Click anywhere in a table to select it.

   The selection handles will appear at the edges of the table (see Figure 8.6).

2. Drag one of the selection handles. To widen the table, drag the handle on the right edge of the table; to make the table taller, drag the handle on the bottom edge of the table; and to make the table grow in both directions simultaneously, drag the handle at the bottom-right corner of the table.

   ✓ Tip

   • If you hold down the Shift key when resizing the table, it will resize the horizontal and vertical axes proportionately.

Procedure 8.9. To resize a row or column:

1. Click once outside the table to make sure that no table element is selected, then click once in the table to select it.

2. As you hover your cursor over a border between two rows or two columns, it will turn into a double-headed arrow (Figure 8.12).

   

   Figure 8.12. When the cursor turns into a double-headed arrow, you can drag it to move a row or column border.

3. Drag the border to resize the row or column.

Procedure 8.10. To distribute row heights or column widths evenly:

1. Select a table that has some rows taller than others, or some columns wider than others.

2. Depending on what you want to do, choose Table Tools > Layout > Cell Size > Distribute Rows, or choose Table Tools > Layout > Cell Size > Distribute Columns (Figure 8.13).

   

   Figure 8.13. Use the buttons in the Cell Size group to make rows and columns evenly spaced.

   PowerPoint will even out the space between rows or columns, depending on what you chose (Figure 8.14).

   

   Figure 8.14. I’ve made all of the columns the same width with the Distribute columns button.

Procedure 8.11. To delete a table:

1. Click the table’s border to select it.

2. Press Backspace.

Procedure 8.12. To delete the contents of cells:

1. Select one or more cells.

2. Press Backspace.

Procedure 8.13. To delete rows:

1. Select one or more rows.

2. Press Backspace.

   or

   Choose Table Tools > Layout > Rows & Columns > Delete, then choose Delete Rows from the pop-up menu (Figure 8.15).

   

   Figure 8.15. You can use the Ribbon to delete table elements.

Procedure 8.14. To delete columns:

1. Select one or more columns.

2. Press Backspace.

   or

   Choose Table Tools > Layout > Rows & Columns > Delete, then choose Delete Columns from the pop-up menu.

Procedure 8.15. To specially style one row or column:

1. Click the table’s border to select it.

   The Table Tools contextual tab appears, with two subtabs: Design and Layout.

2. In the Table Tools > Design > Table Style Options group, choose one or more of the following (Figure 8.16):

   • Header Row

   • Total Row

   • First Column

   • Last Column

   • Banded Rows makes the background color of alternating rows lighter and darker, to improve readability.

   • Banded Columns makes the background color of alternating columns lighter and darker, to improve readability.

   

   Figure 8.16. A header row and first column are formatted differently than the rest of the table, so they stand out.

   PowerPoint styles the rows or columns you chose.

   ✓ Tip

   • Sometimes the table design overrides the settings in the Table Style Options group. Choose a different table design, if needed. See “Applying Table Designs,” later in this chapter.

Procedure 8.16. To insert rows in a table:

1. Click anywhere in a row.

2. Choose Table Tools > Layout > Rows & Columns, then click either Insert Above or Insert Below (Figure 8.17).

   

   Figure 8.17. You can use the Ribbon to insert rows and columns...

   PowerPoint inserts an empty row above or below your selection, depending on which button you used. This will also increase the height of the table.

   ✓ Tip

   • You can also right-click and choose Insert > Insert Rows Above or Insert > Insert Rows Below from the resulting shortcut menu (Figure 8.18).

     

     Figure 8.18. ...or you can use the shortcut menu.

Procedure 8.17. To insert columns in a table:

1. Click anywhere in a column.

2. Choose Table Tools > Layout > Rows & Columns, then click either Insert Left or Insert Right.

   PowerPoint inserts an empty column before or after your selection, depending on which button you used. Unexpectedly, this does not increase the table’s width.

   ✓ Tips

   • As with rows, you can right-click and choose Insert > Insert Columns to the Left or Insert > Insert Column to the Right from the resulting shortcut menu (Figure 8.18).

   • Though the shortcut menu choices refer to “Rows” and “Columns,” those menu choices only add one row or column at a time.

Procedure 8.18. To merge cells:

1. Select the cells you want to merge.

2. Choose Table Tools > Layout > Merge > Merge Cells (Figure 8.19).

   

   Figure 8.19. Click Merge Cells to eliminate the border between two cells.

   or

   Right-click the selection and choose Merge Cells from the contextual menu.

   The cells merge (Figure 8.20).

   

   Figure 8.20. First there were two cells (top), then there was one (bottom).

   ✓ Tip

   • You can merge an entire row or column into one cell. The contents, if any, of the row or column will be incorporated into the new cell, and if necessary, text will wrap to fit in the new cell.

Procedure 8.19. To split cells:

1. Select the cells you want to split.

2. Choose Table Tools > Layout > Merge > Split Cells (Figure 8.21).

   

   Figure 8.21. Click Split Cells to break a cell into two or more cells.

   or

   Right-click the selection and choose Split Cells from the contextual menu.

   The Split Cells dialog appears (Figure 8.22).

   

   Figure 8.22. Specify the number of rows and columns for the split.

3. Set the number of rows and columns you want the cell to split into, then click OK.

   The cell splits as you command.

   ✓ Tip

   • If you select more than one cell, PowerPoint will split all of them evenly.

Procedure 8.20. To style cell borders:

1. Click anywhere in a table to select it.

   The Table Tools contextual tab appears in the Ribbon.

2. In the Table Tools > Design > Draw Borders group (Figure 8.23), do one or more of the following:

   1. From the Pen Style pop-up menu, choose the kind of line you will draw (Figure 8.24).

   2. Select the thickness of the line from the Pen Weight pop-up menu (Figure 8.25).

   3. Set the color of the line from the Pen Color pop-up menu (Figure 8.26).

   

   Figure 8.23. Use the Draw Border group’s controls to set the line thickness, style, and color for borders.

   

   Figure 8.24. The Pen Style pop-up menu gives you several line styles.

   

   Figure 8.25. The Pen Weight pop-up menu lets you set the line thickness.

   

   Figure 8.26. Pick a color from the Pen Color pop-up menu.

   After you’ve made your selection from the pop-up menus, the Draw Table button highlights and the cursor turns into a pencil.

3. Use the pencil cursor to draw over one of the existing borders.

   The border changes to match the settings you made in the Draw Borders group (Figure 8.27).

   

   Figure 8.27. The result of a changed border.

Procedure 8.21. To draw cell borders:

1. You can also use the Draw Table button in the Draw Borders group to add additional borders (and therefore to split table cells). Begin by setting the pen style, weight, and color.

   The Draw Table button highlights and the cursor turns into a pencil.

2. Draw a line within a cell to split it into two rows or two columns (Figure 8.28).

   

   Figure 8.28. Begin drawing the line (left) to split the cell (right).

Procedure 8.22. To erase cell borders:

1. If you want to subtract a border between two table cells, choose Table Tools > Design > Draw Borders > Eraser.

   The Eraser button highlights and the cursor turns into an eraser.

2. Click the Eraser on the cell border you wish to eliminate.

   The border disappears (Figure 8.29). Because you have eliminated a border between cells, the cells merge.

   

   Figure 8.29. Click a border with the Eraser tool to eliminate it.

   ✓ Tip

   • With the Draw Table or Eraser tool, if it’s highlighted and then you decide that you would rather turn off the tools and not make any changes, just click outside of the table to deselect the tool.

Procedure 8.23. To set a table’s design:

1. Click anywhere in a table to select it.

   The Table Tools contextual tab appears in the Ribbon.

2. In the Design tab of Table Tools, hover your mouse cursor over the styles in the gallery within the Table Styles group (Figure 8.30).

   

   Figure 8.30. Click one of the table styles in this gallery to apply that style.

   The table shows a live preview of the style thumbnail you are hovering over.

3. Click the style thumbnail to apply that style to the table.

   The table changes.

   or

   To see more styles, click the More button in the gallery.

   The gallery expands to show all the styles (Figure 8.31). Click a style thumbnail to apply that style to the table.

   

   Figure 8.31. PowerPoint provides dozens of table styles that match your presentation design.

Procedure 8.24. To set alignment in cells:

1. Select the cells to which you wish to apply text alignment.

2. Use the alignment tools in the Table Tools > Layout > Alignment group to set your desired text alignment (Figure 8.32). You can set horizontal alignment (Figure 8.33) and vertical alignment (Figure 8.34) separately.

   

   Figure 8.32. Use the alignment controls in the Alignment group for both horizontal and vertical alignment of text.

   

   Figure 8.33. Horizontal text alignment within table cells. From top to bottom: Left, Center, and Right text alignment.

   

   Figure 8.34. Vertical text alignment within table cells. From left to right: Top, Center, and Bottom alignment.

Procedure 8.25. To set text direction:

1. If you want to rotate text within a cell, you can set the text direction. Begin by selecting the cell or cells where you want to rotate the text.

2. Choose Table Tools > Layout > Alignment > Text Direction, then make a choice from the resulting pop-up menu.

   The preset choices are Horizontal, Rotate all text 90°, Rotate all text 270°, or Stacked (Figure 8.35).

   

   Figure 8.35. Change the orientation of text with the Text Direction pop-up menu.

   The text in the cells changes as you command.

Procedure 8.26. To apply and change cell margins:

1. Select the table, or if you only wish to make changes to a particular set of cells, select those cells.

2. Choose Table Tools > Layout > Alignment > Cell Margins, then make a choice from the resulting pop-up menu.

   The preset choices are Normal, None, Narrow, or Wide (Figure 8.36).

   

   Figure 8.36. Set the amount of space within cells with the Cell Margins pop-up menu.

   The cell margins change.

3. (Optional) If you don’t like the cell margin presets, choose Custom Margins from the Cell Margins pop-up menu.

   The Cell Text Layout dialog appears (Figure 8.37). Make changes in this dialog as needed, then click OK to lock in the settings.

   

   Figure 8.37. Fine tune the cell margins in this dialog.

Procedure 8.27. To fill cells with a color, picture, gradient, or texture:

1. Select the cell or cells you wish to fill.

2. In Table Tools > Design > Table Styles > Shading, choose the type of fill—a color, Picture, Gradient, or Texture—from the pop-up menu (Figure 8.38).

   

   Figure 8.38. You can choose four kinds of cell fills for tables, including Colors, Picture, Gradient, or Texture.

   Depending on your choice, you may be able to choose from a fly-out gallery. For example, Gradient gives you a variety of gradient fills from which to choose (Figure 8.39).

   

   Figure 8.39. You can choose from many gradient presets.

   The table cell or cells are filled.

   ✓ Tips

   • When adding cell backgrounds, always keep in mind that the most important information in a table is the text in it, not the cell backgrounds. You don’t want to add cell backgrounds that will detract from the readability of the text in the table cells. That goes for the pattern, as well as the color, of the cell background. Remember that the data in the table needs to be easily read by the people in the back row of the auditorium.

   • Make sure that the cell backgrounds complement, rather than clash, with the rest of the slide. Again, you should evaluate patterns, as well as the colors.

Procedure 8.28. To apply a color or picture to a table background:

1. Select the table you wish to fill.

2. Choose Table Tools > Design > Table Styles > Shading > Table Background (Figure 8.38), then choose a color or picture from the fly-out menu (Figure 8.40).

   

   Figure 8.40. Set a color or picture for the table background in the Table Background fly-out menu.

   If you chose Picture, the Insert Picture dialog appears. Navigate to the picture you want, select it, then click Open.

   The color or picture you chose appears as the table background (Figure 8.41).

   

   Figure 8.41. The image that appeared in this table did not appear in the top row, because it is set to be a header row.

   ✓ Tip

   • If your table has a header row, the background will not appear in that row; instead, its background color will be the default style for the table.

Procedure 8.29. To apply cell effects:

1. Select a cell, range of cells, or the whole table.

2. Choose Table Tools > Design > Table Styles > Effects, then choose an effect from the pop-up menu (Figure 8.42).

   

   Figure 8.42. This effect will apply a drop shadow to the entire table.

   The effect is applied to the table.

3. (Optional) To modify the effect, right-click the table, then choose Format Shape from the shortcut menu. In the Format Shape dialog that appears, adjust the effect to your liking (Figure 8.43). When you’re done, click Close.

   

   Figure 8.43. Use the Format Shape dialog to further refine your effect.

   ✓ Tip

   • Choosing Shadow Options from the pop-up menu in Figure 8.42 is another way to open the Format Shape dialog, set to the Shadow category, as in Figure 8.43.