Editing Table Cell Properties

After a table is inserted into a document or topic, you can easily change the properties for cells within that table. This includes changing the borders, text alignment, hyphenation, background, and more.

How to Edit Table Cell Properties

1. Open the document or topic.
2. Select one or more cells within the table.
3. Do one of the following, depending on the part of the user interface you are using:

• Ribbon Select Home > (at the bottom of the Paragraph section).

• Keyboard Shortcut Press CTRL+ALT+B.

  The Cell Properties dialog opens.

4. Using the tabs in the dialog you can change any of the following.

   Borders

   1. Select the Borders tab.
   2. Set the options in the Borders section.

      1. Click in any of the individual fields (Left, Right, Top, Bottom) to specify the settings for the border. If you click the down arrow to the right of all the fields, the settings will be applied to all of the border fields.

         When you click that down arrow or in one of the individual fields, a small popup displays.

      2. Use the lower-left area of the popup to enter a number for the border thickness.
      3. Use the lower-middle area to select a unit of measurement (e.g., point, pixel, centimeter) for the number you entered. See Units of Measurement.
      4. Use the upper-right area to select a color for the border.
      5. Use the lower-right area to select a line type (e.g., solid, double, dashed) for the border.
      6. Click OK.

   Padding

   1. Select the Borders tab.

   2. Set the options in the Padding section. Click in any of the individual fields (Left, Right, Top, Bottom) to specify the settings for the padding. In the left side of the field, enter a number for the amount of padding. In the right side of the field, select a unit of measurement (e.g., point, pixel, centimeter) for the number you entered. See Units of Measurement.

      If you click the down arrow to the right of all the fields, the settings will be applied to all of the padding fields. When you click that down arrow, a small popup displays.

   Text Alignment

   1. Select the Text tab.
   2. To set the horizontal alignment, in the Text Alignment section, select one of the options.
      • Left Aligns the text on the left side of the cell.
      • Center Aligns the text on the center of the cell.
      • Right Aligns the text on the right side of the cell.
      • Justify Aligns the text so that it is flush with both the left and right side.
   3. To set the vertical alignment, in the Alignment section, select one of the options.
      • Top The text aligns at the top of each cell.
      • Middle The text aligns in the middle of each cell.
      • Bottom The text aligns at the bottom of each cell.

   Text Indentation

   1. Select the Text tab.
   2. Use the First line indent section. Specify the amount that you want to indent the first line of a paragraph. Select Length in the top drop-down list and enter a number value. You can then choose from several different units of measurement (points, pixels, centimeters, etc.). See Units of Measurement.

   Text Line Height

   1. Select the Text tab.
   2. In the Line height section, click the down arrow in the upper-right corner and select Length.

   3. Enter a number in the field and use the down arrow in the lower-right corner to select a unit of measurement. See Units of Measurement.

      This is the amount of space that will be added between lines.

   Hyphenation

   1. Select the Hyphenation tab.
   2. Use the tab to specify the hyphenation settings.
      • Enable Hyphenation Select whether you always or never want words to be hyphenated at the end of lines.
      • Length of shortest word… Enter the minimum number of characters that a word must have in order to be hyphenated.
      • The minimum number of characters remaining… Enter the minimum number of characters that must remain on the initial line when a word is hyphenated. For example, if you enter 4 in this field, a word that normally could be hyphenated after two characters would not be broken at that point. Instead, it would not be broken until at least four letters make an appearance on the first line.
      • The minimum number of characters carried over… Enter the minimum number of characters that must be carried over to the second line when a word is hyphenated. For example, if you enter 3 in this field, a hyphenated word must have at least three characters on the second line after it has been broken.
      • The maximum number of adjacent lines… Enter the maximum number of lines next to each other that are allowed to end with a hyphenated word. For example, if you do not mind seeing three consecutive lines ending in a hyphenated word, but you want to avoid seeing a fourth adjacent line with a hyphenated word, you can enter 3 in this field.

   Background

   1. Select the Background tab.
   2. Use the tab to specify the settings that you want for the background.

      set a color for the background

      • In the Color field, click the down arrow and select a color from the popup. For advanced color options, select More Colors and use the fields in the Color Picker dialog.

      add an image to the background

      1. Next to the Image field, click the Browse button. The Insert Image dialog opens.
      2. Select an image file to insert. You can do this in one of the following ways.
      • Select an image already in the document by finding and selecting it in the built-in tree.
      • Click to find and select an image file outside of the document.

      Note If you want to select an image file recently inserted into your document, click the down arrow in the field next to the button, and select the file from the list.

      3. Click OK.
      4. If you want the background image to repeat, select one of the options from the Repeat field. You can also set the image position horizontally and vertically by using the X and Y fields.
5. Click OK.
6. Click to save your work.