Splitting Table Cells

You can turn one cell in a table into many smaller cells by splitting the cell. When you split a cell, you are essentially inserting a smaller table into that cell.

How to Split Cells in a Table

1. Open the document or topic.
2. Click inside the table cell that you want to split into smaller cells, or select multiple cells if you want.
3. Do one of the following, depending on the part of the user interface you are using:
• Ribbon Select Table > Split Cells.
• Right-Click Right-click the table and select Split Cells.

4. Complete the options in the Split Cells dialog as necessary.

   Number of Columns

   Enter the number of columns to split the cell into.

   Number of Rows

   Enter the number of rows to split the cell into.

   Number of Header Rows

   Enter the number of header rows to include in the split cell. A header row can be used to hold titles for the different columns. These rows are automatically repeated at the top of pages in print-based output when a table covers more than one page.

   Number of Footer Rows

   Enter the number of footer rows to include in the split cell. A footer row can be used to hold footnote information.

   Table Style

   Lists the table stylesheets (if any) that have been added. Select a stylesheet to associate it with the split cell area, thus changing the appearance of the columns and rows. If you do not select a table stylesheet, a simple table style is added without borders or other appearance settings. If you want to associate a pre-designed style with the table to affect its look and feel, you must first add the table style to the Split Cells dialog (using the Add button described below). After the style is added to the dialog, simply select it from the Table Style area. For more information see Styles and Stylesheets.

   Add

   Opens the Select Table Style Template dialog, which you can use to add a new table stylesheet. After clicking this button, complete the following steps.

   1. In the Template Folders area, select a folder.
   2. In the Templates area, select one of the templates from the folder. You can see a preview of how the table will look in the Preview area below.
   3. (Optional) You can type a new name for the style in the New Style Name field.
   4. Click OK. The style is added to the Split Cells dialog. Now you can select it to associate the style with the table.

   Merge Cells Before Split

   Select this option if you have selected multiple cells in the table and want to merge them into one cell before splitting it.

5. Click OK.

   The cell is split into new cells according to your selections in the Split Cell dialog. Now you can click in any cells of the table and add content (e.g., text, images, hyperlinks) as necessary. You can also change the look and feel of the table directly in the topic. However, it is recommended that you change formatting in the table style rather than directly in the topic (see Styles and Stylesheets).

6. Click to save your work.