How to Adjust the Column Width of a Microsoft Word Table

There are two different ways you can "click and drag" to adjust the size of a column. One way is to click and drag on the ruler bar; the other way is to click and drag on the column border.

Click and Drag on the Ruler: You can resize a column by grabbing the "grey box" on the ruler bar located between each column. However, by using this method, you not only resize the column, but the table changes size as well. And if you're increasing the size of a column, it could very well push the table out past the margins. But if you do prefer this method, just hold down the SHIFT key while dragging to prevent resizing of the table.

Click and Drag on the Border: This is probably the easier and safer way to adjust the column width since it does not change the size of the table. Just grab a column border and drag to the left or right to resize the column. The table will stay the same.

Column widths can also be adjusted by using the Table Properties dialog box. To use this method:

1. Select the columns that you want to adjust (or select the entire table).
2. Right-click on the selected columns and choose Table Properites. (Or click Table on the menu bar and choose Table Properties.)
3. Click on the Column tab.
4. Check the box next to Preferred Width and enter the desired column width.

NOTE: Leave "Measure In Inches" alone. Choose "percent" only if you intend to use the table in a Web page.

If you want to make all the columns in your table the same width, then you'll want to use the Distribute Columns Evenly feature.

1. Select the columns you want to adjust (or select the entire table).
2. Right-click and choose Distribute Columns Evenly. (Or click Table on the menu bar, choose AutoFit, then Distribute Columns Evenly.)

If you want to adjust the column width to fit the widest entry, then you'll want to use Word's AutoFit to Contents feature:

1. Select the columns you want to adjust (or select the entire table).
2. Right-click and choose AutoFit, then AutoFit to Contents. (Or click Table on the menu bar, choose AutoFit, then AutoFit to Contents.)

Now you know everything you need to know to confidently make adjustments to the columns in your Word tables.