Microsoft KB Archive/39647

Word Doc Err: Table Columns Not Dimmed with Tabbed Text PSS ID Number: Q39647 Article last modified on 08-17-1993 PSS database name: APpsConV

4.00

MACINTOSH

Summary:

The following information contains corrections for pages 141-2 of the “Reference to Microsoft Word” version 4.0 manual.

More Information:

Word version 4.00 does not dim the “Number of Columns” option in the Insert Table dialog if you are converting text separated by tabs.

When converting either tab- or comma-delimited text to a table, Word suggests the number of columns based on the greatest number of tab stops or commas per paragraph in the selection. However, Word allows you to change this number.

Word identifies lines as a series of text and/or graphics terminated by a paragraph mark or a line break [the character inserted when you press SHIFT+RETURN (the RETURN key on the main keyboard)]. Therefore, if you specify a number larger than the one Word suggests, it will append the necessary number of blank cells to the end of each row (as determined by the line breaks or paragraph marks). If you specify a smaller number than the one Word suggests, it will break each paragraph (or set of text terminated by any line break) into the specified number of columns, adding the blank cells to the end of the “last” row that is created from that particular paragraph.

For example, if you have a paragraph that consists of nine words separated by eight tabs, and you convert that paragraph to a table consisting of four columns, you would get a 4 x 3 table, where the last three cells in the third row are blank.

A manual page break [inserted using the Insert Page Break command or by pressing SHIFT+ENTER (the ENTER key on the numeric keypad)] also terminates a line in the selection unless ending a line at the page break would produce a blank row.

For example, the page break is ignored if it immediately follows a paragraph mark or line break. Before converting text to a table, you should remove manual page breaks that occur with a line you want to be converted as a single row.

Additional reference words: mswdtable

Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1993.