Microsoft KB Archive/106254

{|
 * width="100%"|

Word Merges Blank and Non-Blank Table Cells Differently

 * }

Q106254

-

The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Word for Windows, version 6.0

-

SYMPTOMS
Word version 6.0 for Windows merges non-blank and blank table cells differently. Previous versions of Word do not handle them differently.

CAUSE
By design in Word 6.0, if a table cell is blank, Word does not add a paragraph mark to the merged cell. By contrast, if a table cell contains text, Word does add a paragraph mark to the merged cell. For example, if you merge these blank table cells,

  __________________________________________ |o          |o            |o            | -- (Note: The "o" represents an end-of-cell marker, not actual text.)

the resulting merged table cell looks like this:

  __________________________________________ |o                                      | -- (Note: The "o" represents an end-of-cell marker, not actual text.)

Likewise, if you merge these non-blank table cells,

  __________________________________________ |TEXT o  |o            |o               | -- (Note: The "o" represents an end-of-cell marker, not actual text.)

the resulting merged table cell looks like this (notice that Word inserts a paragraph mark for the non-blank cell but does not insert a paragraph mark for the blank cells):

  __________________________________________ |TEXT P                                 | |o                                      | -- (Note: The "P" is the paragraph mark, not actual text. The "o" represents an end-of-cell marker, not actual text.)

MORE INFORMATION
Previous versions of Word insert a paragraph mark for each blank table cell you merge, which creates one line for each cell you merge. For example, if you merge these blank table cells,

  __________________________________________ |o       |o            |o               | -- (Note: The "o" represents an end-of-cell marker, not actual text.)

the resulting merged table cell looks like this:

  __________________________________________ |P                                      | |P                                      | |o                                      | -- (Note: The "P" is the paragraph mark, not actual text. The "o" represents an end-of-cell marker, not actual text.)