Quickly select a table & display table headings at the top of every page in MS Word

Display table headings at the top of every page in MS Word

When you create a lengthy table, Word doesn't display the table's headings (i.e., the table's first row) at the top of each page that contains a portion of the table. This can make multi-page tables hard to read. However, you can easily configure Word to repeat a table's heading row wherever the table breaks across pages.

If you'd like to use just the first row of your table as a repeated heading, place the insertion point anywhere within the table's first row. Or, if you'd like to use more than one of the table's top rows as your table headings, select them first. Next, choose Table | Heading Rows Repeat from the menu bar.



When you do, Word automatically repeats the selected row contents wherever the table breaks across pages. In addition, Word automatically adjusts the placement of repeated heading rows so that when you add or remove rows from the body of the table, the repeated heading rows always appear at the top of the page.

And keep in mind that Word doesn't display repeated row headings onscreen when Normal, Outline or Web Layout view is active. This behavior is by design; even though repeated row headings aren't displayed in these views, they're still applied when you print your document.

Several ways to quickly select a Word table

When working with tables, you often have to select the whole table to perform actions such as applying formatting or deleting the table. Actually, there are several methods you can use to select the entire table. Here's a collection of your choices. To select a Word table, do one of the following:

• Place the insertion point in any table cell, and then choose Table | Select | Table from the menu bar, or using the keyboard, press [Alt]A, followed by C, followed by T.
• Switch to Print Layout view or Web Layout view, and then hover the pointer over the table. Click on the table's selection icon when it appears near the table's upper-left corner.
• Hold down the [Alt] key, and then double-click on the table. (This method doesn't work in Print Layout view or Web Layout view.)
• Make sure your keyboard's NumLock key is turned off. Place the insertion point in any table cell, and then press [Alt]5 using the numeric keypad.
• Create a custom toolbar button or shortcut menu item that uses Word's built-in TableSelectTable command to select the current table. To do this, choose Tools | Customize from the menu bar to open the Customize dialog box, and then choose Normal.dot from the Save In dropdown list. (If you want to add the command to a shortcut menu, click on the Toolbars tab and select the Shortcut Menus check box.) Next, click on the Commands tab and then select All Commands from the Categories list box. Now, drag the Table | Select | Table item from the Commands list box to any toolbar. (Or, if you're adding the command to a shortcut menu, drag the TableSelectTable command to the Shortcut Menus toolbar and drop it in the Table | Table Text shortcut menu.) Customize the button as desired, and then close the Customize dialog box. To use the command, place the insertion point in any table cell and then click the button you created. (Or, if you added the command to a shortcut menu, right-click on the table and choose Select Table from the resulting shortcut menu.)