Tables offer a convenient way to quickly organize material on a slide. You can use various menu commands, toolbar buttons, and slide layouts to insert a table, or you can “draw” a table directly on a slide by using the Draw Table button <a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=gif::::/sites/dl/free/0072254440/169723/DrawTable.gif','popWin', 'width=NaN,height=NaN,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (1.0K)</a>.
Before you can apply special formatting to table cells, you must first select those cells. You can select individual cells, groups of cells, or the entire table.
Use the buttons on the Tables and Borders toolbar to apply fill effects and border effects to individual cells, a group of cells, or the entire table.
Change the overall size of a table by dragging one of its sizing handles with a two-pointed arrow.
Change the width of a column by dragging or double-clicking its border. Change the height of a row by dragging its border.
Rows and columns can be easily inserted or deleted as you develop a table. Select at least one cell in the row or column where you want to insert or delete; then use commands on the Table menu.
While keying text in a table, a quick way to insert a new row at the bottom is to press [Tab] when you reach the last table cell.
Occasionally, you might want one row or column to have more or fewer cells than the others. You can make this happen by merging a group of cells or splitting an individual cell into two cells.
A diagonal line can be added to a cell to make it appear to be split into two cells. Careful placement of text within the cell completes this illusion.
Applying and removing fill effects is similar to applying fill effects to other PowerPoint objects. Table and cell fills can be gradients, textures, patterns, or pictures.
Before applying a border to cells or the entire table, choose the border style, border width, and border color on the Tables and Borders toolbar. Then select cells and choose an option from the Borders button <a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=gif::::/sites/dl/free/0072254440/169723/DropDown.gif','popWin', 'width=NaN,height=NaN,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (1.0K)</a> drop-down list.
Use the text alignment buttons on the Formatting toolbar to control the horizontal position of text in a cell.
Use the Align Top <a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=gif::::/sites/dl/free/0072254440/169723/AlignBottom.gif','popWin', 'width=NaN,height=NaN,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (1.0K)</a>, Center Vertically <a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=gif::::/sites/dl/free/0072254440/169723/CenterVertically.gif','popWin', 'width=NaN,height=NaN,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (1.0K)</a>, and Align Bottom <a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=gif::::/sites/dl/free/0072254440/169723/AlignBottom.gif','popWin', 'width=NaN,height=NaN,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (1.0K)</a> buttons on the Tables and Borders toolbar to control the vertical position of text within a cell.
To fine-tune the horizontal or vertical position of text, change a cell’s margin settings by using the Text Box tab on the Format Table dialog box.
An easy way to insert a Word table is to open the file in Word, select the table, copy it to the clipboard and then use PowerPoint’s Paste Special command to insert it on a slide.
Like Excel charts, Word tables can be embedded or linked on a PowerPoint slide. Double-click the table to edit it in Word.
