Copying Pasting and Resizing Tables in Word Issue

Question

Microsoft® Word for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2208 Build 16.0.15601.20526) 64-bit

When I copy a table from Excel and paste it in Word I use the autofit options for the table and when I try to finalize some adjustments by using the resizing cursor it does not appear, and it will not let me select the right column the resize.

It only lets me use the bottom left resizing tool but that resizes the whole table and not the exact column in order to fit the text.

Answer 1

If you can't resize a column by dragging the column border, try dragging the corresponding "column separator" on the ruler instead.

Answer 2

This is a common problem with autofit tables. For that reason, I never use that option. On the Table Design Layout tab, click on Properties>Table, then on the Options button. Uncheck Automatically resize to fit contents. Then adjust the cell and column widths as you expect.

Answer 3

Good point.

Another way to turn off the "Automatically resize to fit contents" option (in the Table Options dialog box) is to use the Layout tab > Cell Size group > AutoFit > Fixed Column Width command.