Were is my Table Design tab?

Question

I am in MS Word for Mac, v. 15.30 (170107.)   I copied a table from a website into a Word file.  I want to remove the shading from the table.   The instructions for Word say this:

But the top of my Word page looks like this:

Where is the Table Design tab?

Answer 1

The easiest method: Select the entire 'line' including the ¶ at the end of it, Cut it, then use Edit> Paste Special - Unformatted Text to paste it back in. IMHO, this is a recommended method when copying from any source with which you're not intimately familiar.

Alternatively, the entire paragraph except for its ending ¶, change the Font Color to Automatic, then go to Format> Borders & Shading - Shading to set the Fill to No Color.

My basic understanding is that web content often is formatted by web design methods not implemented or implemented differently in Word. Being HTML by default the formatting displays but it can be problematic to determine how change or remove it & could provide complications for anyone editing the document later. Using the first method strips [most of] that away so you then can format as required using the tools Word understands :-)

Answer 2

https://1drv.ms/w/s!At\_U0W2SJLtpeLuae8txApbeMBU

If this link works, it should go to a document entitled "sample."   A representative text is on that page.

I am trying to remove shading around the text.

Answer 3

It's hard to say without actually seeing what you're dealing with :-) My first guess would be to simply click in the box to see if a Shape Format contextual tab appears on the Ribbon. If so, there will be a Shape Fill tool on that tab - Click the tool & select No Fill.

If that doesn't do it, take a screen shot & upload it in a message here using the Insert Image tool on the message window tool bar. Better yet, share a sample file on a cloud such as OneDrive & provide a link to it in your message.

Answer 4

You are right.   On further examination, I see that my text is just that:  plain old text.   

The text is in a box that is shaded.   How do I remove the shading around the text?

Answer 5

The Table Design tab is contextual... It only displays if the insertion point either is in a table or when some portion of a table is selected. It as well as the Layout contextual tab for tables appears at the right end of the Ribbon. According to the Ruler displayed in your screen shot you are not active in a table. If you were, the Ruler would look something like this:

If copied from a web page it's entirely possible that what was pasted is an object that looks like a table, but actually is not a table.