Merge vs. Split
Have you ever wanted to take several cells of a table and turn them into one?
Yes?
Yeah, me too.
That’s called a merge.
Or, have you ever needed to change a single cell into many smaller ones?
That’s called a split.
Knowing how to merge or split table cells can come in handy at the most unlikely times so, anyone who uses MS Word tables really should have these little tidbits in their “table tool belt.”
Interested?
Good. Then read on for the “how to” of the table merge and split trick.
Let’s begin with cell merging.
Merging means to have MS Word remove the breaks between two or more cells, bringing them together as one larger cell.
How do you accomplish this magical wonder? Believe it or not, but it can be done with only two clicks of the mouse.
First, you will need to highlight the cells to be merged. (Click, hold and drag until all cells to be merged are highlighted, then release the mouse button).
Next, you should click on the Merge button from the Tables and Borders toolbar. (You could also go to the Table menu, Merge Cells option or right click and choose Merge Cells from the menu).
Voila! Many cells turn into one!
The next topic is exactly the opposite of a merge and that is splitting cells.
Splitting cells, as shown above, means to take one or more cells and makes them into many.
For your information, MS Word may have to expand row or column sizes to accommodate the split. (Cells have a certain minimum size that must be maintained).
Completing a split is much the same as completing a merge.
Highlight the cell or cells to be split. Then click on the Split Cells button. (You could use the Table menu, Split Cells option or right click and choose Split Cells from the menu).
A Split Cells window will open.
In the window, select the number of rows and columns the program should create in the cell(s) you’ve highlighted. Click OK.
And once again, just a touch of magic is performed. (Okay, so it’s not exactly magic, but to the person who sees your document and has no clue how to make all this happen, it’s magic! 🙂
~ April