OPERATING SYSTEMSWINDOWS

How to Quickly Make a Table for WordPad

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Last Updated: August 24, 2023

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WordPad is a free word processor that comes installed with Windows. It has more functions than
Notepad, but still lacks a lot of features found in full word processors like Word. If you need to add a
table to our WordPad document, your options are limited. You can use "+" and "-" keys to automatically
create a basic table. You can also insert a table using a spreadsheet editor. Excel is the most popular, but
you can also use the free OpenOffice or LibreOffice.

Things You Should Know

Use the HTML code below to build out a basic table into your WordPad document.

Go to "Insert Object" or "Insert" > "Object" and select either "Excel Worksheet" or "OpenDocument
Spreadsheet." Then, fill in your data.

With Windows 8 or newer, use + to start or end each cell and - to set the width of the cell: +--+-+--+.
Press .↵ Enter to create the row. Repeat for new rows.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Creating an HTML Table

Step 1 Start a new WordPad document.

Start a new WordPad document. You can use WordPad to create a table in HTML that can be open and
displayed in any web browser.

Step 2 Add the table tags.

Add the table tags. These are the tags that your table code will be enclosed in.

<table>

</table>

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Step 3 Add the first row to your table.

Add the first row to your table. This will be the header row for your table.

<table>

<tr>

</tr>

</table>

Step 4 Add the table headings to the first row.

Add the table headings to the first row. Use the table heading tags to add as many columns as you would
like.

<table>

<tr>

<th>Column 1</th>

<th>Column 2</th>

<th>Column 3</th>

<th>Column 4</th>

</tr>

</table>

Step 5 Add another row beneath the headers.

Add another row beneath the headers. Now that you have your column headings, you can add your first
row of data.

<table>

<tr>

<th>Column 1</th>

<th>Column 2</th>

<th>Column 3</th>

<th>Column 4</th>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Data 1</td>

<td>Data 2</td>

<td>Data 3</td>

<td>Data 4</td>

</tr>

</table>

Step 6 Continue adding rows.

Continue adding rows. You can use the tags to continue adding rows of data to your table. Make sure
that you close each one with a tag.

<table>

<tr>

<th>Column 1</th>

<th>Column 2</th>

<th>Column 3</th>
<th>Column 4</th>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Data 1</td>

<td>Data 2</td>

<td>Data 3</td>

<td>Data 4</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Data 5</td>

<td>Data 6</td>

<td>Data 7</td>

<td>Data 8</td>

</tr>

</table>

Step 7 Click File and select "Save as."

Click File and select "Save as." This will allow you to save the document as an HTML file. It needs to be in
HTML format so that you can see the table when you load it in a web browser.

Step 8 Select "Text" from the "Save as type" menu.

Select "Text" from the "Save as type" menu. This lets you change the extension.

Step 9 Change the extension at the end of the file name to .html.

Change the extension at the end of the file name to .html. This will change the format to HTML format.

Step 10 Save the file.

Save the file. You can now name and save the file as whatever you'd like. Make sure that it has the .html
extension.

Step 11 Open the file in a web browser.

11

Open the file in a web browser. Double-click the newly-created HTML file to load it in your default web
browser. Your table will appear in the browser window.

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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Using a Spreadsheet Program

Step 1 Ensure Excel or OpenOffice is installed.

Ensure Excel or OpenOffice is installed. If you need a little more control over the table, you can use a
spreadsheet program. You'll essentially be inserting a spreadsheet into your WordPad document. This
requires a compatible spreadsheet editor. WordPad supports Excel and OpenDocument formats.

OpenOffice and LibreOffice are both free office suites that support the OpenDocument format. See How
to Install Open Office for detailed instructions on installing OpenOffice for free.

Step 2 Click the "Insert object" button in WordPad.

Click the "Insert object" button in WordPad. In newer versions, this can be found in the Insert section of
the Home tab. In older versions of WordPad, click the "Insert" menu and select "Object".

Step 3 Select the Worksheet option.

Select the Worksheet option. A list of objects that you can insert will appear. If you have Excel installed,
you can select "Excel Worksheet". If you have OpenOffice or LibreOffice installed, you can select
"OpenDocument Spreadsheet". Selecting one of these objects will insert a blank spreadsheet in your
WordPad document, and your spreadsheet program will open in another window.
Step 4 Fill out the table data in the spreadsheet program.

Fill out the table data in the spreadsheet program. After inserting the table, Excel or your
OpenDocument spreadsheet editor will open. Anything you enter into the cells in your spreadsheet
editor will appear in the table that you inserted into the WordPad document. Go through each cell and
fill out the table with the important information.

Even though only a small range of cells is shown in WordPad, the range will expand as you add data
outside of the displayed range. If the table is smaller than the initial range, the table will shrink to fit your
data.

Step 5 Format the text.

Format the text. You can use the text formatting tools in your spreadsheet program to change the look
for the text in the cells. You can change the font, size, color, and emphasis. Formatting text in Excel or
your other spreadsheet program is very similar to formatting text in a word processor. The changes you
make to the formatting will be displayed immediately in the WordPad table.

You can create headers by bolding the contents of the first row in the spreadsheet program.

Step 6 Resize your cells.

Resize your cells. Changes in the size of the rows and columns in your spreadsheet editor will be
reflected in the table in your WordPad document immediately. Change the cell size to make your
information easy to read.

Step 7 Close the spreadsheet editor.

Close the spreadsheet editor. This will finalize the data and you'll see your finished table in WordPad.

Step 8 Move and resize the table.

Move and resize the table. You can drag the boxes around the edge of the table to resize it. The content
of the table will grow or shrink to match the new size. You can click and drag the table around your
document as well.

Step 9 Double-click the table to make edits.

Double-click the table to make edits. This will open your spreadsheet editor, allowing you to change the
table data. If you've resized the table, it will be reverted to the original size when you edit it. You'll have
to resize it again after editing.

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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using the Keyboard (Windows 8 or Newer)

Step 1 Know which versions of WordPad this works in.

Know which versions of WordPad this works in. Creating a table using your keyboard is only supported in
Windows 8 or newer versions of WordPad. If you are running Windows 7 or earlier, you'll need to try one
of the other methods in this article.

Step 2 Place your cursor where you want your table to start.

Place your cursor where you want your table to start. When you're using your keyboard to insert
automatic tables, the table will start on the line you are currently working on. You can start a table
anywhere in your document.

Step 3 Create the first row.

Create the first row. Use + and - to create the measurements for the first row of cells. Start and end each
cell with a +, and use - to indicated how many characters wide the cell is. Don't worry too much about
the actual measurements, as you can make adjustments later. See below for an example first row:

+----------+-----+---------------+

Step 4 Press .

Press .↵ Enter to generate the first row. Your characters will turn into the first row of the table, with the +
signs becoming the borders of the cells. You can start typing text into each of the cells. The cells will
resize automatically if the amount of text is too much to fit.

Step 5 Add additional rows.

Add additional rows. Move the cursor to the very end of the first row, so that it is flashing right on the
outside of the table border. Press ↵ Enter to create a second row for the table. Repeat this process to
continue adding rows to the table.

Pressing Tab ↹ while in the last cell will create a new row. Continuing to press Tab ↹ will move to the
next available cell, creating a new row when you reach the end of the last row of the table.

Step 6 Resize your rows and columns.

Resize your rows and columns. Once you've added a few rows, you can use your mouse to resize them.
Find the border that you want to move and click and drag it

Step 7 Add your content.

Add your content. Now that the table has been created, you can start adding your information to it.
Simply move from cell to cell and enter the information that you want to add to the table. You can
highlight and format the text however you'd like.