Adjusting Text to Fit into Table Cells

You have worked long and hard on your page design, including a couple of tables that are just right. Then, along comes a need to add a bit more text into one of the tables. The result is that the text in a cell wraps and pushes everything else down a bit. Now your whole design is thrown off! You long for a way to automatically adjust the size of the text in a cell so you won't have the wrapping and pushing occur.

There is a built-in option that may do the trick. Simply follow these steps:

1. Select the cell or cells that you want to format.
2. Make sure the Layout tab of the ribbon is displayed. (This tab is only visible if you first do step 1.)
3. Click the Properties tool in the Table group. Word displays the Table Properties dialog box.
4. Select the Cell tab. (Click here to see a related figure.)
5. Click on the Options button. Word displays the Cell Options dialog box. (Click here to see a related figure.)
6. Make sure the Fit Text check box is selected.
7. Click on OK to close the Cell Options dialog box.
8. Click on OK to close the Table Properties dialog box.

What Word does is to decrease the apparent size of the text so that everything fits. Word decreases the width of the text by "scrunching" (a highly technical term) the text together horizontally, without adjusting it vertically.