Help Me Format 1300+ Word Tables
October 1, 2013 2:01 PM Subscribe
I have a Word 2010 document with over 1300 tables in it. I would like to update them so that they all have the same basic properties. I would really like to not do all this by hand...
So, how can i automate this task? I want to do things like: set all tables to 100% width, set all cell margins to .08", align all cells the same way, etc.
Is there some tool out there that would accomplish this task?
So, how can i automate this task? I want to do things like: set all tables to 100% width, set all cell margins to .08", align all cells the same way, etc.
Is there some tool out there that would accomplish this task?
i had to do something similar, although thankfully with not as many tables!
i couldn't figure out a way to do it to all tables at once. however, i recorded a macro as i was formatting one table the way i wanted it. then clicked on the "select table" thingum when you hover over the table (you know, the square with the arrows in it? blanking for some reason) and then ran my macro. not perfect, but it saved me having to do all the steps a jillion times. then i just had to highlight the table and run the macro a jillion times.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 3:28 PM on October 1, 2013
i couldn't figure out a way to do it to all tables at once. however, i recorded a macro as i was formatting one table the way i wanted it. then clicked on the "select table" thingum when you hover over the table (you know, the square with the arrows in it? blanking for some reason) and then ran my macro. not perfect, but it saved me having to do all the steps a jillion times. then i just had to highlight the table and run the macro a jillion times.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 3:28 PM on October 1, 2013
Best answer: If you write a macro, you could add code to the end of it to select the next table in the document and/or loop through all the tables. Here is one example of code that might work.
posted by soelo at 3:49 PM on October 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by soelo at 3:49 PM on October 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
Yes, as Soelo says, a VBA macro is going to be your best bet. Create a new word doc as a test to get your macro right before you use it on your giant document. (Seriously, 1,300+ table!? what on earth is it?)
You can use word's macro editor, but after that you'll be better off looking at the code it generates and cleaning it up. Word's macro recorder isn't the best at generating VBA. Once you are satisfied with the formatting macro, you can wrap it in a function that loops through every table in the document applying that styling.
posted by Kolath at 8:55 PM on October 1, 2013
You can use word's macro editor, but after that you'll be better off looking at the code it generates and cleaning it up. Word's macro recorder isn't the best at generating VBA. Once you are satisfied with the formatting macro, you can wrap it in a function that loops through every table in the document applying that styling.
posted by Kolath at 8:55 PM on October 1, 2013
Response by poster: Thank you for the answers. Thankfully, the task was overtaken by events, and I did not have to actually do this.
In response to Kolath, it was a machine generated document that listed the status of 1300+ requirements for a development project.
posted by The Blue Olly at 6:05 AM on January 17, 2014
In response to Kolath, it was a machine generated document that listed the status of 1300+ requirements for a development project.
posted by The Blue Olly at 6:05 AM on January 17, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by feloniousmonk at 2:34 PM on October 1, 2013 [1 favorite]