@#$%#$ Word!

July 1, 2008 12:29 PM

MS Word 2004 for the Mac: Annoying unexpected behavior when editing tables.

WTF Filter: Copying and pasting rows within a table unexpectedly results in separate tables.

For example, if I select three rows, and either drag or cut&paste those rows to a different point in the table, the three rows are inserted as a separate table, not as rows in the existing table.

The new table is contiguous with the original one, with no paragraph mark between them. But if I choose Select Table, the moved rows are not selected. Instead, they have a dotted outline of their own, along with their own "handle" (little box with arrows at the upper left corner).

This is causing formatting and display problems. More importantly, it is causing me to doubt my sanity.

I have been using Word for many years and this version since 2004, and I consider myself an expert user. And yet I've never seen this behavior before.

I expect Word to move the rows within the table, not to create a new table. Could Word really have just started acting this way? Or have I just never noticed this behavior before?

Most importantly, how can I reliably cut and paste rows of a table within that table without seemingly creating a separate table?

(Version is 11.3.5, if that matters.)

posted by ottereroticist to computers & internet (3 comments total)

The trick is to not insert your cursor in the table but to create a blank row, and select that, then paste.
posted by b33j at 3:26 PM on July 1

When I do that -- assuming that I selected the end of row mark for the rows I want to move -- the rows get pasted as a table-within-a-table inside the first cell of the row I created.

The only way I can do what I want seems to be to create as many blank rows as I plan to paste, then copy the rows to move WITHOUT selecting the end of row marks.

Then it works fine -- but what a pain in the neck!
posted by ottereroticist at 6:27 PM on July 1

Okay, i just tested it. It works if my cursor is in the first cell, but the cell is not selected. That is, if it's just flashing and I ctrl-v, it will insert extra rows with my information in it, but if the cell is black because it's completely selected, then it will paste directly in that cell, creating a table within a cell.
posted by b33j at 9:34 PM on July 1