WD2000: Selecting Column Selects More Cells Than Expected (220567)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Word 2000
This article was previously published under Q220567

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to select a column in a table, an adjacent column may also be selected.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs because Word selects the column based on the width of the cell in that column in the first row. In other words, if the cell in the first row of the table is greater than the other cells in that column, your selection may contain cells from an adjacent table column.

This behavior does not occur if the width of the cell in the first row is smaller than or equal to the width of the other cells in the column.

In the following example, the first cell of the first row is wider than the other cells in the first column.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


When you attempt to select the first column (as in the following example), the selection will contain the first cell in row 1 and the first two cells in rows 2 and 3. This is because the horizontal width of cell 1 spans the cells in column 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods:

Method 1: Split the First Row from the Table

Temporarily split the first row from the table, select the column, make any updates you want, and then re-attach the row to the table. To split the first row from the table, follow these steps:
  1. Select the second row in the table.
  2. On the Table menu, click Split Table.
To re-attach the row to the table, delete the paragraph mark separating the two tables.

Method 2: Automatically Resize the Cells So That They Are Equal

  1. Select the table.
  2. On the Table menu, point to AutoFit, and then click Distribute Columns Evenly.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/28/2002
Keywords:kbprb KB220567
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.