Word 2000 in a Nutshell

Name

Table → Delete → Cells

Synopsis

Use the Delete Cells command to delete the cell that contains the insertion point or any range of selected cells. This command opens the Delete Cells dialog box (Figure 10-11), which presents several options for deleting the cell.

Figure 10-11. Choosing how to delete cells

The options for deleting cells are as follows:

1. Shift Cells Left. This option deletes the cell and shifts all cells to the right of the deleted cell in the same row to the left. This often causes a “hole” in a table (Figure 10-12) at the end of the row.

Figure 10-12. Shifting cells left, leaving a hole at the end of the row

Delete the Contents of a Cell Instead of the Cell Itself

The Table → Delete → Cells command is used to delete all selected cells from the table. You can also do this by selecting the cells and pressing Backspace. This shifts remaining cells around, often causing unpredictable results. To delete just the contents of selected cells, use the Delete key instead.

1. Shift cells up. This option deletes the cell and shifts up all cells below the deleted cell in the same column. Unlike the “Shift cells left” option, this option does not leave a hole in the table at the bottom of the column. Instead, Word, fills in the hole with a blank cell.

2. Delete entire row (or column)