Better looking Word documents – lists to tables

Converting a list into a table for a better looking Word document

I make a lot of lists.  They are useful for quick references within a text, and often I used to type a list and spend too much time making it all fit.  This often left the list looking a bit scrappy, almost like it is hanging in the text, with no real place.

A table, however, has a much clearer status!  It looks professional, stands out more, and helps the reader access the key information quickly.

So here is my sample document that needs a bit of help.

List to change to table Word 2010

Excel training Screenshot from Insert menu select convert text to table Word 2010
Screenshot after selecting Insert menu, then convert text to table option. I’m now selecting one column…
Plain table Word 2010
The plain table from the initial conversion. Time for jazzing up.

What I want to do now, is select the list and use the convert to table option.  In Word 2010, I highlight the list, and then go to the Insert menu.  I then select the table button, and from the drop down menu, I chose the convert text to table button.  Fortunately for me, this defaults to the setting that fits.

I can then change the table to fit in with  my document.

So the initial result is a rather plain, but tidy table.

But I’m going to jazz it up using the pre-set styles in the Design tab on the ribbon.  So my table now looks like this…

style applied to simple table Word 2010
The table now has a simple style applied, using the Design tab.