Writer Guide

Resizing and positioning the table
Using the default settings, any newly created table will occupy the
entire width of the text area; this is sometimes what you want while in
other occasions you may prefer a smaller table. To quickly resize a
table, move first the mouse to either the left or right edge. When the
cursor changes shape into a double arrow, drag the border to the new
position. This operation will, however, only change the size of the first
or last cell and will not change the alignment of the table on the page.
If you need more precise control over the size and position of the table
on the page, you need to use the Table Format dialog box. Open this
dialog box by selecting Table > Table Properties or by right-clicking
anywhere in the table and selecting Table from the pop-up menu.
Select the first page of the dialog box ( Table ) so that it appears like
Figure 273.
Figure 273: The table page of the table formatting dialog
On this page you can set the alignment of the table, choosing among
the following options:
• Automatic: the default setting for a table.
• Left: aligns the table with the left margin.
• Right: aligns the table with the right margin.
• From Left: lets you specify under Spacing exactly how far from
the left margin the table is placed.
• Center: aligns the table in the middle between the left and right
margins. If the table width is greater than the margin, the table
will extend outside of the margins.
• Manual: lets you specify the distances from both left and right
margins under Spacing .
Chapter 9 Working with Tables 303