18 handy table shortcuts
Here is a handy list of 18 techniques and shortcuts for working with tables in InDesign. It seems that I use 2 or 3 of these almost every day!
1. Resize rows and columns: Drag an interior row or column boundary.
2. Resize the height of all rows proportionally: Shift-drag the bottom table edge.
3. Resize the width of all columns proportionally: Shift-drag the right table edge.
4. Resize the height and width of all table cells proportionally: Shift-drag the bottom-right corner of the table.
5. Resize row height or column width without changing the table height and width: Shift-drag an interior row or column boundary.
6. Enlarge the table while inserting rows or columns: Drag the right edge, bottom edge, or bottom-right corner of the table outward, and then add the option/alt key.
7. Shrink the table while deleting rows or columns: Drag the right edge, bottom edge, or bottom-right corner of the table inward, and then add the option/alt key.
8. Resize a completed table (rows, columns, cells, and cell contents): Resize the text frame containing the table with the Free Transform tool or the Scale tool.
9. Insert a row: Table > Insert > Row or command-9 (Mac), ctrl-9 (Windows).
10: Insert a new row at the end of a table: Press the Tab key when the text cursor is at the end of the last row of the table.
11: Insert a column: Table > Insert > Column or command-option-9 (Mac), ctrl-alt-9 (Windows).
12: Delete a row: Table > Delete > Row or command-Delete (Mac), ctrl-Backspace (Windows).
13: Delete a column: Table > Delete > Column or shift-Delete (Mac), shift-Backspace (Windows).
14: Select a single cell: Click in a cell with the text tool, then hit the Esc key.
15: Select a row: command-3 (Mac), ctrl-3 (Windows).
16: Select a column: command-option-3 (Mac), ctrl-alt-3 (Windows).
17: Select the entire table: command-option-a (Mac), ctrl-alt-a (Windows).
18: Use tab characters within a table cell: Context menu > Insert Special Character > Other > Tab.
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option/shift/tab will also set a tab character within a table
Ctrl+Tab for Windows (which is also the shortcut for doing it in Word)
#5 always amazes the audience. :D But it’s been like that in Word forever.
I like how you can copy/paste tables from Word to ID and back.
Please insert after #14:
Hit Esc key again to select ALL the text in a cell!
You can apply #6 for inserting (NOT removing!) rows or columns *inside* a table as well. Just drag + alt a cell boundary inside a table.
And another thing what is left out here, maybe because it is no shortcut per se:
If you like to copy/paste the appearance and contents of a single cell to more than one cell, just copy/paste the source cell, then select other cells and just paste. All selected cells will get the same new contents and design.
If you selected more than one cell from the start the pasted result will be a repeated pattern of the original selection. But remember: the pattern must fit at least one time in the selected area for pasting. Only the whole pattern will repeat. Never parts of the pattern.
Same goes for rows and columns.
On the other hand:
if you copy a bunch of cells and select a single cell as target, the whole cell area you copied is transferred; provided there are enough cells left? (If not, nothing will happen, if you paste).
Keep in mind:
If you copy/paste cells the height and width of the target cell(s) will always win.
At at last:
try copy/paste merged cells to other areas of your table and see what will happen? :-)
The repeated paste pattern will apply, too. And save you a lot of effort in case you need merged cells together with not merged ones somewhere else.
Uwe
This is a great piece and will save me loads of time and effort. Gosh, who knew? Thank you so much.
copy same object ; ctrl+alt+click object and drag to the left or right.
for number 18, on Mac, you can try Option+Shift+Tab
why these shortcuts don’t work in my word? I am using ver 2007.
Because they’re shortcuts for Adobe Indesign, not word! xD
Is there any way to select table text without choosing the type tool? Usually I can select text with the selection tool. This really drives me crazy!
Very usefull article.
I try to use the #8, but it didn’t work. I use Adobe CC 2015 on a Mac. Do you know if this feature don’t work on newest version?
Thanks
@Francois, I just tested it, and #8 still works in InDesign CC2015.
I can’t get number 8 to work in IDCC 2015. The frame and table contents scale, but the cells do not.
@ Michael, I’ve been having some intermittent problems with tables behaving badly in ID CC 2015.1, requiring a restart of ID. Restarting ID has always solved the issue for me, however. There hasn’t been anything repetitive that has stopped working, however, so I can’t exactly place my finger on the problem. I can verify that #8 does work for me as described, however.
I did some digging in the Adobe forums and found that it’s a change in behavior from CC to CC 2015, and it’s possible to revert with a preference:
change General–>When Scaling:–>Apply to Content
to
When Scaling:–>Adjust Scaling Percentage
Then tables will scale with their containing text frame.
I haven’t tested this to find out what else it affects, but I suspect it just makes CC2015 behave as previous versions did.
@Keith: Could it be that the documents that work as expected for you were created in versions previous to CC2015?
Thank you! I’d been trying to figure out for days how to dp soemthing and you’ve answered it. You’ve been bookmarked :)
Is there a javascript somewhere that adds 1 row above? It’s either 5 clicks with the mouse (more if the dialog needs resetting) or let go of the mouse for the keyboard shortcut. Much easier to click the table, double-click a script, move on. (Oh, to be a javascript wizard!)
Shift+drag isn’t working to proportionally resize row height. I use it all the time on my PC (CC 2015), but on iMac (CC 2015) it will only make the last cell taller. What am I doing wrong?
Hi, do you know a good tip to autofit the table content, which could adjust the row width and remove reds dots.
I have so many tables to work with and i can’t find solution, no script on web.
Thanks to help.
Best regards
Great tips – but do you have a shortcut to go to the Selection Tool from a table? Just takes so much longer to have to click on the tool (rather than esc or V from outside a table)
I have a long list of words (800) that need to be formatted into a table. The space allowed is two columns and where there is a longer word it would take up the space of two cells merged in its own row. All fine but, the list is mostly alphabetical so if I add a row below the two cells where there is a short and long word, move the long word down into the new row, there is a gap above where it used to be in two columns. I can copy and paste the next word after the long word in that space but that then means copy and pasting the entire list from word 10 onwards plus there will be more long words as I go along. Is there an easier way? Copying and pasting 800 words will take a very long time!
I must add, the words are in a table as each word has a frame that looks like cutting marks, hence the table. They cut up individual words are used in a classroom.
Hi Keith and Anne-Marie,
is there a keyboard shortcut to get from the text tool inside a cell to the selection tool, with the whole table selected? Basically similar to pressing ESC in a standard text box. That would be so useful. thanks a lot
@stefan, there isn’t a shortcut for that. But, you could press Esc followed by Command/Ctrl+A. Esc selects the cell the text cursor is in, and then Command/Ctrl+A Selects all the cells in the table.
Press ESC, then type “v”
After years of frustration, I finally found a shortcut to switch to the Selection tool from inside a table: press ESC then type “v.”