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.
This article was last modified on December 30, 2021
This article was first published on February 22, 2013
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