WD: Demoting/Promoting Table Rows Limitation in Outlining

ID: Q43932

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

When you use tables in Microsoft Word, you may notice the following behavior if you view the tables in outline view (outlining in some versions of Word) view.

Word Will Not Demote Farther Than Heading 2

In general, this problem occurs with rows in a table created with Insert Table on the Table menu (for Word 6.x and later) or on the Document menu for Word 5.1a and earlier.

Level Icons Are Not Displayed for Rows That Have a Heading Style

Table rows will always show the square dot that represents body text in outline view, and regardless of the styles applied, table rows will show only if the show/hide body text icon is selected.

The Entire Row Is Formatted When You Demote or Promote It

When you use the arrow icons (or keys) to demote or promote table rows, the entire row is formatted with a heading style.

WORKAROUND

Word Will Not Demote Farther Than Heading 2

To work around this situation, apply the appropriate heading style to the paragraph with the Styles (or All Styles command in some versions of Word) on the Format menu. (To access the All Styles command, press SHIFT and click the Format menu.)

For Word 6.x (Windows and Macintosh) and 7.x (Windows), if you select a heading greater than Heading 2 using the Style drop-down box, and you then click the Demote or Promote arrows, the arrows will demote or promote the heading levels.

STATUS

This behavior is by design of Microsoft Word.

Additional query words: outlining 

Keywords          : kblayout macword kbtable word6 macword5 
Version           : WINDOWS:6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0,7.0a;MACINTOSH:4.0,5.0,5.1,5.1a,6.0,6.0.1,6.0.1a
Platform          : MACINTOSH
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: November 19, 1997