Word 2016 Tables appear to be indented

When I create a table in Word 2016, the text is indented compared to the rest of the text in my documents.  This wasn't the case in earlier versions of Word.

Here is a picture of a Word 2010 document with text and a table, note how the text in the table is aligned with the text in the document:

I then convert the document to 2016 format and here is the result:

Is this s known issue?  If so, are Microsoft working on a fix?

What you're seeing isn't a bug. The way tables align to surrounding text was changed in Word 2013. As you have shown, in Word 2010 and below, text in tables aligned to the surrounding text. As of Word 2013, the table borders align to surrounding text.

This is actually a good thing. It may not seem like it, but it is. We now have more flexibility. If ,my tables have formatted borders, then I want the borders to align to surrounding text. If they don't, then I want the text to align. If you want the text to align, then go to the Table Properties and in the Options, set the Left Indent to 0". For a single column, set the Right Indent to 0" as well. But for multiple columns, leave the Right Indent to accommodate needed space between the columns. 

Now, this does have the drawback of when documents are opened in Word 2010 and below as they will maintain the old table rules. This was a bigger issue for the Word 2013 release, but 8 years later, it's not as major as it once was.

~Beth Melton
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My table left indent is set to 0 but is still indented as per my screenshot above. 

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What you're probably referring to is the "Indent from left" setting on the Table tab of Table Properties. If you click the Options... button to open the Table Options, you will see the "Default cell margins." The top and bottom margin are set to 0" and the left and right to 0.08" (giving 0.15" between cells). You can set the left margin to 0" as Beth suggested.

This will affect all cells, however, so a better option might be to select just the left column, then open Table Properties, select the Cell tab, click Options..., clear the "Same as the whole table" box, and set the left margin for the cells in that column to 0". If text in the table is justified, then you will want to do the same then for the rightmost column, setting the right margin to 0".

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If Suzanne's reply didn't resolve what you're seeing, if you're referring to the appearance of the left table border appearing indented compared to Word 2010, that's the new table behavior.

In Word 2010 and below, tables were actually outdented so the text would align with surrounding text. If you want the table border to extend into the margin, then you'll need to set negative left indent.

~Beth Melton
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RealGeekGirl

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Last updated January 7, 2025 Views 11,645 Applies to: