Any tables added to a Google Docs document will almost always be positioned on the left side of the page.
While this positioning may not be important in many situations, it’s possible that you would prefer one of your tables to be in the middle of the page instead.
If you want a table to display in the center of the page, you can change its alignment.
Our tutorial below will show you how to center a Google Documents table if you require it to be in the center of the page rather than the left or right side that it is now aligned to.
How to Center a Table in Google Docs
- Open the table-containing document.
- Right-click the table and select Table properties.
- In the right column, click the Alignment button.
- Choose Table alignment from this area.
- Choose the Center option.
Our post continues below with more information, including screenshots, on how to center a table in Google Docs.
Making elements in a document appear appealing is essential to how your readers comprehend that content. This can include things like accurately cropping or changing a picture, as well as properly aligning components on the page.
So you may be wondering how to center a table in Google Docs to improve its appearance.
When you add a table to a Google Docs document, it is automatically aligned to the left side of the page. Unfortunately, this may not convey the appearance you want to convey in your document, and you would prefer the table to be in the center of the page.
You can center a table in a Google document by right-clicking on it, selecting Table properties, clicking Alignment on the right side of the window, then clicking Table alignment and selecting Center.
This Table properties menu not only allows you to center the entire table but it also gives you a number of other settings that you may have been looking for to modify the layout and design of your table.
The main sections of this article will focus on the table-centering element for a table in your document and whether or not it will provide you with the desired centering effect.
Fortunately, this is possible by using the Table properties option for that table. This post will show you how to find this option and center your Google Docs table.
Related: If you would like people to be able to click an image in a document, then this article on adding links to pictures in Google Docs can help.
Video About How to Center a Table in Google Docs
How to Add Center Alignment to a Table in Google Docs (Guide with Pictures)
The steps in this section were completed in the version of Google Docs that was available at the time this page was last updated.
Step 1: Open your Google Doc.
Step 2: Right-click anywhere in the table and choose Table properties.
Step 3: In the Table properties column on the right side of the window, select the Alignment option.
Step 4: Choose Table alignment from the Alignment section.
Step 5: Choose Center from the table alignment options.
You can also choose to move the table to the left or right.
You will be able to change the alignment of a document table whenever you need to center it or align it to the left or right side of the page now that you know how to center a table in Google Docs.
You might want to change the direction of the data inside the table cells now that you know how to center a table in Google Docs.
The following section explains how to go about doing so.
How to Align Data in a Google Docs Table Center
To center align all of the data inside your table cells, click and hold the bottom-right cell, then drag your mouse to the top-left cell to select each cell. Then, in the toolbar, click the Center align button.
Because all of the data in your table should now be in the middle of the table cells, you may use this method whenever you need to know how to center text in table in Google Docs.
Our course continues below with more information about this Google Docs center table option, as well as other methods to alter the look and feel of a Google Docs table.
Creating little numbers that go above or below the baseline is a less common formatting option in Google Docs. This tool will be demonstrated in our post on how to execute subscript in Google Docs.
More on Table Centering in Google Docs and the Table Properties Window
While the steps outlined above demonstrated how to center an entire table in a Google Doc when you already have one, you may be looking for other ways to customize the appearance of the tables in your Google Docs.
The Table Properties box is usually the simplest way to make many of these changes. You may reach this menu by right-clicking a table cell and selecting Table properties.
This opens a new “Table Properties” column on the right side of the window, which serves as the Format menu for any tables you’ve added to your project. There are various options accessible here, including:
- Minimum row height
- Pin header row
- Allow row to overflow across pages
- Column width
- Cell vertical alignment
- Table alignment
- Left indent
- Cell padding
- Table border color
- Table border width
- Cell background color
Take notice that the right-click menu where you found the Table properties option includes the majority of the other settings you’ll need to adjust the layout of your table, such as:
- Insert row above
- Insert row below
- Insert column left
- Insert column right
- Delete row
- Delete column
- Delete table
- Pin header up to this row
- Sort table
- Distribute rows
- Distribute columns
- Table properties
- Insert link
Questions and Answers About the Google Documents Center Table Process
How can I center text in a table in Google Docs?
While you may have followed the steps in our previous post to learn how to center a table in Google Docs, you may only want to center the text within one of the cells in your table.
This is accomplished by selecting the data to be centered and then pressing the Center Align button in the toolbar above the document.
You may also center text by choosing it, navigating to the Format tab at the top of the window, selecting Align & indent, and then selecting Center.
Can I center text in a Google Docs cell?
If you need to center text within one of the cells in a Google Docs table, do it in the same way you would center text in the document body.
- Choose a text.
- Click the Center Align button in the toolbar.
You may use the same method to align your text to the left or right instead.
How can I make a column in a Google Docs table wider?
You may have centered the text in one of your table cells, but you can’t tell because there isn’t much empty space on either side of that data.
By clicking and holding on the column border, then dragging it to the left or right to extend the column, you may make it wider and the centering more visible.
The same concept applies if you wish to make a row taller. Instead, click the row border and slide it up or down.
How can I construct a table in Google Docs?
While the directions in our previous post assume that you already have a table in your document that you want to center, it’s possible that you don’t already have one. If not, then it’s just a few steps to include one in the current file.
You may make a table in Google by following the instructions below:
- Decide where you want the table to appear in the document.
- Insert is located at the top of the window.
- Choose Table.
- Choose the number of columns and rows for your table.
Is it possible to insert two tables next to each other in Google Docs?
Sure, you can organize two documents next to one other in one of your documents, but you must use a workaround to do so.
- Choose Insert, Table, and then the 2 x 1 option.
- Put your pointer in the left cell.
- Choose Insert, Table, and then the dimensions for the left table.
- Click inside the proper cell.
- Choose Insert, Table, and then the desired table dimensions.
To remove the border from the outermost table, simply right-click inside one of its cells and choose Table characteristics.
Then, in the right Table properties column, select the Color section, click the Border color button, and then choose white.
Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.
His work can be found on many websites and focuses on topics such as Microsoft Office, Apple devices, Android devices, Photoshop, and more.