Creating a Table

Next we want to show our students how easy it is to create a table in PowerPoint. Since presentations often include facts and figures, tables can be a useful way to display information.

Today we will create a table that displays the enrollment figures for the class of 2016 at our high school.

Inserting a Table

We will add a table to slide 7 now.

Step 1. To move to slide 7, in the slide thumbnail list,

Click on slide 7

Step 2. To move to the Insert tab, on the Ribbon, if necessary,

Click the Insert tab

Step 3. To begin creating a table, in the Tables group,

Click

The Insert Table menu will appear. We want to create a table with five rows and two columns.

Step 4. To select the number of rows and columns for the table,

Press & Drag over the grid to select a 2 x 5 area

Your grid should look like this:

When you release the mouse, a 2 x 5 table will appear on the slide. The Table Tools contextual tabs have also opened on the Ribbon.

The table may have been inserted right over the title placeholder. Let's move it down.

Step 5. To begin to reposition the table on the slide, if necessary,

Point to the frame around the table

The cursor changes so a four-sided arrow appears from the cursor tip: .

Step 6. To position the table on the slide,

Press & Drag the table to the center of the slide

Now that the table is in the correct place, we can resize it. Just as with an image, the small, hollow circles on the border of the table are the sizing handles.

Step 7. To make the table larger,

Press & Drag the sizing handle towards the bottom of the slide

Adding Text to a Table

Now that our table has been created and resized, we are ready to add some data to it.

For the purpose of accessibility, it is important that our table has a header row and descriptive column headers.

Step 1. To confirm that our table has a header row, on the Table Tools Design tab, in the Table Styles Options group, if necessary,

Click the Header Row checkbox

Step 2. To enter a header in the first cell of row 1,

Click the first cell

A blinking cursor appears in the cell, indicating that it is ready to accept text.

Step 3. To enter text, type:

Class

Step 4. To move to the next header in row 1, press:

Tab key

You see a blinking cursor in the second cell in the first row.

Step 5. To enter text, type:

Number of Students

Step 6. To move to the second row, press:

Tab key

The cursor appears in the first cell of the second row.

Step 7. To complete the table, type the following information so that your table looks like this:

The table is now in place.

Adding Alternative Text for a Table

Before moving on, we must add alternative text. Since this is a simple table, this won't be a problem, but the use of complex tables can create accessibility challenges since they typically lack structural tags. Therefore, if we plan to post a presentation that contains large amounts of important data, we might want to consider using a list format in place of the complex table, and we should always use clear, detailed alternative text.

Because a screen reader will read the information in a table line by line, the data will often sound meaningless. It is extremely important that we include an accurate, detailed description.

Step 1. Verify that the table is still selected.

Step 2. To begin adding the alternative text, on the Quick Access Toolbar,

Click

The Format Picture pane opens.

NOTE for MacOS Users: To begin adding the alternative text, Control key+Click the shape, Click Format Shape..., Click .

Step 3. To add a description, in the Description field, type:

A table comparing the number of students in each class. The senior class has the greatest number of students.

Step 4. To close the Format Shape pane,

Click

Now that the content and alt text have been added, let's move on to formatting our table.

Formatting a Table

We decide that our table would look better if it were a different color. We can change the look of our table by using the contextual tabs on the Ribbon.

Step 1. Verify that the table is still selected.

Step 2. To access the Table Styles gallery, on the Ribbon, under Table Tools, if necessary,

Click the Design tab

NOTE for MacOS Users: The tab is labeled Table Design.

Step 3. To change the table style,

Click

The Table Styles gallery opens displaying over 70 possible styles. We can choose one of the styles that PowerPoint has determined is a best match for this document, or we can choose any of the other styles that are available.

Step 4. To select a new table style,

Click any table style

The appearance of the table changes, and the Table Styles gallery closes.

Now we will center the text in the table.

Step 5. To access the Layout tools, under Table Tools, on the Ribbon,

Click the Layout tab

Step 6. To select all of the text in the table,

Press & Drag across all text in the table

Step 7. To center the text horizontally, in the Alignment group,

Click

The text in each cell is now centered horizontally.

Now let's center the text vertically.

Step 8. To center the text vertically, in the Alignment group,

Click

Now the text in each cell is centered vertically, and our table is complete.

Step 9. To deselect the table,

Click on the outer edge of the slide

Step 10. Save the presentation Creating_a_Presentation.pptx.

Our work on the table is complete. Now let's see how to align text using tabs.