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To center an entire table in desktop Word, right-click inside it and choose Table Properties. On the Table tab, set Alignment to Center, then select OK. This moves the table; it does not center the text in its cells.
Center the whole table in desktop Word
- Click anywhere inside the table.
- Right-click and select Table Properties.
- In the dialog, open the Table tab.
- Under Alignment, choose Center, then select OK.
Microsoft documents this table-level alignment control for desktop Word in Microsoft 365 and Word 2024, 2021, 2019, and 2016. The dialog also offers left and right alignment. See Microsoft Support’s instructions for setting or changing table properties.
Center cell text instead of moving the table
If the table is already in the right place and you want its contents centered, select the relevant cell text or click in its paragraph, then go to Home > Paragraph > Center. This changes paragraph alignment inside the cell, not the table’s position. Microsoft’s text-alignment instructions describe this control.
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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →| What you want to center | Control to use | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| The entire table | Table Properties > Table > Alignment: Center | The table’s horizontal position on the page |
| Text in one or more cells | Home > Paragraph > Center | Paragraph text within the selected cell or cells |
If the table’s placement still looks wrong
On the Table tab in Table Properties, check Preferred width and Text wrapping. The width and whether wrapping is set to Around or None can affect how the table sits relative to nearby text. Microsoft also describes Positioning as a way to refine placement when wrapping is used; consult the table-properties guide for those settings.
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Word for the web
Word for the web can align text in cells, but some advanced table properties available in desktop Word cannot be configured in the browser. If you cannot find the table-level Alignment setting, open the document in desktop Word and use Table Properties. Microsoft explains the feature differences in Differences between using a document in the browser and in Word.
Ctrl+E is a centered paragraph/text-alignment shortcut in Word for the web; it is not a shortcut for centering the table object. See Microsoft’s Word Web App keyboard shortcuts.
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