Formatting Issues

How to Add Borders Between Rows in Word Table Styles

Steve K Oct 10, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to format interior borders between rows in a Word table, particularly when banded columns are enabled.

How to Add Borders Between Rows in a Word Table Style

Product: Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Creating a reusable document layout with specific row border formatting in a table style while utilizing banded columns.
Observed behavior: Word table styles apply borders and shading to the entire banded column by design, which overrides and prevents separate interior row border formatting.

Before you start

Ensure your document is open and your cursor is placed inside the table you wish to format before modifying styles or creating AutoText entries.

Solution 1Recommended

Format and Save the Table as an AutoText Entry

Since table styles natively limit row borders when banded columns are active, manually formatting a table and saving it as an AutoText entry provides a perfectly reusable layout.

By design, Word applies borders to the entire banded column, overwriting individual row borders. Bypassing the Style manager and saving the physical table object ensures your exact formatting remains intact.

Format the Sample Table

Insert a basic table into your document and manually format the interior row borders and shading to match your desired layout.

Select the Table

Click the four-headed arrow icon at the top-left corner of the table to select the entire formatted table.

Open the AutoText Gallery

Navigate to the Insert tab on the ribbon, click on Quick Parts in the Text group, and select AutoText.

Save the Selection

Click 'Save Selection to AutoText Gallery'. Give it a unique name and store it in the Normal template so you can easily reuse this table layout in future documents.

Format and Save the Table as an AutoText Entry

Reusable Formatting: Saving to the Normal template ensures your custom table layout is accessible anytime you open a new document.

Solution 2

Store the Formatted Table in the Quick Tables Gallery

Alternatively, you can save your custom table layout directly into Word's built-in Quick Tables gallery for rapid insertion.

Solution 3

Modify Table Style Banded Column Settings

If you prefer to keep working with Table Styles, you can adjust the formatting applied specifically to banded columns within the style manager.

Format Tables Easily with WPS Writer

Create and Reuse Custom Table Layouts in WPS Writer

WPS Writer offers an intuitive interface to format custom table borders, shading, and banded rows or columns. You can easily save your perfectly designed tables to the Quick Parts gallery for quick reuse across multiple documents.

1. Insert a Table: Open your document in WPS Writer, navigate to the Insert tab, and add a standard table.
2. Customize Borders: Use the Table Tools tab to manually apply your specific interior row borders and column banding.
3. Select and Save: Select the entire table, go to the Insert tab, and choose Quick Parts.
4. Reuse Layouts: Save the selection to your gallery to easily drop this custom-formatted table into any future document.

Highly compatible with Microsoft Word (.docx) formats and table styles.Intuitive Table Tools for seamlessly customizing row borders and banded columns.Free and lightweight alternative to heavy office suites with familiar user interface.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do my row borders disappear when I enable banded columns in Word?

By design, Word applies background shading and borders to the entire banded column (whether odd or even). This column-level formatting overrides individual interior row border settings in the Table Style.

Where are AutoText entries saved for my tables?

When you save a table selection to the AutoText gallery, it is typically stored in the Normal template (Normal.dotm). This allows you to access and insert the reusable table layout across all new documents on your device.

Can I apply odd and even row borders separately in Table Styles?

Yes, in the Modify Table Style dialog box, you can change the 'Apply Formatting To' dropdown to 'Odd Banded Rows' or 'Even Banded Rows' to format them independently, as long as banded columns aren't currently overriding the row settings.

Document & File Issues