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How to Split, Move, and Copy Tables in Google Docs™

Google Docs™ has no 'Split table' button, but you can break a table in two with cut and paste, drag rows between tables, and move or duplicate whole tables safely. Here's how.

Travis

Travis

To split a table in Google Docs™, select the rows that should become the second table, cut them, and paste them on an empty line below — Docs™ creates a new table from the pasted rows. Moving and copying a whole table is a matter of selecting slightly beyond its edges before cutting or copying.

Three closely related tasks, three small techniques. None of them have a dedicated menu command, which is why they generate so many support-forum questions.

Split one table into two

  1. Select all the rows that should move into the new, second table — click in the first cell of the first row and drag through the last cell of the last row.
  2. Cut them (Ctrl+X / Cmd+X). The rows disappear from the original table.
  3. Click on an empty paragraph below the table (press Enter after the table first if there isn't one).
  4. Paste (Ctrl+V / Cmd+V). Docs™ inserts the rows as a separate table.

The new table inherits the column structure of the cut rows. Add a blank line between the two tables so they don't visually merge back together.

Tip: The reverse also works — you can merge two tables by selecting all rows of one table, cutting them, and pasting them into the last row area of the other. Docs™ also lets you drag rows from one table into another if both have the same number of columns.

Move a table

  1. Select from the empty line just above the table to the empty line just below it — this grabs the whole table as one block. (Selecting only inside the table selects cells, not the table itself.)
  2. Cut, click at the destination, and paste.

For fine-grained placement — wrapping text around a table or nudging it — check Format > Table > Table properties, where you can set the table's alignment (left, center, right) and indentation.

Copy a table

Same selection trick, but with copy instead of cut:

  1. Select from just above the table to just below it.
  2. Ctrl+C / Cmd+C, click at the destination, Ctrl+V / Cmd+V.

Duplicating a table before restructuring it is cheap insurance — table layouts are tedious to rebuild. Version history (File > Version history) is your backstop if something goes wrong.

Restructure instead of rearrange

If what you actually want is the table flipped — rows as columns and columns as rows — don't rebuild it. The free Text To Table Converter Add-On transposes in place: select the table, then Extensions > Text To Table Converter > Modify Table > Transpose Table. Rotations and column-width tools live in the same menu.

Get the Add-On

Text To Table Converter

免费获取插件

Text To Table Converter

Restructure tables for free: The free Text To Table Converter add-on adds transpose, rotate, column-width tools, and one-click styles to Docs™, Slides™, and Sheets™.

免费安装

Next Step: Combine Cells Within a Table