Easy tips for creating tables in Microsoft Word, including a method for drawing tables that resembles a notebook for elementary students.

Gridlines in Word will create grids, which is a very useful tool to align content such as charts, images, shapes, drawings… It helps you improve the structure of the content and the overall professionalism of the document.

The interesting thing is that you can turn on gridlines in Word to work only on the document which does not have these grids when printed out, avoiding making the document more cluttered. However, if you want to make the gridlines in Word look like grid paper for primary school students, you can completely set it up to print these lines as well. Let’s explore in detail the different methods to do this with FPT Shop.

To add gridlines in Word, you can choose one of the two methods provided by the Word application. One is from the Layout tab, and the other is to add gridlines in Word through the View tab. Let’s explore with FPT Shop.

Add gridlines in Word from the Layout tab

Step 1: Open a new document file that you want to add gridlines to. Or you can also open an existing Word file with content, but now you want to add gridlines.

Step 2: On the ribbon toolbar, select the Layout tab.

Step 3: Next, click the Align button in the Arrange feature group at the top right of the ribbon. Then click the View Gridlines option from the dropdown menu.

Step 4: Now you will see that the document has been added with gridlines throughout its content inside the margin.

Add gridlines in Word from the View tab

Step 1: Open a new document file that you want to add gridlines to. Or you can also open an existing Word file with content.

Step 2: On the ribbon toolbar, select the View tab.

Step 3: Then click the Gridlines option in the Show feature group just below the View tab. This option will immediately add gridlines in Word to your document.

Add gridlines in Word using the Tablet feature

In addition to adding gridlines in Word from the View or Gridlines tab, Office application users can also use the Tablet feature to do so.

Step 1: Open a new document file that you want to add gridlines to.

Step 2: On the ribbon toolbar, select the Layout tab, then click the dropdown arrow at the top-right of the Page Setup feature group.

Step 3: In the Page Setup dialog box, click the Margins tab. Then set all the size settings for the margins at the Top, Left, Bottom, and Right to the value of 0.

Step 4: Click the OK button to close the Page Setup dialog box and apply the settings.

Step 5: Go back to the ribbon toolbar, select the Insert tab. Then click the Tablet button in the Tables feature group, and from the dropdown menu, select the Insert Table option.

Step 6: In the Insert Table dialog box, under the Table size section, enter the number of columns and rows you want to create. Then click the OK button to apply.

Step 7: Immediately, you will see that the document has been added with gridlines in Word. However, the size of the squares in the table is not equal. To make the squares equal to the gridlines in Word, you need to continue with the settings.

Step 8: Click on the cross symbol at the top-left corner of the table you created in Step 6. From the dropdown menu, select the Table Properties option.

Step 9: In the Table Properties window, by default, the Row tab is selected. Select the Specify height option, then enter the value corresponding to the size of the square you want to make equal to the gridlines in Word. In the Row height is section on the right, select the Exactly option.

Step 10: Next, select the Column tab and the Cell tab next to it. For both tabs, select the Preferred width option, then enter the value similar to what you entered for the Row tab. The purpose is to create squares that are equal in size. 

Step 11: Click the OK button and immediately the table you created in Word will adjust the size of the cells to create squares that are equal in size, just like the gridlines. 

While the gridlines from the View or Gridlines tab above only display on the Word application on your computer, they will not be displayed when printed out. This will be completely fixed if you add gridlines in Word using the Tablet feature above. 

Add gridlines in Word for primary school students

With one of the methods to add gridlines in Word as mentioned above, that is not necessarily the standard size of grid paper for primary school students. If you want to add gridlines in Word like the grid paper for primary school students, you can do as follows:

Step 1: Activate your favorite web browser, search for and download the handwriting font with the title “Primary School Writing Font”.

Step 2: After downloading the handwriting fonts for primary school students, extract them to a folder. Then copy all these fonts and paste them into the folder: C:\Windows\Fonts.

Step 3: Open a new Word document where you want to insert gridlines. Then switch to the Home tab, and at the Font feature group, click the dropdown arrow at the Font section, then from the dropdown menu, select the font style HP001 4 rows 1 grid.

Step 4: Next, go to the Insert tab on the ribbon toolbar, then click the Symbol button in the Symbol feature group at the top right. From the dropdown menu, select the More Symbols option.

Step 5: In the Symbol window that appears, in the Font section of the Symbol tab, select the font style named HP001 5 rows. Then in the character grid below, find and click on the gridline symbol as shown below, and click the Insert button.

Step 6: Immediately, the gridlines in Word will be inserted. Now your task is to copy and paste these objects next to each other on one line to create a grid of squares, just like in the picture below.

Step 7: Now you just need to print out the gridlines in Word and give it to your child to practice writing.

How to change the style of the gridlines in Word

If you want to have a page with gridlines in Word that looks like a lined journal or want to change it for aesthetic purposes, you can easily change the design of the gridlines in Word to suit your needs. You can choose from a variety of unique designs.

Step 1: On the ribbon toolbar, click the Design tab.

Step 2: Then, click the Page Color button and from the dropdown menu, select the Fill Effects… option.

Step 3: In the Fill Effects dialog box, click the Pattern tab. To change the style of the gridlines in Word, click the desired style under the Pattern box below. To change the color of the gridlines, simply click the Foreground option.

Step 4: Finally, click the OK button to apply. When creating gridlines in Word with this method, it will automatically cover the entire document regardless of the margin size. 

Conclusion

Above are the most detailed instructions for different solutions to add gridlines in Word. Among them, the most notable one is adding gridlines in Word with a grid style like a primary school student’s grid paper. That way, parents can use the ability to add gridlines in Word to create standardized grid notebooks and print them out for their children to practice writing, which is very suitable.