Last Updated: 13/08/2026
Tables are one of the most useful features in LibreOffice Writer, whether you’re organising information for a client project, building a spec sheet for your web developers, or simply structuring content in a document.
In this tutorial, we’ll walk through exactly how to insert, format, and customise tables in LibreOffice Writer – from your very first row to a polished, professional layout.
Getting Started: Setting Up Your Document
Before inserting a table, it’s good practice to prepare your document properly. Open a blank document in LibreOffice Writer, and hit Enter a few times to create some space. A helpful tip: always make sure there’s an empty line below where your table will go. This small step saves you a headache later, since tables inserted at the very end of a document can be tricky to work with.
Inserting Your First Table
Once your cursor is positioned where you want the table, go to the Table menu and select Insert Table. You’ll be prompted to choose the number of rows and columns:
- For this example, we’ll use 1 row and 3 columns.
- You can just as easily choose 4, 5, 6, or more columns depending on what you need.
- Typically, you’ll start with one row and add more as you go.
Once inserted, you’ll notice a small floating toolbar of table options appears whenever you click inside the table – and disappears when you click away.
Adding a Title Above Your Table
Clicking just above the table lets you add a heading. For example, if you’re creating a document to brief your web developers, you might title it something like “Contact Form Fields” – a document that tells your team exactly what fields are required for a form on a client project.
Adding Rows: Two Easy Methods
There are two simple ways to add more rows to your table:
- Use the toolbar options – Click Insert Row Above or Insert Rows Below in the table options that appear when your cursor is inside the table.
- Use the Tab key – Place your cursor in the very last cell of the table and press Tab. This automatically creates a new row. The Tab key is also handy for quickly moving between cells as you fill in your table.
Formatting Borders
To give your table a clean, defined look:
- Select the entire table (click and drag from the top-left corner, or use your mouse to highlight all cells).
- Open the Borders option in the toolbar.
- Choose “All Borders” to apply a border around every cell.
This instantly adds a visible black grid across your entire table, making it easier to read and organise.
Building Out a Practical Example: A Contact Form Field Table
To show how this works in a real scenario, imagine you’re documenting the fields for a website contact form. Your table might include column headers like:
- Field Name
- Field Type
- Comments
From there, you can fill in rows for each form field your developer needs to build, such as:
| Title | First Name | Last Name | Telephone Number | Business Name | Budget | Type of Website |
|---|
For each of these, you’d specify the field type your developer should use:
- Title – Drop-down menu (e.g., Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms)
- First Name – Text field
- Last Name – Text field
- Telephone Number – Text field, numbers only
- Business Name – Text field
- Budget – Drop-down menu (e.g., £0–£500, £500–£1,000, £1,000–£2,000, and so on)
- Type of Website – Drop-down menu (e.g., Business website, E-commerce website)
This kind of table becomes a clear, functional reference document your development team can follow precisely – no guesswork required.
Making Your First Row Stand Out
To highlight your header row (e.g., “Title,” “First Name,” “Last Name,” etc.), simply:
- Select the row with your mouse.
- Apply Bold formatting.
This creates visual separation between your headers and the data below, improving readability at a glance.
Customising Further: Colors, Fonts, and Column Widths
Once your table structure is in place, there’s plenty of room to customise:
- Background colours – Since this type of table is often functional rather than decorative, styling isn’t essential, but you can add background colours if desired.
- Font styles – Set different fonts for headers versus body text to create visual hierarchy.
- Column width – Resize columns so narrow ones have more room and wide ones are trimmed down, helping the table fit its content neatly.
- Adding columns – Click on the last column, then choose Insert Column to the Right to add another column and title for more information.
A Quick Planning Tip
Before you build your table, take a moment to think through your structure:
- How many columns do you need? This is worth getting right upfront – it’s more effort to add or remove columns after the fact.
- Rows are easy to add later, so don’t worry too much about getting the row count exactly right from the start.
Getting your column count correct early makes the rest of the formatting process significantly smoother.
Wrapping Up
That’s everything you need to know to insert and format tables in LibreOffice Writer – from creating your first table, to adding rows, applying borders, bolding headers, and customising fonts and colours. Whether you’re briefing a development team or organising your own project notes, tables are a simple but powerful way to keep information clear and structured.
Give it a try in your next document, and see how quickly you can put together a professional, easy-to-read table.
