Turn Gridlines on in a Table in Word (Add-in)

Both APA and MLA tables are formatted using horizontal dividing lines, but they do not include vertical dividing lines. So, when you use the Insert Table button of PERRLA to create a table, it will resemble the table in the image below:

The table above is the required formatting of a table in APA and MLA. However, since there are no lines indicating where each cell and column begin and end, it may be difficult to pinpoint where to type the text in the table.

To help with this, you can turn on View Gridlines in Word. This will place a dotted line around each cell in the table, so you'll have a visual cue showing you where to type. These lines will not appear on printed copies of the paper or copies of the paper that you send to your professor. The purpose of those lines is solely to show you where the cells are. When you turn on gridlines, the table will appear as it does in the image below:

As you can see, each cell is now visible, making it easier to know where to type your text.

Turning on gridlines in Word is very easy.

1. Click somewhere within the table.
   This will bring up the Table Design and Layout menus in Word's ribbon.
2. Click the Layout menu.
3. Click the View Gridlines button.

It's that simple. Once you are finished inserting the text into your table, you can click the View Gridlines button again to turn them back off.