Why Word Table Cell Padding Shows Different Values in Print Preview

You carefully set table cell padding in Word, but when you switch to Print Preview, the spacing inside cells looks different. The values you entered seem to shrink or expand unexpectedly. This discrepancy is caused by how Word handles table properties versus the rendering engine used in Print Preview and the final printout. This article explains the root cause of the padding mismatch and provides steps to align the on-screen appearance with the printed result.

Why Print Preview Shows Different Table Cell Padding

Word uses two different layout engines: one for the editing view and another for Print Layout view and Print Preview. The editing view (Draft or Web Layout) uses a simplified rendering that ignores some spacing rules. Print Preview uses the full print engine, which applies additional default cell margins that Word adds automatically to every table cell.

When you create a table, Word assigns default cell margins of 0.04 inch (about 0.1 cm) on all four sides. These margins are invisible in the editing view but become visible in Print Preview. If you set custom cell padding to, say, 0.1 inch, the effective padding in Print Preview becomes 0.14 inch because the default margin is added on top.

Another factor is the Automatically resize to fit contents option. When enabled, Word shrinks or expands cells based on the content length and the page width. In Print Preview, this resizing can shift the padding values because Word recalculates the cell width to avoid text overflow or orphaned lines.

The difference is most noticeable when you have a table with mixed content: short text in some cells and longer paragraphs in others. Word tries to balance the cell widths across the table, which can stretch or compress the padding in specific cells. The editing view does not perform this balancing act, so the padding looks uniform until you preview the print.

Steps to Match Table Cell Padding in Print Preview

Follow these steps to make the cell padding in Print Preview match the values you set in the table properties dialog.

1. Open the Table Properties dialog
   Click inside the table. Go to the Table Layout tab (the one that appears when a table is selected). Click Properties in the Table group. Alternatively, right-click the table and choose Table Properties.
2. Access the cell margins settings
   In the Table Properties dialog, click the Table tab if it is not already selected. Click the Options button at the bottom left. The Table Options dialog opens.
3. Set default cell margins to zero
   In the Table Options dialog, under Default cell margins, change the Top, Bottom, Left, and Right values to 0 (zero). This removes the hidden 0.04-inch margins that Word adds by default. Click OK to close the Table Options dialog.
4. Disable automatic resizing
   In the same Table Options dialog, uncheck Automatically resize to fit contents. This prevents Word from overriding your padding when it recalculates cell sizes for printing. Click OK to close the Table Properties dialog.
5. Set your desired cell padding
   With the table still selected, go to the Table Layout tab. Click Cell Margins in the Alignment group. In the Table Options dialog that opens, enter your custom padding values in the Top, Bottom, Left, and Right boxes. For example, enter 0.1 inch for all sides. Click OK.
6. Verify the result in Print Preview
   Press Ctrl+F2 to open Print Preview. Check that the cell padding now matches the values you entered. If the padding still looks different, repeat steps 1 through 5 and ensure the default cell margins are set to zero.

If Word Still Shows Different Padding in Print Preview

Table spans multiple pages and padding shifts on page breaks

When a table breaks across pages, Word may adjust the cell padding in the rows that appear at the top of the new page. To fix this, select the entire table. Go to the Table Layout tab. Click Properties. In the Row tab, uncheck Allow row to break across pages. This forces each row to stay on one page, preserving the padding values.

Cell padding differs between merged cells

Merged cells sometimes ignore the global cell margins and use their own internal spacing. To fix this, select the merged cell. Right-click and choose Table Properties. Click the Cell tab, then click Options. Check Same as the whole table to force the merged cell to use the table-level padding. Click OK twice.

Padding values are in different units (inches vs centimeters)

If your document uses inches but you type a value in centimeters, Word converts the unit but the conversion may introduce a rounding error. To avoid this, go to File > Options > Advanced. Under Display, set Show measurements in units of to the same unit you use for padding. Then re-enter the padding values.

Item	Editing View	Print Preview
Default cell margins	Hidden (not applied)	0.04 inch added on all sides
Automatically resize to fit contents	Disabled or ignored	Enabled by default, overrides padding
Cell width balancing	Not performed	Performed to fit page width
Merged cell padding	Uses global table settings	May revert to individual cell settings

After you set default cell margins to zero and disable automatic resizing, the editing view and Print Preview should show identical cell padding. If you continue to see differences, check that no paragraph spacing or line spacing inside the cells is pushing the text away from the cell borders. Use the Paragraph dialog (Alt+H, PG) to set Spacing Before and After to zero for all text inside the table.

You can now control table cell padding precisely and see the same spacing in Print Preview as in the editing view. Next time you create a table, set the default cell margins to zero before adding any custom padding. For complex tables with merged cells, verify each cell individually by right-clicking and checking the Cell Options dialog.