How to Use Word’s ‘Position’ Property for Floating Table Layouts

You have a table in Word that you want to sit beside text, not push text above and below it. By default, tables are anchored to the paragraph and force a line break before and after. The Position property changes that behavior, letting a table float so text wraps around it. This article explains what the Position property does, how to apply it, and what to watch out for when using floating tables in Word.

What the Position Property Does for a Table

In Word, a table normally sits inline. That means it behaves like a large character: it starts at the left margin, takes up the full line width, and pushes any content before it above and any content after it below. The Position property changes this behavior by detaching the table from the normal paragraph flow.

When you enable positioning on a table, you can set its exact location relative to the page, the margin, the column, or the paragraph. The table then floats over or beside the text. Text wraps around the table shape you define, usually the rectangle of the table borders. This is useful for sidebars, callout tables, or small data grids that should sit beside a paragraph without breaking the reading flow.

To use the Position property, the table must have text wrapping set to Around. Without wrapping, the Position dialog options are grayed out. Once wrapping is on, you control horizontal and vertical alignment, distance from surrounding text, and whether the table moves when you edit content above it.

Prerequisites

You need a table that already contains at least one row and one column. The Position property works on any table, including tables with merged cells. The document must be in Print Layout view to see the floating effect. Draft or Outline view will not show text wrapping around the table.

Steps to Set the Position Property on a Table

These steps work in Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2021, Word 2019, and Word 2016. The dialog and options are identical in all these versions.

1. Select the table
   Click anywhere inside the table. The Table Design and Layout tabs appear on the ribbon. Do not click the table handle at the top-left corner unless you want to move the entire table.
2. Open Table Properties
   Right-click the selected table and choose Table Properties from the context menu. Alternatively, go to the Table Layout tab and click Properties in the Table group.
3. Set text wrapping to Around
   In the Table Properties dialog, click the Table tab. Under Text wrapping, select Around. The Positioning button becomes active.
4. Open the Positioning dialog
   Click the Positioning button. A new dialog titled Table Positioning opens.
5. Set horizontal position
   In the Horizontal section, choose a Position value such as Left, Center, Right, Inside, or Outside. In the Relative to dropdown, choose Page, Margin, Column, or Paragraph. For a sidebar, set Position to Right and Relative to Page.
6. Set vertical position
   In the Vertical section, choose a Position value such as Top, Center, Bottom, Inside, or Outside. In the Relative to dropdown, choose Page, Margin, or Paragraph. For a table that stays at the top of the page, set Position to Top and Relative to Page.
7. Adjust distance from surrounding text
   In the Distance from surrounding text section, set Top, Bottom, Left, and Right values in inches or centimeters. A value of 0.1 to 0.2 inches works for most layouts. Click OK to close the Positioning dialog.
8. Confirm the table properties
   Click OK in the Table Properties dialog. The table now floats at the position you specified. Text wraps around its borders.

Locking the Anchor or Letting the Table Move

In the Positioning dialog, two checkboxes control how the table behaves when you edit content above it:

• Move object with text: When checked, the table moves up or down if you insert or delete paragraphs above its anchor paragraph. The table keeps its relative vertical offset from that paragraph.
• Lock anchor: When checked, the table stays on the same page as its anchor. If the anchor paragraph moves to another page, the table moves with it.

For a table that should stay in the same spot on every page, uncheck Move object with text and set vertical position to Top Relative to Page. For a table that should follow a specific paragraph, check both Move object with text and Lock anchor.

Common Mistakes and Layout Problems With Floating Tables

Table Overlaps Text or Other Objects

If the table overlaps text, increase the Distance from surrounding text values in the Positioning dialog. Also check that the table width is not set to 100 percent of the page. In the Table Properties dialog, Table tab, set Preferred width to a fixed value like 3 inches or to a percentage such as 40 percent.

Table Jumps to a Different Page

This happens when the anchor paragraph moves to another page. Open the Positioning dialog and uncheck Move object with text. Then set the vertical position to a fixed value like Top Relative to Page. The table will stay at that page position regardless of edits.

Table Does Not Wrap Text Correctly

Text wrapping only works when the table is set to Around in Table Properties. If the table still pushes text to the next line, check that the table width is less than the column width. A table that is 6 inches wide in a 6.5-inch column leaves only 0.5 inches for text, which may force the text below the table. Reduce the table width or increase the column width.

Table Position Changes After Saving and Reopening

This can occur when the document is opened in an older version of Word or in Word Online. Word Online does not support floating tables with custom positioning. The table reverts to inline. To avoid this, use Word desktop for documents that rely on floating table layouts.

Floating Table vs Inline Table: Key Differences

Item	Floating Table (Position property)	Inline Table (default)
Text wrapping	Text wraps around the table borders	Text stays above and below the table
Position control	Exact horizontal and vertical position relative to page, margin, column, or paragraph	Always starts at the left margin and follows paragraph flow
Movement on edit	Can be locked or set to move with the anchor paragraph	Always moves when content above it changes
Compatibility	Word desktop only; Word Online and older versions may lose positioning	Works in all versions of Word and Word Online
Best use case	Sidebars, callout tables, small data grids next to text	Full-width tables, data sheets, tables that must stay in document flow

You can now create floating tables that sit precisely where you want them. Start by setting text wrapping to Around in Table Properties, then use the Positioning dialog to set horizontal and vertical alignment. If the table overlaps text or jumps pages, adjust the distance values or uncheck Move object with text. For complex layouts, consider using a text box with a table inside it as an alternative — text boxes offer more advanced wrapping options and anchor control.