When you apply multiple colors, borders, and shading to a Word table, the formatting can quickly become inconsistent or messy. You might want to strip all custom formatting and return the table to its default plain appearance. This article explains three reliable methods to reset table formatting in Word: clearing direct formatting, using the built-in table styles, and converting the table to plain text and back. Each method works in Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2021, Word 2019, and earlier versions.
Key Takeaways: Reset Table Formatting in Word
- Home > Font group > Clear All Formatting (Ctrl+Spacebar): Removes bold, italic, color, and size from selected cells but keeps borders and shading.
- Table Design > Table Styles > Clear: Replaces the current table style with a plain grid and removes all style-based formatting.
- Convert Table to Text and back: Deletes all table-specific formatting including merged cells, borders, and shading, giving you a clean table structure.
What Happens When You Reset Table Formatting
Resetting table formatting removes all custom colors, borders, shading, font formatting, and cell alignment that you applied manually or through a table style. The table itself stays intact — rows, columns, and cell content remain. After a reset, the table uses the default Word table appearance: black single-line borders, no shading, and the document’s default font (usually Calibri 11).
No special add-ins or permissions are required. These methods work on any table in a .docx file. Before starting, save a copy of your document in case you need to undo the reset.
Method 1: Clear Direct Cell Formatting
This method removes formatting applied directly to cell text, such as bold, italic, font color, and font size. It does not affect borders, shading, or table styles.
- Select the entire table
Click the table move handle (the four-arrow icon at the top-left corner of the table). Alternatively, click inside the table and press Alt+Shift+5 on the numeric keypad. - Clear direct font formatting
Press Ctrl+Spacebar. This removes bold, italic, underline, font color, font size, and superscript/subscript from all selected cell text. The text reverts to the document’s default font style. - Clear paragraph formatting if needed
Press Ctrl+Q to reset paragraph alignment, indentation, and spacing to the default style. This step is optional if you only want to reset font appearance.
After these steps, the text inside the table will look plain. Borders and cell shading remain unchanged. Use this method when you want to keep the table’s structural formatting but remove text formatting.
Method 2: Apply the Plain Table Style
Word includes a built-in table style called Plain Table that removes all shading, borders, and color from a table. Applying this style overrides any custom table formatting you applied previously.
- Select the table
Click the table move handle or click inside any cell and press Ctrl+A twice (first press selects the cell content, second press selects the entire table). - Open the Table Design tab
Click the Table Design tab on the ribbon. This tab appears only when the table is selected. - Choose the Plain Table style
In the Table Styles gallery, scroll to the bottom of the style list. Click the Clear option — it is located at the very bottom of the gallery drop-down menu. If you do not see Clear, click the More arrow in the bottom-right corner of the gallery to expand it fully. Clear applies a plain grid with black borders and no shading.
The table now displays with simple black borders and no background color. This method resets style-based formatting but does not remove direct font formatting applied to individual cells. If cell text still has bold or color, use Method 1 afterward.
Method 3: Convert Table to Text and Recreate It
This method completely strips all table formatting, including merged cells, column widths, row heights, borders, and shading. It works by converting the table to plain text and then converting that text back into a table.
- Select the table
Click the table move handle to select the entire table. - Convert the table to text
Go to Table Layout (not Table Design) and click Convert to Text. In the dialog, select Tabs as the separator character and click OK. Each row becomes a paragraph, and each cell is separated by a tab character. - Select the converted text
Select all the paragraphs that came from the table. Include the tab characters between cell values. - Convert the text back to a table
Go to Insert > Table > Convert Text to Table. In the dialog, verify that the number of columns matches the original table. Set Separate text at to Tabs. Click OK.
The new table has no custom formatting — it uses the default table style with black borders and no shading. This method is the most thorough reset because it removes all table properties, including column widths and merged cells. You will need to reapply any special layout after the reset.
What to Do When the Reset Does Not Work as Expected
Table still shows colored shading after applying Plain Table style
Direct cell shading overrides table styles. To remove it, select the cells, right-click, choose Borders and Shading, go to the Shading tab, and set Fill to No Color. Then reapply the Plain Table style.
Merged cells break after converting to text and back
The Convert Text to Table dialog cannot restore merged cells automatically. If your original table had merged cells, note which cells were merged before converting. After the conversion, select the cells you need to merge and go to Table Layout > Merge Cells.
Column widths are uneven after reset
After applying the Plain Table style or recreating the table, column widths may adjust to fit the content. To distribute columns evenly, select the table, go to Table Layout > Distribute Columns. To set specific widths, use the Table Properties dialog.
Reset Methods Comparison
| Method | What It Resets | What It Keeps |
|---|---|---|
| Clear All Formatting (Ctrl+Spacebar) | Font name, size, color, bold, italic, underline | Borders, shading, cell alignment, merged cells, column widths |
| Plain Table style (Table Design > Clear) | Table style colors, borders, shading, header row formatting | Direct font formatting on cell text, merged cells, column widths |
| Convert to text and back | All table properties: borders, shading, merged cells, column widths, row heights | Cell content only (text and numbers) |
Choose the method that matches what you need to reset. For a quick text-only reset, use Ctrl+Spacebar. For style-based formatting, use the Plain Table style. For a complete rebuild, use the convert-to-text method.
You can now reset any Word table to its default appearance using one of three methods. Start by trying the Plain Table style — it resolves most formatting issues in one click. If the table still has unwanted colors, remove direct shading through the Borders and Shading dialog. For a deeper clean, the convert-to-text method gives you a blank table structure to rebuild from. As an advanced tip, create a custom table style with your preferred formatting and apply it after resetting — this saves time on future tables.