The easiest way to change the appearance of a table is to apply a different table style to it. You can apply a different style to a table at any time.

1. Click the table.

2. In the Table pane of the Format inspector, select a different style from the options at the top of the pane.

   Click the arrows on the left and right to see more styles.

If you made changes to your table’s appearance before applying a different table style, the new table style retains those changes. To override those changes when you apply a new style, Control-click the new table style, then choose “Clear Overrides and Apply Style.”

You can also create your own table styles.

If you made changes to a table’s appearance—for example, changing the border of table cells—you can revert the changes back to the original table style.

1. Click anywhere in the table.

2. In the Table pane of the Format inspector, Control-click the table style you want to reapply, then choose “Clear Overrides and Apply Style.”

1. Click the table.

2. In the Table pane of the Format inspector, do any of the following:

   • Change the outline: Change the line type, thickness, and color, using the Table Outline controls.

   • Change the grid lines: Click the Grid Lines buttons to add or remove grid lines from the table body, from the header rows and columns, and from footer rows.

You can change the border and background of any selection of table cells.

1. Select the cells you want to change.

2. In the Cell pane of the Format inspector, do any of the following:

   • Change the outline: Click in the Border section, choose a border style from the pop-up menu, then select which borders to apply the style to.

     You can also customize the cell borders—for example, you can make the lines between cells thicker or thinner. To create a custom cell border, click the disclosure triangle to the left of Border. Use the controls to specify a custom style, then click a border type to apply your changes.

   • Change the background: Click the color well in the Fill section, then select a color option. To customize the background, click the disclosure triangle to the left of Fill, then use the controls to make further changes.

     

You can also create rules to automatically change a cell’s appearance when the value in the cell meets certain conditions. For more information, go to Add conditional highlighting to cells.

1. Select the table.

2. In the Table pane of the Format inspector, select the Alternating Row Color checkbox, then click the color well to select a color.

Row colors don’t alternate for header columns. Header columns have their own appearance based on the table style you choose.