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I'm using MS Word 2010 to write a document. I have a table with a header row (indicated as such, 'Header Rows Repeat').

The table starts pretty low on the page and Word decides to break it exactly after the header row. It really shouldn't... I don't want to prevent tables from breaking across pages, just to prevent the situation in which I have an orphaned header row at the bottom. Can this be done?

I'm also interested in an answer applicable to Word 2003 and 2007.

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3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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Highlight all the content inside the header row and the second row and go to Paragraph properties and check Keep with next. This should stop the header row and the second row from being on separate pages, while it still allows the rest of the table to freely break across pages.

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  • That's twisting the semantics of 'Keep With Next', which shouldn't affect the next table cell IMO, but it works.
    – einpoklum
    Feb 27, 2014 at 8:04
  • I take it as affecting the paragraphs which are contained by the cells, and not the cells themselves (note that a valid cell even when empty must contain a paragraph).
    – Adam
    Feb 27, 2014 at 8:32
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    Thankyou +1. In Word 2010 (14.0.7181.5000), one just needs to select the top (header) row (and not explicitly the text within it, and not the second row) before adjusting the paragraph properties to keep with next. (Presumably setting this on the second row would keep the first three rows together, not just the first two).
    – Sepster
    Jun 26, 2017 at 2:55
  • This will prevent the table from breaking just after the second row (the one after the header). If it's OK to have the header and one row at the bottom of the page, just select the header row and set it to "Keep with next". My first non-header row is very tall, so I don't want to force it onto the next page.
    – CJ Dennis
    Aug 22, 2019 at 6:08
  • It does not work with tables that do not move with text. It is a disaster.
    – Antonio Sesto
    Oct 24, 2022 at 9:17
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Per @Adam's answer, the "Keep With Next" option needs to be set on the header paragraphs.

I would recommend setting up a "Row Header" style that encompasses this paragraph option, as well as any other visual formatting, that can be easily applied to the top row of all your tables.

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Had this same issue on word for OSX. The top solution didn't work for me, but managed to resolve it by selecting a cell in the table, going to the "Layout" tab (for the table rather than the identically labeled "Layout" for the document) and then toggling on and off the "Repeat Header Rows" option.

If on OSX, try this as well.

Here's what i'm talking about:

Here's what i'm talking about. Tried to just paste a picture in the comment box but it's making me do it this way

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  • Could you please explain in details the steps? My caption keeps moving even with that option set.
    – Antonio Sesto
    Oct 24, 2022 at 9:20

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