How to Create a Table in Adobe Illustrator

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: February 4, 2021 Tested

This tutorial will show you an easy way to create a table in Adobe Illustrator.

Steps

1
Select the Rectangle Tool by clicking in the Tool Palette.
2
Click and drag in the document to create a rectangle with the desired dimensions. (This rectangle can be resized later, using the Scale tool).

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3
With the newly-drawn rectangle still selected, go to the “Object” menu, scroll down to “Path,” and choose “Split Into Grid…” from the submenu. Do not click in the document outside the rectangle, or the necessary command will be unavailable, and this step will fail.
4
Set up your table. Click in the “Preview” checkbox (this displays the result of each setting that you change), then set the desired number of Rows & Columns. To eliminate any space between Table Cells, set the “Gutter” values to “0”.
5
Customize the table. The table will be created, and you can change the color, stroke or add text in each box.
- Click at (on) the edge of any cell with the Selection Tool. This will all you to change its fill or stroke color using the Swatches palette.
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Community Q&A

Question

How do I create a table made up of only horizontal and vertical lines instead of multiple boxes?

Community Answer

You'd be better off with Indesign. Illustrator is not the best tool for what you want to do. If you're determined to try Illustrator, you can follow these steps: 1.) Do as in the tutorial above 2.) Select all boxes and remove their background color. Keep lines property as is. 3.) In "pathfinder" panel, select "outline". (This will strip everything from all the boxes and put them into one group.) 4. Keep everything selected and add color to the stroke. (Just do black.) 5.) Un-group it.
Question

Can I import tables in Adobe Illustrator?

Community Answer

Yes. You can copy your tables from Word and InDesign directly into Illustrator.
Question

Is Adobe Illustrator worth the cost?

Community Answer

Yes, it is. Use a trial version to find out for yourself.
Question

How do I add more rows or columns to an existing table in Illustrator?

Community Answer

Just select another row/column, copy, paste, then place it. There's no easy way to do this in Illustrator.
Question

How do I add text to an Adobe Illustrator table?

Divjot Singh

Community Answer

You will need to use the Type Tool (T). Select the Type Tool, click on the corner of a cell, and drag your mouse to the opposite corner; the type field will be activated. Then, just type your text and hit CTRL + Enter or CMD + Enter.
Question

How do I merge cells in Adobe Illustrator?

Community Answer

Select the two boxes you want to merge, make sure they are perfectly lined up, and then click Pathfinder followed by Unite.