This is related to presentation only. I have quite a few tables in my thesis and while I can use Microsoft Word to help format my tables, getting them the right size on the page, etc, and looking really appealing, is really quite tricky.

Have any others out there had these sorts of issues and if so, have you considered just getting help in the presentation for the final copy of the thesis. I am not talking about copy editing here or any other part of the document, just the graphics presentations.

My supervisor is fine with this but when I look around on the net or in uni websites, they only seem to mention copy editing or printing or design for brochures etc. Just wondering what others might have done. If you have just persevered, are there any tips or sites or similar that might be useful? Appreciate your thoughts on this one.

This might not be helpful to you but I wrote my entire thesis in Latex. Tables were not a problem, maths in particular is done brilliantly and I got a consistent look and feel through the thesis. I would never use Word now and would always recommend Latex.

I'm not sure if this applies to you, but if you have to adhere to a certain system for writing, referencing etc then there might be stipulations about how you present your tables. I had no idea about this until my supervisor referred me to the APA table guidelines, so I've just done my best to stick to those!

I wouldn't worry too much about it - I think basic presentation in Word is sufficient. Table presentation is unlikely to make or break your thesis.

Thanks everyone. I'm just struggling to get some of them on the page. I have formatted them according to APA 6 and most of them look presentable but getting a few of the figures and tables in the right position and in legible font is not an easy task. I think once I have finished the chapter editing (still got around 3 chapters to edit after feedback), I can spend time on the little things-and I'll devote a bit of time to perfecting all of the tables.

I found a couple of sites from universities overseas that offer some good information and support on presentation and figures. Latex sounds great by the way pm133, I will have to check it out although I'm locked into Word for this study and thesis unfortunately.

You are probably right ToL. The thesis will stand on its own merits. Just caught up in editing and feedback hell and getting too perfectionistic. :)

If you find the table settings seem to change all by themselves, one way is to convert them to pictures.
Be aware - this creates new issues for you to manage. You can't just edit the picture. It is important that you keep the tables in a new word document so you can edit them if required.

Copy table and paste into the new document, and save.
In your thesis document: Paste special the table using format "Picture Enhanced Metafile"
Do not include the table caption in the picture or it will not appear in the table of figures, list of tables, or what ever you call that list.

Thanks so much, I'll try it this weekend :)