Tip - Getting more out of tables (Word 2007)

(This is borrowed with thanks thanks from 2 separate articles in Worldstart newsletters.) 
The features of MS Word 2007 make for easy creation of nice-looking tables from scratch. To do this, you have to insert a table of appropriate dimensions, format any coloring, header rows, row height, and so forth. This can become tedious, especially if you need to do it repeatedly. An alternative would be to insert one of the standard formatted tables already provided in the Quick Tables, and either use that as is, or develop it into the table you want. If you take the latter path, and if you are likely to use that final table frequently in other documents, then you could also save it as a Quick Table item. This could be very handy.

Using Quick Tables to insert a ready-made, pre-formatted table:

Place the cursor at the location where you want to insert a table, and go to the Insert tab of the Ribbon. On the Insert tab, select the Table button:

Go to the bottom of the menu and choose Quick Tables, which opens a display of built-in tables for you to choose from:

Once you choose a pre-formatted table, it will be inserted into the document where you had previously placed the cursor. You will then need to make changes to it to reflect your needs and actual table data, but you would probably finish the job somewhat faster than if you had created the table from scratch.
Having arrived at the final table, if you think you will need that format on a regular basis, then save it into Quick Tables:

Using Quick Tables to save a new ready-made, pre-formatted table for future use:
In the above exercise, you might have noticed that below the built-in table choices there is a grayed-out choice to Save Selection to Quick Tables Gallery.

To save a table to a gallery, you will first need to select - in your document - the table you want to save.
To select the table, click either:
(a) the Move handle:

or,

(b) the Resize handle:

(These handles appear when you move the mouse pointer over the table.)
With the entire table selected, go to the Insert tab of the Ribbon, Table button, Quick Tables, Save Selection to Quick Tables Gallery choice. (The choice will be accessible now that you have a table selected.)
The Create New Building Block dialog window will then open, already set to save as a table:

All that is needed here is to name it and click OK.
You will then find that your customized table is included below the built-in portion of the Quick Table list, under the heading of General:

(Condensed from Worldstart ms office post here, and here.)