Apache OpenOffice Community Forum

Hello,
How do I remove a double row if it's formed by merging two tables?
Thanks

Your document has two adjacent tables. If I place the cursor in the top table and select the menu Table -> Merge Table, I get a single table with two rows. Is that what you want?

correct but the join table button remains disabled

FJCC wrote: ↑Tue Mar 31, 2026 1:37 am Your document has two adjacent tables. If I place the cursor in the top table and select the menu Table -> Merge Table, I get a single table with two rows. Is that what you want?

donnje wrote: ↑Tue Mar 31, 2026 6:15 am correct but the join table button remains disabled

That is strange.

I tested both in LibreOffice and OpenOffice Writer running on Windows 11.
LO version 25.8.5.2
AOO version 4.1.16

In my tests it made no difference which table the cursor was in, either the upper or the lower. Join tables item on the Table menu was available, and worked as expected.

Possible causes for your problem:

• The file is locked (commonly occurs when multiple instances of the document are open simultaneously). Look at the window header. Does it say "Write protected" or something to that effect? In this case, all editing should be prohibited. Can you type text into the document?
  _
  Solution: If file comes from "external" source, make sure the app which created the file has closed it. (A common situation is when a download is not properly terminated by web browser/mail app). Check whether you accidentally opened the file in a different app.
  As an emergency/test measure, save a copy of the file with a different name, or to some other folder. Then try joining tables again.
  _
• You mistook the mouse pointer for Writer's input cursor. Mouse pointer usually is a non-blinking vertical bar with small top/bottom crossbars. The input cursor in Writer usually appears as a plain blinking vertical bar; no crossing markers at top/bottom ends.
  _
  Solution: Click inside the table cell, or use arrow keys to move the text input cursor.

the button is active only if I have a table with multiple cells but not if I merge the two after creating them individually, but have you tried the file I attached?

I solved it! You have to delete all the borders of the bottom cell and then insert them again except the top one.

donnje wrote: ↑Tue Mar 31, 2026 1:04 pm the button is active only if I have a table with multiple cells but not if I merge the two after creating them individually, but have you tried the file I attached?

Yes, the tests I did was with your file, a document containing only two 1x1 tables with zero gap (no paragraph in between), opened from the Downloads folder, untouched by Microsoft's "previewer" applets (which - in my experience - sometimes modifies files structurally without any warning; users beware!).
With either AOO or LO, text cursor in either lower or upper table, the Table - Merge menu selection just worked. Navigator confirmed that two tables was suddenly one table.

donnje wrote: ↑Tue Mar 31, 2026 1:14 pm I solved it! You have to delete all the borders of the bottom cell and then insert them again except the top one.

Now, finally, I understand nothing.
I find it weird that this solves your issue (appears like a bug to me, possibly in your version of the suite) but good that you finally have it sorted. Nice work of you to locate that path to a solution, I must say.